REVIEW: The Blackbird has the recipe for a fantastic night out

The Blackbird

Bagnor, Newbury RG20 8AQ

theblackbird.co.uk

Tel: 01635 40005

Parking: Yes, plenty

Disabled access: Yes

Our ratings:

Food: 10/10

Choice: 9/10

Decor: 10/10

Customer service: 10/10

Main course: from £18-£26

TripAdvisor rating: 4/5

SOMETIMES a meal out works and sometimes it just doesn’t. And the best meals out aren’t always in the fanciest places either - a cheeky Nandos can be just as enjoyable as a Michelin-starred feast given the right company, the right mood, the right level of hunger; the right ingredients, if you like.

On the most idyllic of balmy evenings, as we pulled into the picture perfect village of Bagnor, near Newbury – a river babbling prettily on one side and banks of spring flowers in bloom on the other – the initial signs are already promising. But never could we have imagined that one of the best meals of our lives lies on the other side of the door at the fairly average-looking village pub.

Adver food reviews are usually carried out incognito as a paying customer, but on this occasion we had been invited along. I know what you’re thinking... well, it would be good then, wouldn’t it?... and yes, there was an part of me that wondered whether we’d be getting the true customer experience or the polished, best behaviour version.

That I’ll never know, but in my defence I have since come across similar glowing praise for The Blackbird from Sunday Times Magazine reviewer Marina O’Loughlin, which shows, if nothing else, that I’m not the only journalist who can appreciate a good (or free, in my case) plate of food.

Chef Dom Robinson took ownership of The Blackbird in September last year and after getting his hands dirty and roping in family and friends to give the pub a refurb, put himself back in the kitchen doing what he does best.

His pedigree is impressive - having previously worked in the Michelin-starred restaurants of Tom Aikens, Anthony Demetre and Adam Byatt, he has adopted a back to basics approach to the menu, keeping things simple with seasonal, locally sourced produce and classic techniques.

While the outside of the place looks typical, the interior is anything but. Many of the original features are still there, including wood and tile flooring, antique furniture and two fireplaces. Twee lace curtains hang at the windows, and the food is served on delicate, patterned china just like Granny used at tea time.

But a huge injection of quirkiness is there too. Bright red walls dominate the dining room and the bar area is a vibrant yellow. Artwork as diverse as it is possible to be hangs on the walls – from traditional landscapes of the countryside to street art prints and even a giant canvas decorated, I later discover, by Dom’s two young daughters. Exposed bricks and modern filament bulb light fittings add to the weird but wonderful juxtaposition of the very old and very new.

Since its opening, The Blackbird is pulling in not only villagers and townies from nearby Newbury, as you’d expect, but patrons and performers from the neighbouring Watermill Theatre and even Londoners venturing out for a day out of town. The pub is packed on the Thursday evening we are there, and I get the feeling it won’t be long until there’s a waiting list for weekends.

So to the food, which is, after all, why anyone visits a restaurant. The choices are not vast, but for me the dilemma is more which one to choose than there being nothing on the menu I like.

I eventually settle on a salad of Wye Valley asparagus with Kennet crayfish and pistachio for me (an eye-watering £16, but so very, very good) and my partner picks the truffled buffalo ricotta, with peas, broad beans, marjoram and pine nuts (£9). The dishes are delicate - made more so by the fine china they are served on - and every bite is heavenly. We roll our eyes and nod our appreciation to the maitre d’ when he asks if everything is okay.

If the starters are good, however, they are surpassed by the main courses to follow. Sticking to the fishy theme, I go for Cornish cod a la Grenobloise (brown butter and caper sauce) with samphire and new potatoes (£25), while my partner opts for slow-cooked shin of beef with raclette garnishes (£25).

My square of cod is perfectly white and flakes beautifully, sat in a pool of butter sauce which soaks into the greens and potatoes. It is fresh and indulgent at the same time, and I don’t want it to end.

His beef falls apart at the touch of a knife and the little accompaniments of raclette cheese, potatoes, bacon, ox tongue and pickles make for a picture perfect dish, which apparently tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Dessert is always a bit take it or leave it for me, but it seems rude not to make the most of the full experience, so after a break and much umming and ahhing, I choose a rhum baba with salted caramel mousse and rum and raisin ice-cream (£8) and he the panna cotta of yogurt and white chocolate with strawberries and almonds (£9).

This is a deviation for both of us – my favourite puddings are usually citrus-y, and he turns his nose up at the consistency of panna cotta - but we both reap the rewards of our adventurousness.

The syrupy, spongy baba melts in the mouth, and that ice cream... oh Lord, that ice cream... it is a sensation. I have to try a spoonful of the panna cotta, of course, and it does not disappoint (although I am satisfied I made the right choice in my own).

We sit back, full and happy and very content with the world, struggling to recall when we’ve had better food than this.

At a 35-minute drive from Swindon, The Blackbird is not somewhere you’ll go often, unlike that cheeky Nandos.

But for a special treat, a meal to remember, somewhere to push the boat out, it’s spot on.

And definitely worth saving up for.