Artichoke * | Old Amersham (UK)
A kitchen full of passion and dedication.
Intelligent and precise cooking, focused on the natural flavour of the main ingredient!
Artichoke sits on a picturesque street of Georgian houses in the heart of market town Old Amersham in Buckinghamshire (UK). It’s right across the road from Atul Kochhar’ Hawkyns. The restaurant was opened in 2002 by husband and wife team Laurie and Jacqueline Gear, The kitchen team being led by Laurie and Jacqueline overseeing the front of house.
Chef Patron Laurie Gear grew up in Lyme Regis in west Dorset. Largely self-taught, Laurie worked at The Mariner’s Hotel and at Combe House Hotel in Gittisham, Devon, where he also met his future wife. While saving up to open their own restaurant, they catered for Pinewood Film Studios, providing meals for actors and film crews, with Jackie working part time at The Fat Duck, and Laurie taking shifts at Clarke’s in Notting Hill.
Besides Laurie in the kitchen is Head Chef Ben Jenkins, who hails from Whatley Manor ** in Wiltshire and Colette’s at the Grove in Chandler’s Cross. Together they oversee the pass before the eyes of the guests, in their open plan kitchen.
In June 2008 disaster struck, when a fire that started next door ripped through the building, gutting the entire restaurant. Artichoke closed for 18 months to rebuild the property to its former 16th Century glory and reopened in November 2009. A celebration hosted by long-time fan, Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons **, In 2011 they even extended the restaurant into the adjoining fish restaurant where the fire started.
During the 18 months closure, Laurie took a stage at the world renowned restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. A refresh, where he gleaned a lot of ideas, which helped him plan for the future. Artichoke saw many successes after that and gained many rewards. And just the day before we visited, Artichoke was awarded with a Michelin star, when the 2020 Michelin Guide UK was presented.
Artichoke is open on Tuesday to Friday for both lunch and dinner. They offer a 5-course The Artichoke Menu (at £50) and Tasting Menu (6 courses at £60 and 8 courses at £80). For lunch they also offer a 3-course Set Lunch Menu (at £30), and a Lunch Tasting Menu (5 courses at £38 and 6 course at £44).
We had lunch two weeks ago on a Tuesday and had the 6-course Tasting Menu. As they received their first Michelin star just the evening before, we started with a complementary glass of champagne to celebrate the occasion!
Chiltern black ale bread, nice and dense with a dark ale flavour. Served with a smooth bee pollen butter.
The amuse was lovely white crab meat, with crunchy cucumber and kohlrabi, in a citrusy calamansi dressing. Bright and fresh mouth pleaser!
For Joanne a different amuse as she doesn’t eat cold fish. A roast pepper sorbet, beautifully smooth with a deliciously pungent flavour and a very long finish. Excellent!
First course was a lobster and crab ravioli. Nice thin pasta with gently seasoned lobster and crab. A full blown pumpkin velouté with excellent taste. Sea herbs to add a nice salty touch to the dish. A cleverly paired combination of flavours delivering a wonderful taste sensation!
Next was a choux bun, with perfect texture and flakiness, full of that earthy flavour of summer truffle. Indulgent foam of Lincolnshire poacher, a hard unpasteurised cow’s milk cheese. And an intense cep ketchup. Utterly delicious! A hint of salsify lift the flavour and grated truffle and cheese add a very attractive finish. A brilliant dish and signature worthy. And I would bottle that cep ketchup by the way!
Flaky halibut with perfect cuisson and seasoning, hidden in a little vegetable garden of young turnip, sea grass and cauliflower. Luxuriously finished with nice and meaty Cornish mussels and Cornish squid.
A shellfish miso, with a fermented barley base, was poured at the table, adding an elegant funky touch to the dish. The miso tasted like a light bouillabaisse, complementing the seafood and not overpowering in anyway. Excellent!
For the main course there are two options to choose from. We had one of each, so we could taste them both!
Tender and elegantly gamey partridge, on a bed of kale and parsnips. Loved the crispy tartlet with black pudding, Morteau sausage (a traditional smoked sausage from the Franche-Comté region in France) and golden raisins. Great on it’s on and delicious in combination with the partridge!
Beautifully pink venison saddle, with a touch of smokiness from the Douglas fir. A wonderfully pure-tasting beetroot puree and a scrumptious red cabbage mousse. Beef dripping potato slice and an excellent, fabulously succulent, venison salami. A well-balanced taste experience with just the right touch of richness. Well done!
Pears poached in vanilla around a lovely pear sorbet with a perfect balance of creaminess and freshness and Poire Williams eau de vie (a pear brandy) to enhance the pear flavour even more. Thin sugar tuile with mixed seeds, delicately delivering a gentle crunch. Little dots of vanilla cream cheese delivering an unconventional kick and pressed pear with a caramelised to finish it of nicely,
Baba with a good texture, but in an unusual donut shape with blackberries in the center. Love the boozy Somerset apple brandy ice cream. Bit of brandy in the juice as well being soaked up by the baba. Sorrel on top giving the dessert a final lift.. Delicious dessert!
Joanne opted for cheese instead of the last dessert. Trio of British cheeses, with a punchy Barkham Blue and a creamy goat’s cheese. Apple compote and a truffled honey were nice condiments to go with the cheese.
Mandarin jelly and salted caramel fudge with our coffees.
Service was great. Friendly, on-point and not OTT. They are creating a pleasant, informal atmosphere and delivering that neighbourhood restaurant experience they promise on the website.
A kitchen, full of passion and dedication delivering a top-end lunch today. Displaying intelligent and precise cooking with visually attractive dishes that focus on the natural flavour of the main ingredient. The highlight for me was the truffle choux bun, closely followed by the seafood ravioli, the venison salami and the fermented barley miso.
A well deserved Michelin star and it feels like Artichoke has entered an exciting and promising new chapter. Let’s see were this new boost leads too. We will be back!
