Holm
South Petherton, Somerset
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There is an art to branching out from a London restaurant base and going wild in the country. Get the tone and the pricing structure wrong, and you might find the local shoulder rather cold. Happily, in Holm's case, southwest Somerset locals have taken the place to heart. A light dining room with bare brickwork and well-spaced tables is the context for cooking that has distinct metropolitan gloss but deep roots in its West Country locale. Main-course brill is served with girolles and elderflower for a mix of earthy and fragrant, while local farm hogget is mature and eloquently flavoured, with perfectly rendered fat. Precede these offerings with, say, a tartare of chalk stream trout, turnip and horseradish, or a ham hock croquette with kohlrabi and tarragon – well-wrought combinations with savoury appeal. Vegetarian dishes perhaps lack a little firepower, but desserts manage the homey touch with a certain sparkle – dark chocolate crémeux with blood orange or oaty rhubarb crumble with buttermilk, for example. Local beers and ciders open the drinks bidding, followed by an enterprising spread of wines by the glass. The much-modified Negroni here incorporates Cynar, the bitter Italian aperitivo made from artichokes. Holm now has seven en suite bedrooms, while other ongoing features include a courtyard dining terrace and a quarter-acre kitchen garden.
