Pea Porridge
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
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Some restaurants play it safe with a polite menu that’s crowd-pleasingly predictable; others prefer to pack a side of A4 with adventure. The Moorish-meets-modern British menu at this neighbourhood bistro tempts with Persian ghormeh sabzi and lamb's sweetbreads, Cretan galomizithra, kashke bademjan, sögürme, kokotxas (Basque fish stew) and offal in myriad forms, and rewards inquisitive diners with dishes that are uncompromisingly flavour-first. Don’t expect to coo over twiddly presentation; instead, scoop crisp pig's ears through Lebanese toum (garlic sauce) or snack on a skewer of duck heart and spicey merguez sausage, or enjoy the tang of that soft Cretan goat's cheese against the smokiness of the Turkish aubergine dip. Praise for the hot sourdough flatbread, blistered and puffy, is off the scale, ditto for mackerel crudo – or herring in season – that’s bright with gooseberry and pomegranate and savoury with bottarga. Lobster, grilled in the Grizzly charcoal oven and heady with garlic butter, sumac and Beldi preserved lemons makes its seasonal appearance spectacularly, or share a tagine prepared with Cheviot lamb shoulder from a flock reared just down the road. Venison rubbed with aromatic advieh (a Persian spice mix) is served warmly with delica pumpkin, harissa, beetroot and barberries, while malfatti fashioned with rocket and Anthotyros cheese are paired in early summer with wild garlic and Norfolk asparagus for the local win. Basque-style ‘burnt’ cheesecake is ever-popular, served with poached quince or pear or gooseberries (depending on the time of year), while a chocolate mousse with pistachio custard is deemed ‘truly stunning’ by one satisfied guest. Delve into the wine list. For some it heads too quickly off-piste, but advice is ready – how about a summery rosé from Syros (made from the Cycladic Fokiano grape) or a natural Kvevri red from the Kapistoni winery in Kartli, Georgia?
