What
Opened at the end of 2024, The Braywood is the latest stellar addition to an area already brimming with a gastronomic embarrassment of riches (Waterside Inn and The Fat Duck are just down the road – along with a number of other establishments aimed at satisfying the discerning tastebuds of serious gourmands). The sister restaurant of the great The Woodspeen in Newbury, the latter’s head chef Sam Brennan now heads up the kitchen here – and it is every bit as imaginative, assured and exceptional as one could hope for.
Where
The Royal Oak, on Paley St in Littlefield Green, was for a long time one of the most beloved restaurants outside of London. Co-owned by the legendary broadcaster Michael Parkinson, it held a Michelin star for its cooking, courtesy of Dominic Chapman. Yet times change, and after the Covid pandemic it shut in late 2021, never to open again in that form. Parkinson himself died in August 2023, representing the end of an era in both broadcasting and, indeed, restaurants. The Royal Oak, a much-loved but slightly anachronistic establishment, needed an overhaul. It got it last year when the existing building was demolished, to be replaced by a breathtakingly designed (courtesy of Chris Bagot architects), Scandinavian-inspired space that encompasses a substantial bar and restaurant. Its floor-to-ceiling windows ensure that it is light-filled, but the onus on natural materials make it grounding and enveloping too. It is a triumphant marriage of minimalism with warmth. The overall effect is of walking into something fresh and new, and the sincere affability of the welcome that we received from maitre’d Thomas immediately set the standards for what became a very fine couple of hours.
To Drink
‘Would you like a drink in the bar first?’ Well, such questions are never met with a ‘no’, and so a couple of cocktails are taken with great readiness, a bourbon-centred ‘Like A Stone’, which has something of the feeling of a deconstructed Old Fashioned, and the appropriately named ‘Wood and Spark’, a pear-focused combination of calvados honey, champagne and pine, with a delectable lightness anchored by an appropriate earthiness. Our daughter meanwhile opted instead from the superbly named ‘Bumbleberry juice’, which she promptly christened ‘Bumblee juice’. It was appropriately delicious – and with no sting in the tail.
What’s Cooking
Then it was into the main restaurant, which, even on an overcast day, was light-filled, warm and deeply inviting. An enormous bespoke concrete wine cooler sits invitingly halfway down the room, and it would have been rude not to have ordered a half bottle of Sancerre to go with the starters that we chose: my wife’s crab pappardelle ripiene, something rolled up so closely that it resembled a raviolo, and my scallops and black pudding that came flavoured with both radish and apple broth and made for an unusually light, fresh take on what can often be a heavy starter. Even our daughter’s crudités, her starter, comes meticulously presented and served with hummus that she swiftly pronounces ‘the best ever’.
Better yet is to come with the main courses. A daily special, the turbot, arrives proudly propped up ricotta gnocchi, and served with a smorgasbord of delights including miniature salami and brown shrimp. It is superb, as is our daughter’s roast cod with broccoli which, in a typical gesture of kindness, the kitchen serves with specially made skinny fries. However I consider myself the victor ludorum: my rib-eye steak on the bone, is not only peerlessly flavourful, with the best triple-cooked chips I can remember eating, but lifted several levels by the wild garlic chimichurri that it comes served with; garlic, apparently, foraged from the kitchen garden planted just at the back of the restaurant, suggesting a refreshing commitment both to seasonality and locality alike. Served up with a wholly appropriate bottle of light Portuguese red – the 2020 Vertente from Niepoort – it’s a headily satisfying combination that suggests that the Michelin star that the Royal Oak held for so many years is surely within reach here, too.
To Finish
Desserts are suggested and seized upon after an appropriate pause, and I opt for the rhubarb and custard; the only slight oddity on an otherwise impeccable menu, as the vanilla crème diplomat has a faintly savoury, cream cheese-like quality which, coupled with some unnecessary pastry, makes this intriguing, but less immediately delicious as everything else we try. But a banana souffle is a thing of beauty, while our daughter is delighted with two jam doughnuts that come complete with a vanilla milkshake. A locally produced sweet wine, the Ortega, makes for a welcome reminder that our country can now produce dessert wine of the very highest calibre.
How Much
Starters begin at £17 and mains at £33, although there is a set menu available at lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Thursday and lunch only on Fridays and Saturdays that comes in at £39 for two courses and £45 for two. None of this, of course, comes cheap – but it is of so spectacular a calibre that we’d argue it’s well worth it for a treat to remember.
By Alexander Larman
