Lucky Oxshott! A Review of the Victoria – Oxshott is somewhere we tend to pass through as a shortcut to the M25, but we always say that it looks such a pretty village and vow to return. Well reader, we certainly will be back very soon, as we’ve just discovered the most fabulous pub – The Victoria – one that serves seriously superb food.
It has a very cleverly designed interior with areas discreetly curtained off, but it’s a classic old English pub with a roaring log fire and the tables comfortably spaced to allow a degree of conversational privacy. It’s dog friendly too and is a nice mixture of village pub and restaurant. We were greeted by another Alison, who lives locally and who gave us some background in the building and the owners. It’s not part of a large group – a nice change in the current climate. The back area of the pub, which leads to a pretty garden – has just been decorated to reflect the autumn and it was so pretty.
I settled down with a really good Negroni and soon we were greeted by Daniel Lee, the executive chef, who joined the pub just over a year ago. His stellar background includes senior roles at Seasons Kitchen and Farm Shop, Warbrook House and Pennyhill Park Hotel and he chatted to us about the menu, which changes seasonally and indeed daily, depending on which produce is available. On his suggestion, we ordered starters that were signature dishes…and we weren’t disappointed.
My mushroom parfait, with sweet and sour onions and brioche was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such depth of flavour in a single mouthful. It was incredibly light in texture, but also very rich, and it was sprinkled with mushroom powder. The intensity of flavour was reminiscent of foie gras, but of course this dish was vegetarian.
My delicate (but more than adequate) portion was totally eclipsed by my husband’s starter: crispy pig’s head, apple, beetroot, cashew emulsion, basil … a giant croquette. The portion was very generous (and with a veggie side would in fact make a delicious light lunch). He described it as ‘a pulled porkesque rissole’ and loved it.
Our starters were accompanied by warm, wonderfully crusty, yet fluffy sourdough, and delicious Ampersand butter.
Daniel had suggested the special pie of the day: fallow deer and Barkham Blue cheese. It is a serving for two, but he insisted that it would be fine for one of us to have it and take the remainder home to enjoy later. That was all the encouragement needed by my pie-loving partner. It arrived resplendent in a piping hot skillet on a wooden board with a central marrow bone topped with crispy onions. It was beautifully seasoned, and the blue cheese added a depth and umami note to the filling. It was a triumphant testament to ‘proper pies’ and a good portion of it was consumed.
I chose another signature dish of English Iberico pork served with sauerkraut, caramelized apple and black pudding with cider jus. This was served with an incredibly crispy slice of puffed pork skin on top, and the slices of pork were delicately pink and tasted wonderfully porcine. The black pudding was crispy and tasted homemade (or at least from an artisan supplier).
The sides we had to accompany our mains were creamed leeks and sweet and sour braised red cabbage. Both were slightly al dente and very good. It made a nice change not to have the cabbage stewed to oblivion as is so often the case.
I enjoyed a glass of the house Merlot with my meal and my husband (our driver) just had sparkling water. Needless to say, after this fabulous repast, neither of us had room for any dessert. I’m reliably informed, though, that the sticky toffee pudding is fabulous, but we will be returning soon, as we both feel we’ve discovered a real culinary treasure. I understand it’s famed locally for Sunday lunch, but booking is advised.
I suspect it will be awarded a Michelin star ere long, as it certainly deserves it. (and if you were wondering, the pie was still absolutely superb reheated the next day, and was more than enough for supper for two)
The Seasoned Gastronome