<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thewellingtonarms.com/">The Wellington Arms, near Baughurst, UK</a>

Baughurst

Tadley&nbsp;RG26 5LP

Tel: 0118 982 0110

BY NEAL MARTIN&nbsp;| SEPTEMBER 06, 2019The Food:

Rabbit,
pheasant and pork terrine with green onion chutney and charred sourdough bread

Baked
courgette flower with ricotta and Parmesan

Plaice
cooked on the bone with capers and Jersey Royals with spinach

Brixham
cod with a preserved lemon and olive crust, Anya potatoes

Sponge
with hot custard and crystallised ginger

The Wine:

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 <td>2004
 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendange Sélectionné&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</td>
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<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567777730259-wellington_arms_facade.jpg"> The facade of The Wellington ArmsMy
youth was misspent in my local public house, The Grand. It was the fulcrum of
Leigh-on-Sea, and my home away from home. Wander in alone and you could bank on
bumping into a fellow idler within one of the three bars. It had its failings;
you could barely see your hand in front of your face through the Marlboro fog,
and your feet stuck to the carpet after decades of beer spillage. The Grand was
a Victorian rake, a bit scuffed around the edges, but I accreted countless precious
memories within its red ochre walls. Like many pubs, last orders were called
and the windows boarded up, and Leigh-on-Sea lost something irretrievable. The
Grand fell into such disrepair that the wrecking ball was just one swing away. A
celebrity nobody from reality TV drivel “The Only Way Is Essex” eventually
bought the decaying building, and The Grand is currently being reborn as a.n.other
luxury spa hotel, a fate that I must accept as unsavoury but better than rubble
and dust.

The
demise of the British boozer coincided not with the sudden rise of luxury spas
like The Grand, but with the proliferation of the gastropub. The public no
longer desired to waste an evening downing pints and smoking fags with their
mates, preferring to scroll through their Facebook timeline pretending to know
people. But they still wanted to eat out. So clear out the kegs, install a
kitchen and a young chef who can fry a hamburger, and away you go. There are thousands
of gastropubs dotted across the country, rural destinations for families
escaping urban claustrophobia and wishing to eat something wholesome. They
range from the abominable to the sublime.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567779146284-wellington_rabbit_terrine.jpg"> Rabbit terrine with charred sourdough 

So
where does the Wellington Arms fit into the sliding scale of gastropub quality?
The latter. In fact, let me state for the record that the Wellington Arms must
be the best gastropub in the UK. It is probably a disservice to call it a
gastropub, because the quality of food is never less than outstanding. Rarely
do I call something flawless, but it is everything you could desire in a
gastropub. The duo that bought the pub in 2005 – Jason King, in the kitchen,
and Simon Page, front of house – take everything to perfection.Readers
should be aware there are two other “Wellington Arms” located in the same area,
so please make note of the website URL at the top of this article. The
Wellington Arms in question here overlooks a leafy country lane just north of
Basingstoke, within earshot of hymns from St. Stephen’s Church nearby. It is a
stone’s throw from the main offices of merchant Berry Brothers &amp; Rudd –
indeed, it was a BBR bod who introduced me a few years ago. The bijou,
picturesque two-storey 18th-century hunting lodge is surrounded by planters of
shrubbery that were being fastidiously pampered when I visited, and to the rear
lies an immaculately maintained garden, as well as converted outbuildings housing
half-a-dozen rooms for those wishing to stay the night. Look around and you see
fruit trees, polytunnels of vegetables and herbs, a herd of Jacob sheep grazing
in a neighbouring meadow; you might hear buzzing from an apiary. Here at the Wellington
Arms, nearly all the vegetables, herbs and fruit are grown a few metres from
where you dine. The interior maintains the ambiance of a public house,
fortunately without the cigarette smoke and sticky carpet. The decor perfectly
evokes the English countryside with its Farrow &amp; Ball pastel shades, solid oak
beams, specials chalked on a blackboard and solid antique varnished tables. Just
like the traditional pub, a gastropub must make you immediately feel at home. The
Wellington Arms does this effortlessly, wrapping its arms around you as you
enter and saying “welcome.” &nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567779168493-wellington_courgette_flower.jpg"> Perfectly cooked and seasoned courgette flower

The
outstanding food puts many of London’s high-falutin’ restaurants to shame. There
are no frills and no fancy amuse-bouches.
This is straightforward delicious food of the highest order. I lunched here
twice in recent weeks, the first time when admittedly I was not in the finest fettle,
though I was so impressed that I vowed to return. On both occasions the
standard of cooking was exemplary. I started with a rabbit, pheasant and pork
terrine with green onion chutney and charred sourdough bread. The consistency
of the moderately sized terrine was superb and without the fatty morsels you
sometimes find. An
even better starter was the baked courgette flower with ricotta and Parmesan. Maybe
the batter was a tad superfluous to requirements, but the courgette flower was
just so wispy and light that you could imagine it floating away. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567779198394-wellington_cod.jpg"> 

One of two supremely well-executed fish, first the Brixham cod on my visit earlier in the&nbsp;year For
the main, I chose plaice cooked on the bone with capers and Jersey Royals with
a side order of spinach. The plaice was perfectly cooked and seasoned with dill,
and a little meatier and more stomach-filling than I expected. On the previous
occasion, my Brixham cod with a preserved lemon and olive crust, served with Anya
potatoes, was faultless. For pudding, there was no choice but to put my diet to
one side and order the sponge bathed in piping-hot custard and topped with crystallised
ginger. It oozed deliciousness and was devoured with childlike relish.

Before
moving on to the wine, I must mention the price of the food. My set
three-course lunch cost a measly £20.00 – outrageously great value even if the
standard of cooking had been half of what it was.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567779315927-wellington_plaice.jpg"> The second of the two fish, the plaice on my return visit 

Now,
at this point I would expect to write that everything about the Wellington Arms
is perfect except for the wines, for this is where most establishments stumble.
That is not the case here. The main list is diverse, well chosen and full of
interesting bottles. There is also a “Rare Wine” list with – you might need to
sit down for this – well-priced bottles of mature Burgundy. Yes, you read that
correctly.

I
prevaricated over a 2009 Dugat-Py but could not resist a 2004 Volnay Vendange Sélectionné from Domaine Michel Lafarge, decently priced at £80.00. Showing clear
signs of maturity, it fortunately displays no signs of those “green meanies” on
the nose. It is quite gamy and ferrous, perhaps missing some intensity,
especially as it aerates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with rustic
tannins and quite sharp acidity, featuring (again) quite ferrous red fruit
mixed with tobacco and sage. It just sagged a little toward the beet-tinged
finish, though I observed a little more cohesion after taking the remainder of
the bottle home to polish off that evening. &nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567779238623-wellington_pudding.jpg"> Yes, this sponge and custard really was as delicious as it looks 

The
Wellington Arms does just about everything perfectly, and its walls are predictably
festooned with numerous awards and rosettes. Having dined there several times,
each time I depart even more convinced that it is the benchmark against which
gastropubs should be measured. The reality is that none have even come close. I
would recommend booking a room for the night, since the Wellington Arms is
located in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise, enjoy a lunch; if the weather
allows, reserve an outside table and soak in the rural air.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1567778061428-wellington_lafarge_bottle.jpg"> 

A
few years ago, this was a boozer drawing its last breath. King and Page gave the
Wellington Arms a new lease on life, reinventing it as a thriving restaurant,
not a gastropub, that is a joy to visit every time.

If
only the same could be said of my beloved local, The Grand. If only...

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