Thyme of our lives

On Friday I turned 29. Rich surprised me by whisking me away to the Cotswolds for the weekend. What's more, he announced we were finally going to have a proper anniversary celebration (previously cursed by illness) and go out for a slap-up meal - err, what else?

The restaurant in question was the Wild Thyme in Chipping Norton. (Yeah, yeah - we were destined to have a wild time. Already fallen for this slightly with blog title...apologies. You know I can't resist a terrible pun.)

Wild Thyme is a modest looking place with fewer than 10 tables in the main part of the restaurant. The atmosphere is warm, cosy, welcoming and, despite the upper price range of the menu, there was not a hint of pomp about the place (well... except perhaps for some of the local clientele - residents of Chippy include Jeremy Clarkson - nuff said). 

Front of house were polite, not pushy and all the things you tend to have to ask for just appeared as if by magic. Water was provided and topped up - no hidden charges; gourmet nibbles were laid out on arrival - no pre-fingered bowls of nuts, just cool juicy olives and a brilliant popcorn, parmesan and parma ham fingerbowl (really very good indeed).

The menu makes reference to the chef's passion for seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. This ethic may have been done to death but it still packs a punch with me. Plus, when you've strayed from your own neighbourhood, it's an opportunity to really sample the best of British.

On reading the menu it was pretty clear that the full three courses was going to be essential. You can see for yourself we had a tough decision on our hands. 

Rich chose the saute lambs kidneys, shallot tatin, butternut squash with Djion cream, while I opted for the oven baked blinis with Cornish crab and Upton smoked salmon, poached egg with light hollandaise . 

For mains, I enjoyed melt-in-the-mouth Cotswold guinea fowl; poached and roasted breast, confit leg tortellini, puy lentils, savoy cabbage, crispy pancetta, shitake mushrooms and chicken veloute. Rich inhaled (it's really the only way to describe it) the local Tamworth pork; braised and roasted belly, pig cheek on horseback, black pudding, truffle mash, glazed apple, buttered carrots, shallot jus (and breathe). 

We both agreed that the main courses were two of the best meals we had ever eaten. Sad as it sounds, it's one of those life highlights where you just feel privileged to be able to experience food of such a high standard. 

Rich finished with a trio of rhubard puddings (where would we - or indeed, Masterchef contestants - be without a trio?), appropriately named Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb; crumble, steamed sponge, ice cream, while I got stuck into the crispy apple tart and vanilla ice cream.

I could talk for hours about the food. The textures, the seasoning, the freshness were all just so striking. Before I forget, we opted for a bottle of Gran Sasso Montepulciano D'Abruzzo which was uh-mazing; we struggled to let it last the meal - very guzzleable indeed.

So, Wild Thyme - well, we didn't have a WILD time per se... but we did have a very special and very memorable one. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough - trust me, it's worth a fleeting visit.