Crown at Whitebrook

[david goodfellow]

The Crown seems to have slipped under the radar of the forum.

Considering James Sommerin has held a Michelin star now for three years there must be some members out there who can post a review?

As you may be aware James is competing in Great British Menu representing Wales, competing against former Marco Man Stephen Terry.

I am reliably informed by the man himself (James) that the week start date is May 4.

We dined there last week and intended to post the review today but I have my easter head on today, so I'm feeling a bit lazy

Would greatly appreciate reading any other reports please

Happy Easter.

http://www.crownatwhitebrook.co.uk/

Edited April 14, 2009 by david goodfellow (log)

[ElisG]

I completely agree. I have eaten at many top London restaurants and I must say that The Crown tops them all. I would expect that James will beat Stephen in GBM (The Crown is head an shoulders above The Hardwick), but who knows.

I ate at The Crown 2 days ago and also back on October 27th, and had the taster menu both times. So here’s a quick report of The Crown.

The Crown is a small, almost cottage-like building located just outside the lovely area of Monmouth. The drive to The Crown is very beautiful which is lucky, because it’s so difficult to find! The interior is simple but classy, and feels very fine dining. The service is brilliant. Sometimes I feel awkward when the waiters are too helpful. But The Crown gets the balance between attentiveness and annoying perfectly.

Here is what I ate on the two visits to The Crown:

Visit 1

Starter 1- Scallop, Pork Belly and sweet corn

The first thing I thought when this came out was how great it looked, the contrast between the Welsh Slate and the food looked brilliant, and the small rasher of crispy bacon was neat. It tasted amazing. The pork belly was beautifully tender and had a tasty thick layer of fat on it. Sitting next to this was a single perfectly seared scallop. Both elements were well seasoned and tasted great with the sweet corn puree and foam. Normally I don’t particularly like foams but this added a nice light element to the dish. The only problem with this dish was that the sweet corn puree had set on the slate. However it was extremely good.

Starter 2 – Wood Pigeon Foie Gras, five spice and garlic cream

This was my favourite savoury dish out of both visits. I liked how James took styles from various areas in the world, on this occasion China. The pigeon was delicious, and the five spice sauce was extremely flavourful and was a nice contrast to the light garlic foam. The foie gras was also tasty, but I must confess, because it was covered in sauce, I ate it all in one bite thinking that it was a piece of pigeon. Another delicious dish.

Main Course 1 – Sea Bass, artichoke and chickpea

This dish was another example of James using different cuisines in his cooking. This time it was Indian. The Sea Bass was perfectly cooked, slightly crispy on the outside and it was topped with a delicious vegetable bhaji. The chickpeas complemented the dish well and there was a curry mix at the bottom of the dish. Unfortunately I don’t like artichokes, so I left the artichoke. But apart from that I greatly enjoyed this dish.

Main Course 2 – Venison, chocolate, espresso and celeriac

This dish was one of my least favourite of the day. The espresso sauce was too strong and over powering for my liking. It came with a very rich chestnut risotto which I enjoyed and celeriac chips which I thought were under cooked. However the venison was perfectly cooked and was one of the nicest pieces of meats I have ever tasted. But the other flavours overpowered it when they were mixed.

Dessert 1 – Toffee Soufflé, white chocolate and pistachio ice cream

This was my favourite desert out of both my trips to The Crown. The waiter finished this dish by poking a small hole in the soufflé and filling it with toffee sauce, then adding a scoop of ice cream. The soufflé was so light, but extremely flavourful, and the ice cream had a brilliant texture and flavour.

Desert 2 – Dark Chocolate sponge and bitter orange

I don’t know if I found this course average because of the brilliant course preceding it or whether it just wasn’t particularly outstanding. But either way that was my thought. The sponge was quite hard and drowned in crème anglaise. The sorbet had a delicious flavour but a bad texture with chunks of icy lumps inside it. A pleasant but fairly average end to the meal.

Petit Fours (from left to right)

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2882/dscf2255h.jpg

Raspberry Jelly –

This had an extremely intense flavour of raspberry and was coated in sour apple (I think) sugar.

Coconut Truffle –

I love the flavour of coconut and I loved this petit four, it had grated coconut on the outside with white chocolate truffle on the inside. Very tasty.

Chocolate Coated Ice Cream –

This was like a mini magnum. Nice.

Lemon Biscuit thingy (don’t know the proper name for this, I’m sure someone can correct me) –

Very tasty lemon flavoured chewy biscuit.

Popcorn Panacotta –

This was a great panacotta, but I couldn’t really taste the popcorn.

Visit 2

Amuse Bouche – Celeriac Veloute finished with Mushroom

This came out as a shot glass, filled with chunks of ceps and celeriac with a rasher of crispy bacon. The waitress then finished it with a celeriac veloute. I didn’t really know how to eat it, but I assumed that we were supposed to drink it because the rim of the glass was finished with mushroom powder. So I opted to eat the vegetables and bacon from the glass with a spoon, and then drink it. The vegetables were perfectly al dente and the bacon added a nice salty contrast to the extremely creamy veloute. The veloute was like a more flavourful potato soup and was as thin as milk, which I preferred because I hate drinking thick soup. It was overall a good start to the meal.

Starter 1 – Smoked eel, sweetcorn, chilli and basil

This dish came out in a rather peculiar looking jar. The jar was opened by the waitress and thick smoke came out. It was a very Blumenthal-esque start to the meal. Some people think that things like that are pretentious but I like theatre in dining. The waitress then finished the dish with a sweetcorn veloute. The structure of the dish was similar to the amuse bouche. Under the veloute was crunchy sweet corn and baby corn, as well as pigs trotters, salad leaves, and a small cube of deep-fried smoked eel. The dish tasted great, but I didn’t pick up any chilli or basil from it.

Starter 2 – Ham Hock, Langoustine, Celery and Mustard

This was one of the weaker dishes, it was pleasant but it didn’t have any wow factor. The ham hock was ok and the dressing was fairly lacking in flavour. However the langoustine was completely different to what I expected. It was so tender it almost tasted like a prawn pate (would’ve tasted delicious spread on toast). Another positive from this dish is I normally hate celery, but I quite enjoyed the crunch it gave in this instance.

Main Course 1 – John Dory (Halibut?), cardamom and tomato dressing and tarragon gnocchi

This was a delicious dish. The fish was perfectly cooked. But I am not sure if it was John Dory or Halibut. We booked by e-mail to inform them we were coming and ordered John Dory, but on the day we heard them telling the table nearby that it was halibut. So I am not sure whether we were served halibut or John Dory, either way it was delicious. The cardamom and tomato ‘dressing’ was more of a thick puree, but was tasty nonetheless. And the gnocchi was lovely. It was topped off with 2 mini onion (or shallot?) rings, which melted in the mouth.

Main Course 2 – Lamb, apricot, herb couscous and cumin sauce

The lamb in this dish was the nicest I’ve ever eaten. The couscous was also nice and flavoursome and the broad beans were tasty. It also had a very fun lamb sausage roll. This was a nice touch and tasted great. I didn’t actually pick up any flavours of cumin or apricot from this dish, which was probably for the better, because the lamb was just so perfect.

Desert 1 – Blood orange jelly, honeycomb and vanilla ice cream

I was expecting this dish to be quite boring, but it was very delicious. The jelly packed loads of orange flavour, and the vanilla ice cream was perfection. The honeycomb was a perfect balance of crunchiness, but not toughness. And it was topped with a little light honeycomb cake.

Desert 2 – Apple and Cinnamon terrine, tarragon and white chocolate ice cream

This dish consisted of a layered terrine of chopped apple flavoured with cinnamon, which the waitress then finished with a butterscotch sauce. It had a scoop of tarragon and white chocolate ice cream next to it. The apple and cinnamon terrine was delicious and went brilliantly with the butterscotch sauce. But the tarragon and white chocolate was a true revelation, it tasted fantastic, the tarragon was noticeable and subtle.

Petit Fours

The petit fours here were the same as our previous visit. Except the popcorn panacotta was bubblegum pannacotta. Unfortunately this tasted hideous; it reminded me of aerosol spray cans. This was my only real complaint of the day though.

Edited May 6, 2009 by ElisG (log)

[PhilD]

I completely agree. I have eaten at many top London restaurants and I must say that The Crown tops them all. I would expect that James will beat Stephen in GBM (The Crown is head an shoulders above The Hardwick), but who knows.

Good to read the review, we are thinking of heading over the border to try it in the near future.

It will be interesting to see what Stephen produces in GBM, IIRC last year he produced dishes that were a lot more involved that his menu at The Hardwick. With Stephen you need to remember he is a very good chef who chooses to cook rustic pub food; The Hardwick is meant to be very different and it sits at a different price point. A 3 course set dinner is £45 at the Crown vs. approx £35 for a starter, main, side order and pudding at The Hardwick (which I suspect would be twice the volume of the Crown). I think if I lived in Abergavenny I would love The Hardwick, but it is probably not worth a special trip; although in combination with The Walnut Tree it could be fine: Friday supper at The Hardwick, Saturday at The Walnut Tree, and Sunday lunch at the Crown on the way back to England would be fun.

ElisG - on you next post it may be better to load the photos into the eGullet site rather than link out to them. I gave up on the first one as it took about 4 minutes to load.

[david goodfellow]

Your timing is spot on ElisG, good review.

I now feel a bit guilty not posting my thoughts on our visit but will try to put something up soon.

Shame that I can not view the photos, was much looking forward to them, although having said that I admit to being a bit of a thickie brown loaf when it comes to my own foodie photos. Shame I don't have eight year old kids to show me how to do it

Phil, your proposed trio of dining events does look very appealing

[PhilD]

Phil, your proposed trio of dining events does look very appealing 

←

I am working to persuade the CFO and Chauffer that this needs to be done.

At the moment I am looking forward to a trip for Sunday lunch to The Red Lion in East Chisenbury which has been recently reviewed by Dos Hermanos and Jay Rayner. I will report back.

[JudyB]

Shame that I can not view the photos, was much looking forward to them, although having said that I admit to being a bit of a thickie brown loaf when it comes to my own foodie photos. Shame I don't have eight year old kids to show me how to do it.

I can see the photos OK if I wait long enough, but they do take a very long time to finish loading...

[ElisG]

I completely agree. I have eaten at many top London restaurants and I must say that The Crown tops them all. I would expect that James will beat Stephen in GBM (The Crown is head an shoulders above The Hardwick), but who knows.

Good to read the review, we are thinking of heading over the border to try it in the near future.

It will be interesting to see what Stephen produces in GBM, IIRC last year he produced dishes that were a lot more involved that his menu at The Hardwick. With Stephen you need to remember he is a very good chef who chooses to cook rustic pub food; The Hardwick is meant to be very different and it sits at a different price point. A 3 course set dinner is £45 at the Crown vs. approx £35 for a starter, main, side order and pudding at The Hardwick (which I suspect would be twice the volume of the Crown). I think if I lived in Abergavenny I would love The Hardwick, but it is probably not worth a special trip; although in combination with The Walnut Tree it could be fine: Friday supper at The Hardwick, Saturday at The Walnut Tree, and Sunday lunch at the Crown on the way back to England would be fun.

ElisG - on you next post it may be better to load the photos into the eGullet site rather than link out to them. I gave up on the first one as it took about 4 minutes to load.

←

How would I load them through egullet?

And I appreciate what you're saying about The Hardwick. I wasn't slating Stephen by any means, because he is a fantastic chef. I just think James Sommerin is a more 'special occasion' chef. However he might edge it on the 'taste of home' factor. From a price perspective, The Crown might be a fairly pricey restaurant, but their lunch menu is great value. When I went for lunch at the Hardwick I only payed about £15 a head less than at The Crown, and we had the 6 course taster menu at The Crown.

Thanks.

Edited May 6, 2009 by ElisG (log)

[PhilD]

How would I load them through egullet?

←

ElisG - it took me a long time to find how to do it - I couldn't find any instructions. So I jotted some down for you. Hope they work...!

1. Save your images as small files (the upload facility likes the smallest you can do)

2. Click on your name

3. Then click on OPTIONS (2/3rds down the page)

4. Under menu on the lefthand side click on YOUR ALBUMS

5. On the right hand side click the drop down menu SELECT AN OPTION

6. Click UPLOAD IMAGE or BULK UPLOAD

7. You can then select files from your machine.

Unfortuantly it isn’t over yet. When you want to add them to a post:

8. Select VIEW from the SELECT AN OPTION (under your albums)

9. Open the image you want to add, and click CLICK FOR ATUAL URL which is in small text next to the image

10. Copy the URL

11. Close the pop up

12. Go to the message you are working on (it helps to have two sessions open in your browser)

13. Select where you ant the image to be

14. Click IMG

15. Paste the URL into the pop up box

16. Click OK

17. Preview to check position

18. Start from from 8 to add more images to the message

[ElisG]

Thanks for that info, I will do that next time. I am in the midst of re-uploading the images to imageshack in smaller file sizes so I will edit them into my post in a short while.

Edited May 6, 2009 by ElisG (log)

[david goodfellow]

" Hello, The Crown at Whitebrook, James speaking"

"Any chance of a table for two, tomorrow lunch?"

"Sorry were fully booked"

"What about Friday?"

"Yes we do, would you like to book that?"

"Yes please, but can I just check that chef will be in the kitchen?"

"Yes I will be"

As beautiful a setting that you could imagine, the Crown is hard to find even with a high end sat nav which actually lists, and locates it.

I say locates it, Audrey as we call her announced in her snooty voice "you have arrived", but we had'n't.

We seemed to be on this one track road for an age and was convinced we had somehow past it. Mobile phones don't work here so a call to the restaurant was out.

Its a real sleepy almost eerie sort of village, with no movement whatsoever for about ten minutes, then like a bolt from the blue some d-ckh-ed driving a Volvo estate comes bombing down the hill , horns blaring ,and presumably nostris flared almost trying to bulldoze me out of the way.

Had the post office been done over? Or is it just that road rage is everywhere?

Well the point I'm trying to make is that once on this track just keep on going and fingers crossed you will finally get there.

Before I move on to the food I would just like to mention a bit about the staff who are superb, especially Alexandra our waitress from Avignon, and the lovely lass from Cambridge who is a big fan of Midsummer House.

The sommelier,( who's name I'm ashamed to admit to forgetting) was extremely helpful and informative, and a thoroughly nice guy.

We went for the lunchtime Taster Menu, 6 courses for an amazingly good value £39.95.

Braised Ham hock, langoustine, celery and mustard.

Butternut squash, goats cheese and hazelnut tortellini, avocado, red pepper.

Pan seared John Dory, tarragon gnocchi, cardamon, tomato dressing.

Roast beef sirloin, braised brisket, artichoke and lentil.

Blood orange jelly with honeycomb, vanilla ice cream.

Apple and cinnamon terrine, white chocolate and butterscotch.

A number of the dishes that were on this menu, ElisG ate and reviewed above so I wont go over things again, I'm also pretty much in agreement with the tasting comments, save for one thing.( which ElisG did not have)

The beef, the sirloin and to a lesser degree the brisket was slightly disappointing

The dish in itself was fine, it was just a bit chewy, when I expected meltingly tender.

Although that was a minor point in amongst some very accomplished cooking.

Before we left James came out of the kitchen, for a chat, about GBM and his ambition for another star

As I mentioned on another thread he is full of confidence, and happiest when he is in his kitchen, working the sort of hours most people would find abhorrent.

This was a very pleasant day out, with good food ,excellent service, and a smattering of drama thrown in for good measure.

Food miles 224

Food smiles

[ElisG]

" Hello, The Crown at Whitebrook, James speaking"

"Any chance of a table for two, tomorrow lunch?"

"Sorry were fully booked"

"What about Friday?"

"Yes we do, would you like to book that?"

"Yes please, but can I just check that chef will be in the kitchen?"

"Yes I will be"   

As beautiful a setting that you could imagine, the Crown is hard to find even with a high end sat nav which actually lists, and locates it.

I say locates it, Audrey as we call her announced in her snooty voice "you have arrived", but we had'n't.

We seemed to be on this one track road for an age and was convinced we had somehow past it. Mobile phones don't work here so a call to the restaurant was out.

Its a real sleepy almost eerie sort of village, with no movement whatsoever for about ten minutes, then like a bolt from the blue some d-ckh-ed driving a Volvo estate comes bombing down the hill , horns blaring ,and presumably nostris flared almost trying to bulldoze me out of the way.

Had the post office been done over? Or is it just that road rage is everywhere?

Well the point I'm trying to make is that once on this track just keep on going and fingers crossed you will finally get there.

Before I move on to the food I would just like to mention a bit about the staff who are superb, especially Alexandra our waitress from Avignon, and the lovely lass from Cambridge who is a big fan of Midsummer House.

The sommelier,( who's name I'm ashamed to admit to forgetting) was extremely helpful and informative, and a thoroughly nice guy.

We went for the lunchtime Taster Menu, 6 courses  for an amazingly good value £39.95.

Braised Ham hock, langoustine, celery and mustard.

Butternut squash, goats cheese and hazelnut tortellini, avocado, red pepper.

Pan seared John Dory, tarragon gnocchi, cardamon, tomato dressing.

Roast beef sirloin, braised brisket, artichoke and lentil.

Blood orange jelly with honeycomb, vanilla ice cream.

Apple and cinnamon terrine, white chocolate and butterscotch.

A number of the dishes that were on this menu, ElisG ate and reviewed above so I wont go over things again, I'm also pretty much in agreement with the tasting comments, save for one thing.( which ElisG did not have)

The beef, the sirloin and to a lesser degree the brisket was slightly disappointing

The dish in itself was fine, it was just a bit chewy, when I expected meltingly tender.

Although that was a minor point in amongst some very accomplished cooking.

Before we left James came out of the kitchen, for a chat, about GBM and his ambition for another star

As I mentioned on another thread he is full of confidence, and happiest when he is in his kitchen, working the sort of hours most people would find abhorrent.

This was a very pleasant day out, with good food ,excellent service, and a smattering of drama thrown in for good measure.

Food miles 224

Food smiles      

←

Great review David!

What did you think of the Goats Cheese tortellini, I went for the eel instead of that. But I heard that it was served with an avocado ice cream?

[david goodfellow]

" Hello, The Crown at Whitebrook, James speaking"

"Any chance of a table for two, tomorrow lunch?"

"Sorry were fully booked"

"What about Friday?"

"Yes we do, would you like to book that?"

"Yes please, but can I just check that chef will be in the kitchen?"

"Yes I will be"   

As beautiful a setting that you could imagine, the Crown is hard to find even with a high end sat nav which actually lists, and locates it.

I say locates it, Audrey as we call her announced in her snooty voice "you have arrived", but we had'n't.

We seemed to be on this one track road for an age and was convinced we had somehow past it. Mobile phones don't work here so a call to the restaurant was out.

Its a real sleepy almost eerie sort of village, with no movement whatsoever for about ten minutes, then like a bolt from the blue some d-ckh-ed driving a Volvo estate comes bombing down the hill , horns blaring ,and presumably nostris flared almost trying to bulldoze me out of the way.

Had the post office been done over? Or is it just that road rage is everywhere?

Well the point I'm trying to make is that once on this track just keep on going and fingers crossed you will finally get there.

Before I move on to the food I would just like to mention a bit about the staff who are superb, especially Alexandra our waitress from Avignon, and the lovely lass from Cambridge who is a big fan of Midsummer House.

The sommelier,( who's name I'm ashamed to admit to forgetting) was extremely helpful and informative, and a thoroughly nice guy.

We went for the lunchtime Taster Menu, 6 courses  for an amazingly good value £39.95.

Braised Ham hock, langoustine, celery and mustard.

Butternut squash, goats cheese and hazelnut tortellini, avocado, red pepper.

Pan seared John Dory, tarragon gnocchi, cardamon, tomato dressing.

Roast beef sirloin, braised brisket, artichoke and lentil.

Blood orange jelly with honeycomb, vanilla ice cream.

Apple and cinnamon terrine, white chocolate and butterscotch.

A number of the dishes that were on this menu, ElisG ate and reviewed above so I wont go over things again, I'm also pretty much in agreement with the tasting comments, save for one thing.( which ElisG did not have)

The beef, the sirloin and to a lesser degree the brisket was slightly disappointing

The dish in itself was fine, it was just a bit chewy, when I expected meltingly tender.

Although that was a minor point in amongst some very accomplished cooking.

Before we left James came out of the kitchen, for a chat, about GBM and his ambition for another star

As I mentioned on another thread he is full of confidence, and happiest when he is in his kitchen, working the sort of hours most people would find abhorrent.

This was a very pleasant day out, with good food ,excellent service, and a smattering of drama thrown in for good measure.

Food miles 224

Food smiles      

←

Great review David!

What did you think of the Goats Cheese tortellini, I went for the eel instead of that. But I heard that it was served with an avocado ice cream?

←

Thank you kindly

Excuse me whilst I wallow in a much welcome bit of ego massaging, lol .

One of the many things that I feel that I have been cheated on, memory, or lack of it, becomes more evident the older I become.

I do remember that I missed the red pepper element, and the wonderful Alexandra, explained the dish to me.

In truth I do need to take tasting notes but I'm very lazy and if I don't write a review very soon after the meal, I struggle to remember

Hand on heart I don't remember the dish, which means thankfully that the dish was ok, certainly not memorable.

[PoppySeedBagel]

<Fluf>

Has anyone been to the Crown recently? We're going to be in Raglan around Easter, and this looks like a good place to try.

Or would The Walnut Tree be better?

Or anywhere else?

[david goodfellow]

From my experience both places are quite different.

The Crown is more multi course, pre this pre that, whilst The Walnut Tree is dare I say more rustic, gutsy big plate type of food, of which we are fans.

Of course we have not eaten James Sommerins food for some time but I cannot think it would be any less tasty since we dined there.

Its hard to chose either way, as we enjoyed both meals for different reasons.

Why don't you have a look at the menus on both websites see if that helps you choose?

[Harters]

Can't make the comparision between the two, but the Walnut Tree was a bloody enjoyable dinner.

[nickloman]

I've been to both and can say that in terms of enjoyment, Walnut Tree would get my vote every time. It's not fine dining there, it's good dining.

[PoppySeedBagel]

Thanks for the help - I have booked at The Walnut Tree, as we're more 'gutsy' food and 'good dining' people rather than 'fine dining'.

[Gorro]

The Crown at Whitebrook has closed with immediate effect:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2013/03/06/michelin-starred-the-crown-at-whitebrook-closes-with-immediate-effect-91466-32936161/

[david goodfellow]

The Crown at Whitebrook has closed with immediate effect:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2013/03/06/michelin-starred-the-crown-at-whitebrook-closes-with-immediate-effect-91466-32936161/

That's a real shame and James Sommerin is a good chef. Although according to Chef Hermes blog he may be headed somewhere else very soon

http://chefhermes.com/what-next-for-james-sommerin/

[Sidney]

I'm not surprised, we stayed there about two years ago. It was overpriced then, particulary the wine list. When we told the waitress to leave the bread plates for the main course 'in case we wanted it to mop the sauce up' she laughed - they didn't do sauce, just a smear on the plate. A rip off - we said they would never last.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Sidney (log)

[Sidney]

I'm not surprised, we stayed there about two years ago. It was overpriced then, particulary the wine list. When we told the waitress to leave the bread plates for the main course 'in case we wanted it to mop the sauce up' she laughed - they didn't do sauce, just a smear on the plate with tiny portions. A rip off - we said they would never last.

[battleofthebulge]

I booked to stay and dine on May 1st, the first night of our 'Offa's Lunch' hiking and eating trip. They didn't email us to confirm they had closed. When I emailed them, got a standard reply saying 'I can confirm your reservation has now been cancelled. I apologise for any inconvenience caused'. Inconvenience = a further 3 miles walking up to the Inn at Penallt, but upside is more lunch money to spend on the wine list at The Walnut Tree when we get there the next day. Hay-on-Wye the following day is looking rather sparse for good eats, but Saturday we will be staying and eating at The Stagg Inn, Kington. Sunday's march to Ludlow will be rewarded by dinner at Mr Underhill's and Monday, hopefully, lunch at La Becasse.