Spotlight on : Hencote
Kevin Evans visited the Shropshire Countryside to sample the culinary delights and home grown wines from Hencotes’ very own vineyards
Hencote is nestled on the outskirts of Shrewsbury Town centre located in 65 acres of Shropshire countryside with panoramic views of historic Shrewsbury. This is no ordinary restaurant; they have a glamping village on site which is available for mid-week and weekend breaks and they make wine! Yes, there are vineyards on the grounds - 23,000 vines were initially planted in 2015/2016. These have produced a range of white, sparkling, red and rose wines in the rounds and then expertly blended and bottled on the premises. This really intrigued me as I was unaware that English wine was being made so far north and that it was being done so well. Hencote was recently visited by two of Britain’s best-known wine experts – Oz Clarke and Jancis Robinson who both heaped praise on the Shrewsbury vineyard, celebrating the gold winning reds that Hencote’s have produced and sampled the recent white vintages commenting that more awards could follow. The grounds and vineyard are spectacular, and the restaurant has full floor to ceiling glazing, giving customers a breath-taking panoramic view of the vineyards and the surrounding Shropshire countryside. Customers can visit and look around the vineyard and finish with a wine tasting – a great thing to do with friends and family. After all of that, customers can also go into the onsite wine shop and purchase the wines that they have tasted, or if you are a restaurant diner you can buy wine to take away with you. It really is a restaurant that offers so much more than dinner and all so local.
The restaurant has a brunch, a la carte, tasting and Sunday lunch menu which is great as it allows you to have either a casual or formal experience to suit your needs.
On arrival we were greeted by the friendly front of house team and taken to our table where Sahara the sommelier took us through the story of the vineyards and gave us an impromptu wine tasting. We sampled Evolution 2019 - which was a deliciously crisp sparkling white and then progressed through to Vivienne 2019 - a beautiful white blend of Solaris and chardonnay. We then moved on to Suzanne - a rose made with pinot noir and finishing with Mark 2 - a rich red wine made with a blend of pinot noir, precoce and rondo. Sahara was so knowledgeable and passionate about the wines that are made at Hencote’s, and it really added an extra experience to the night.
We started with the glazed duck breast with roasted beetroot and burnt orange puree and the confit pork belly with julienne pickles and Granny Smith puree. A contrast of rich flavoursome protein with the acidity of the pickles and purees brought balance to the dishes, and they were expertly plated. For main we opted for the poached rump of lamb with onion puree, charred onions, baby leeks with toasted barley and pan jus and roasted monkfish with burnt cauliflower puree, pickled cauliflower and potato crisps. These did not disappoint; the lamb was perfectly pink, and the monkfish dish was one of the favourites of the night. For dessert, we squeezed in an espresso panna cotta with hazelnut crumb – a great twist on a classic and was deliciously creamy with that hit of coffee and the classic sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and clotted cream ice cream. Do not miss out on the desserts – they are a must.
Hencote is a great venue for not only an intimate dinner but for a larger party of friends or even as a wedding venue as the restaurant space is vast and impeccably designed – this is a real gem in the Shrewsbury dining scene – one that I will be coming back to!
Hencote, Hencote Lane, Cross Hill, Shrewsbury, SY4 3AA
t: +44 (0)1743 298 444
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