The Charlton Arms, Ludlow gastropub review

A few weeks ago, we went to Cedric Bosi's restaurant.

No, I haven't just had a brain fart, and I didn't mean to write Claude Bosi's restaurant.

Cedric is Claude's younger brother and a very successful chef in his own right with two gastropubs in the Shopshire town of Ludlow. He's just that little bit less famous than his older sibling.

Whilst Claude has two Michelin stars for his restaurant Brooklands in London, Cedric only has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a top 100 Gastropub ranking for The Charlton Arms in Ludlow.

 

Having originally moved to Ludlow in the early noughties to work alongside Claude at the legendary Hibiscus, Cedric’s culinary travels took him around Ireland and England before he returned to Ludlow in 2014 with his family to open The Charlton Arms.

Located on the banks of the River Teme, it’s a handsome building with a riverside terrace, 12 rooms and a massive dining space with views out over the water.

When it comes to the food, the starter and dessert sections of the menu were jampacked with captivating dishes like pork and rabbit pie; fish soup; pork and tarragon scotch egg; wintry summer pudding; and sticky toffee pudding. In comparison, the mains mostly sounded rather staid, and almost everyone around us ordered either the burger or bavette steak.

It’s also worth flagging just how reasonable the prices at The Charlton Arms are, with starters from £5.95, mains from £12.95, and desserts from £5. You’d be lucky to find those price points in a microwave reliant chain pub let alone an acclaimed gastropub.

To drink, I kicked off with a malty half of Ludlow Gold (£2.25) whilst Mrs G enjoyed a good glass of Bernard Remy Champagne (£13.95). We then moved onto super gluggable glasses of Terre du Soleil Merlot (£6.10) and I rounded off the meal with an excellent glass of Morande late harvest Sauvignon Blanc (£4.95) with plenty of peaches and honey. 

Mrs G's twice baked cheese souffle (£7) was the winner of the two starters we ordered. With its golden caramelised edges, soft texture and drenching of silky cheese sauce, it was an indulgent way to kick off the meal.

I ordered the oxtail vol au vent (£9.95) because I almost never see one on restaurant menus and I love a bit of retro cooking. The crisp pastry was good, and I enjoyed the deeply savoury oxtail ragu filling which was dusted with savoury cheese. But it felt more like a mini puff pastry tart than a vol au vent due to its low sides. So, it didn’t quite feel like the 1970s dinner party experience I was looking for.

Things ratcheted up a few notches with mains.

Hake Kiev (£24) was a feat of engineering and deliciousness. A golden crumbed meaty hake fillet was the sarcophagus for a judicious quantity of garlic butter flecked with potent brown shrimp. On the side was a blob of thick and roasty cauliflower puree.

I opted for the pork chop (£15.50), and it was an absolute behemoth. Beautifully juicy, it was bathed in a rich cream sauce with a richness balancing cider fruitiness and pieces of tangy apple.

The standout dish of the entire meal was a side of French onion Mac and cheese (£4.95). Long cooked sweet, golden and umami rich caramelised onions were flecked through a thick and uber cheesy macaroni cheese with a golden crust. I can’t believe that I’ve never come across it before - it really should be on every restaurant menu up and down the country.

Assertively garlicky baby mushrooms (£3.95) were excellent.

Roasted carrots (£3.95), seasoned with a lick of chilli oil, were just the right side of al dente for me but Mrs G thought they were a touch under.

After much deliberation over the impressive dessert selection, I settled on the coconut liqueur panna cotta (£5.95). It really should have been called Nice biscuit panna cotta, such was its uncanny likeness in flavour to the well-known biscuit. Whilst it was a smidgen overset, it was lovely paired with sharp and fragrant poached rhubarb and rhubarb puree.

We had a delicious meal of remarkably well-priced pub cooking at The Charlton Arms. Whilst Cedric Bosi isn’t quite as much of a household name as his brother, he’s clearly a huge talent and his Ludlow gastropub very much deserves to be on your radar.

The Details:

Address - The Charlton Arms, Ludlow Bridge, Lower Broad Street, Ludlow, SY8 1PJ

Web - https://www.thecharltonarms.co.uk/
Telephone - 01584 872 813

Vicino, Pontcanna, tapas and cocktail bar review

All hail the picky bits.

I’m a big fan of Spanish and Italian bar culture where you can enjoy a couple of drinks accompanied by some tapas or cicchetti.

It’s a very civilised way of getting sozzled and a fine way to enjoy lots of little different things to eat as you meander between bars.

Which brings me to Vicino, the new Mediterranean tapas, wine and cocktail bar from the team behind Sonder. Meaning ‘neighbour’ in Italian, it’s unsurprisingly located across the road from its vibey Pontcanton mothership, a restaurant which has taken the city by storm since opening twelve months ago.

Billed as “somewhere small bites turn into big nights”, the cosy venue was already buzzing in the middle of the afternoon of their first Saturday in business.

Vicino offers a big selection of cocktails and wines by the glass as well as a few beers and ciders. Mrs G got stuck straight into the Veuve Cliquot champagne (£13) whilst I tried a couple of their long drinks. A grown up yet refreshing Garibaldi (£12) was the standout, combining Campari, blood orange and basil. A slightly less complex Levriero (£12), made with grappa, white port and grapefruit, was still lovely.

Vicino’s food menu is a collection of mostly cold nibbles, charcuterie and sandwiches. It’s a lot less involved than the food on offer at Sonder and most definitely the kind of thing you can pick at over a few drinks.

The first thing to turn up was a slice of tortilla (£5) and it was the first dish that had caught my eye on the menu too.

The combination of golden eggs, caramelised onion sweetness, a dusting of salty cheese and poky aioli was very good. But, I thought there was a bit too much bite in the spuds so that it didn’t quite cohere into a soft textured whole. Mrs G of course disagreed and enjoyed the texture contrast.

Tuna tartare crostini (£7.50) were my favourite of the dishes we ate. Crisp and fatty golden toasts were topped with a meaty dice of raw tuna and avocado that were seasoned with the zing of lime and fresh coriander. I could have smashed a dozen of them.

Home fried earthy crisps (£5) were delicious dredged through a light and creamy dip with a good funk of salty and smoky blue cheese. A salsa of tomato, olives, peppers and onion brought freshness to the plate.

A sweet and flavoursome salad of heritage tomatoes (£5) were well dressed with good quality olive oil and vinegar.

From the sandwich and toastie section of the menu, we ordered a couple to share.

A pressed grilled cheese and leek sandwich (£7) was laden with oozy dairy and soft, sweet allium. It didn’t necessarily need the pot of sweet and umami burn onion ketchup on the side, but I gladly forked it straight into my gob.

Even better was a light and airy focaccia sandwich (£9) that was stacked with creamy stracciatella, salty cured prosciutto and grassy olive oil.

 

Vicino is another vibrant addition to Pontcanton’s hospitality scene and the team behind Sonder have hit the mark once again with their follow-up. We had a lovely time grazing and boozing over lunch but it’s most certainly the kind of place you don’t need to go for a meal. You could just as easily pop in for a drink and a snack, then see where the rest of the evening takes you, which might happen to be across the road to Sonder.

The Details:

Address - Vicino, 72a Llandaff Rd, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9NL

Web - https://www.instagram.com/vicino.cardiff/