I know Wallingford well. I was born and brought up here. It has the remains of a motte and bailey castle, a Kine Croft, a Hither Croft and at the last count 13 pubs. What I hadn’t realised was one of these pubs has become a very good restaurant and it is just around the corner from where my mother lives. Tired and hungry after my long drive from Ilkley in West Yorkshire, I popped my head around the door of the Partridge Inn and asked if they had a table.“Yes”. ” But can I have the Market Menu?” I asked tentatively. It was just passed 7.30pm and technically this menu was “off” and the A la Carte was “on”. Kindly the chef patron José Cau agreed and I was shown to a table.
The restaurant is tastefully decorated and comfortable but the only thing I had eyes for was the delcious menu which I had seen from the street. The Market Menu is offered both at lunch time and in the evening at a reasonable fixed price of under £20 for three courses. There is a choice of three starters and four main courses which include two meat, one fish and a vegetarian dish. José Cau excels at patisserie and desserts and offers five. In addition a selection of British cheeses can be ordered for a small surcharge.
I choose quickly. A carpaccio of red roasted red pepper with young goats cheese and salad. The goats cheese was smooth, creamy and piquant and matched the delicate, slithery sweet film of red pepper perfectly. A light, walnut oil based dressing moistened and flavoured the salad leaves. Presentation was seductive, beautiful and artistic. Fresh, warm bread accompanied this delicious starter. Not the best bread in the world but it was home made and it was warm and it did the job of taming my hunger. I drank a beautiful glass of cool La Campagne Viognier. I was begining to really enjoy the pleasure of eating here, even if I was dining alone.
The next course was extremely beautiful. A fillet of plaice cooked to perfection sitting on a moist bed of potatoes not mashed but crushed with some sweet onion, loosened with rich milk and flavoured with the scent of aromatic herbs. Tendrils of samphire were scattered over the fish. While I wished for some more vegetables I was happy that I was eating something seasonal and fairly local. A crab bisque sauce linked the fish with the potatoes. I choose a French Sauvignon Blanc and its tempting grassy flavours doused my palate, cleansing it for the next mouthful of delicious food.
The portions were not large and I was still a little hungry after the second course. I decided to indulge in a pudding to finish this beautiful meal. A single quenelle of tantilising deep red, raspberry sorbet, melted over my taste buds without freezing them. Two glass thin, crisp sugary biscuits sandwiched tiny blobs of Chantilly crème sat to one side of the sorbet. The presentation was beautiful and it tasted magnificent.
José Cau cooks like a god. He has a wealth of experience, having worked for some of the country’s finest restaurants and most renowned chefs including The Roux Brothers, Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Nico Central, and even a stint working for the Aga Khan as private chef to Renate Thyssen. The small market town of Wallingford is lucky to have José in their midst. He is a very, very good chef.
It is rare to eat such beautiful looking food and not be disappointed by the taste. Here José marries the two. I left the restaurant feeling I had been cooked for by a highly competent chef who has style, good taste and the sensitivity to know how to design and orchestrate a great eating experience.