Bulrush Restaurant

Cep ice cream, roasted white chocolate mousse, burnt apple puree, smoked salted dark chocolate @BulrushBS6. Another rich, intense offering; which I loved. That the chocolate tuile was rather soft and bendy was one of the very few missteps of a fantastic tasting menu.

Poached rhubarb, brown bread ice cream, pineappleweed meringue @BulrushBS6. My first rhubarb of the year, its renowned tartness offsetting the creamy, toasty ice cream; although the accompanying hibiscus granite verged on overly floral for me.

Venison, red cabbage bolognese, confit salsify @BulrushBS6. More big, big flavours but with little dashes of acidity and sweetness here and there to invigorate. The grated dehydrated ox heart brought a unique savoury unctuousness to the cabbage.

Mallard brushed in black bean sauce, squash jam (to Mrs Beeton recipe, apparently!), fermented parsnip, black garlic @bulrushbs6. Insane. You think the portion looks small then the intensity of the flavours just whacks you over the head. An ode to umami's seductive power.

Mackerel - caught 24 hours earlier, though it was tricky to discern such freshness under a duvet of glossy elderflower hollandaise - with refreshing little nuggets of sweet, nutty Jerusalem artichoke and crisps of the same root vegetable scattered on top for crunch @BulrushBS6.

BBQ ox heart, pickled turnip, wakame & apple salsa & crispy noodles @BulrushBS6. Improbably tender, ruby red meat with a pervading smokiness to the iron-rich meatiness of heart. Acidity from the pickle-like salsa and slices of root vegetable were both necessary and well-judged.

Beetroot tartare, coal puree, walnut, crab apples, horseradish buttermilk snow @BulrushBS6. Fresher and sweeter than steak tartare but the nubbly, slightly bitter walnuts and delicately peppery, clean snow on top set off the underlying smokiness and earthiness perfectly. Joyful.

Montgomery custard w heritage carrots @BulrushBS6. As cheesey as I remember, with all the lactic, nutty, buttery, almost meaty savouriness of the cheddar intensified yet lightened into a frothy custard. Plus incredible butter, and chickpea crackers w smoked cod roe & dill powder.

Nibbles @BulrushBS6: butternut squash mousse with Madeira jelly; sea buckthorn & orange tart; oysters with kir royal granite; and the decadent, silky, gamey duck liver parfait which, understandably, seems to be a mainstay (though this time the macaron was pink peppercorn-spiked).