We became fans of Chef Connor Turner’s cooking a couple of years ago after eating a few times at his previous restaurant Y Bwyty Bach in Tretower; we also attended the tasting menu pop-ups he ran in the space after the restaurant closed. We love his approach to ingredients and flavours, so were very excited to learn he’d be taking over The Vinetree, a well-regarded restaurant located along the riverside in Langattock, Crickhowell (a short drive northwest from Abergavenny).
We booked to go in for opening night (on the 26th September). As expected, the food was superb, and service warm and friendly. However, we didn’t didn’t manage to squeeze in desserts, so we went back less than a week later to enjoy the full three course experience.
I caught up with Connor after we’d had these two great meals, to chat a bit more about how he came to take on The Vinetree and his vision for the restaurant.
Firstly, I asked what lessons he had taken forward from Y Bwyty Bach, and the key lesson for him was that the restaurant business is all about people, and investing in your staff. He is committed to surrounding himself with people who are ‘just as talented or even better‘ than he is and has already found that this makes his life easier.
As for The Vinetree, Connor has always enjoyed working in pubs previously, and really wanted his next venture to be in a beautiful country pub. The Vinetree fits that category very well. I asked him to describe his offering here, and he does so as ‘classic cooking with a few modern techniques. It’s all about the produce, keeping it seasonal and local. Bringing these two together in dishes that are familiar on a pub menu‘.
The menu is a fixed price offering with two courses for £39 and three for £48, and as Connor says, the dishes are absolutely the kind of food you’ll find on many pub menus across the UK. But I would caveat that with an observation that while you’ll find many pub classics, Connor brings a level of skill and vision that lifts many of them to another level.
Before the starters, amuse bouche are served; crackling-coated croquettes filled with braised pigs head, and served with picalli jam (and pork puffs on the second visit). Served piping hot, these are a wonderful indication of things to come!
Sourdough foccacia with whipped beef dripping is some of the best bread we’ve had; superb on its own but an almost spiritual wonder once slathered in the aerated beef fat!
I love watching chefs at work, so it’s an added boon that The Vinetree has an open kitchen, with many of the tables offering a great view of Connor and his team at work. (There was an open kitchen at Y Bwyty Bach too, but it was separated from the dining area by the stair case, so not very easy to sit and watch).
Fried chicken with XO sauce and miso is a huge slab of fried chicken, tender inside and crunchy as heck, served with a sauce full of umami. Only negative is serving it on a napkin, which has to be removed before you can cut the chicken with knife and fork – and we notice this is already fixed by our second visit. This starter gives us our first inkling that guests really need to come hungry when visiting The Vinetree!
The presentation of Beef tartare with confit yolk, served with beef fat crisps, is also updated between first visit and second. In the first, the yolk has already been mixed in, and the caper-heavy tartare is spooned into a half marrow bone. Second time around, the yolk is presented whole on top of the beef and the entire thing is generously blanketed in freshly grated Welsh truffle. The freshness and flavour of the beef is a standout in this dish, and less capers (second time around) creates a more balanced palate too.
Wild mushrooms, smoked egg, and sourdough is also liberally smothered by Welsh truffle. I don’t pick up much flavour of smoke but the classic combination of wild mushrooms, runny-yolked egg, toasted sourdough and truffle are wonderful; lifted by the judicious use of tarragon two ways (cooked in with the mushrooms and also raw as garnish).
Crab, risotto, yuzu and sorrel is a very soft dish that I feel would benefit from some textural contrast, but the flavours in the crab and risotto are pleasant. The yuzu is a little too understated; I’d love to see it dialed up.
On to the mains and first to arrive is the Chicken, wild mushroom and tarragon “pie” with baby onions, bacon and liquor sauce. We aren’t sure why that one word is in quote marks as this is a proper pie, its filling fully encased by pastry all the way around. And it is a very good pie indeed. The chicken tarragon is soft, meaty and creamy with tonnes of flavour, the wild mushrooms are savoury and earthy, the pastry is perfect, and the whole thing sits on a mountain of mash surrounded by a bacon and onion gravy so rich you could buy a house with it!
Dry aged sirloin, oxtail, braised roscoff, parsley and bone marrow sauce comes with fat, golden chips and is another delight of a dish. The ageing of the beef is spot on, long enough to bring out the essence of beefiness but not so long that it falls over into funky; it’s a superbly tender and well-flavoured steak. Just as good is the braised slab of oxtail doused into another intense sauce flecked with bone marrow. The braised roscoff onion has, I think, been lightly pickled too, resulting in just the right balance of sweet and acidic. The satin dollop of parsley puree adds a little vegetal freshness to balance, oh and yes, those chips are as good as they look!
Second time around and we choose two different mains. First up the Ricotta gnocchi, salt baked pumpkin, burnt orange, toasted seeds. The large, plump gnocchi are pillowy but still have a good bite. The seeds and deep-fried kale give crispness to contrast against pureed and baked pumpkin. And another judicious grating of Welsh truffle provides a heady aroma and added earthiness.
My Middle white pork loin, belly, pear, salt baked parsnip, kale and pickled mustard is a huge, huge portion, not that I’m complaining! The pork loin is lean and tender, cooked just right (with the merest hint of pink). The belly is rich and fatty but cooked long enough for the fat to become soft and wibbly. Both are so good doused in another thick, glossy and punchy sauce. Also on the plate, parsnip puree, slices of pear and a translucent dollop of pureed pear (with none of the grittiness that cooked pear can sometimes have). Crispy kale and black garlic finish off the plate. Oh, and it comes with a side of mash potato with tiny pork puffs scattered on top. So much piggy goodness!
It’s a miracle we have space for desserts (and to be honest, we probably don’t, but we shoehorn them in regardless). Pete’s Raspberry, rose, creme fraiche and meringue is the prettiest, and also very delicious. The combination of flavours and textures are wonderful together, and it looks like something from the Mad Hatters tea party!
My Milk chocolate tart, passion fruit and roast banana ice cream is good but a little let down by the ice cream which doesn’t have a strong enough banana flavour to come through on the palate against the chocolate and passion fruit. The little tart case is light and crisp, filled with a smooth milk chocolate mousse and topped with a crunchy chocolate feuille which delivers a more intense chocolate flavour. The piped pearls of passionfruit are properly punchy and pair well with the tart.
What a fabulous couple of meals, and I’ve been enthusing about them to any of my colleagues living in the vicinity as well as via social media! It’s such a joy to share places that are this damned delicious!
When I wrote about Y Bwyty Bach just over two years ago, I mentioned the top Welsh restaurants Connor had worked in beforehand (including Whitebrook, Walnut Tree, and Heaneys, as well as the plaudits he won as head chef at the Three Horseshoes pub in Groesfford). Now, I’m thinking that the next time I write his name here on Kavey Eats, it’ll be about the young chefs that are right now training under him, as they in turn learn from this very talented chef, before setting out on their own.
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