But it was well worth it to be the first to talk about SY23; named after Aberystwyth's post code and home of Nathan Davies' new restaurant, which opened just over 2 months ago.
A big jump into a small place, but a place that can genuinely be described as having Nathan's DNA all over it.
SY23 is small, but, as the saying goes, perfectly formed; a cosy downstairs bar, the dark blue paint creating an intimate atmosphere, redolent of a prohibition speakeasy, but with the class and styling of velvet chairs, highly polished, dark wood tables and fresh flowers, leads out to a twisting staircase, illuminated by the sexiest of chandeliers to a dining space made by Nathan, with a little help from his friends.
And when I say "made", I do mean "made", not feng shui'd from purchased parts!
As Nathan himself said, "lots of people open restaurants, I built mine".
Take a closer look at the open cooking area, everything is on view, where you can see your meal being cooked. All of that open fire set up was made, from scratch, by Nathan; in his words, he is better than the average welder.
Two of the tabletops have been converted by one of his friends, from the seasoned wood of a fallen oak, the hollow centre artfully filled with resin. As ever, it's not what you know, but who you know; in this case it happens to be Steve McFall, aka Bespoke Mcbloke. These fabulous pieces of timber are supported on metal legs made by, guess who, yes, that man Nathan. The rest of the tables are made from reclaimed wood atop Nathan's legs, so to speak, and will eventually be replaced by more bespoke tops.
Look even closer at that open cooking area and last week you would have seen that he is running a restaurant, with 24 covers, with only 2 frying pans and had you looked closer you would have seen that they are both Netherton Foundry frying pans. His stock has now increased by 50% with the addition of one of our prospector pans! Just goes to show that it's all about having just the right amount of exactly the right kit.
The money saved by making his own fire pit and tables meant that he was able to buy seriously comfy chairs. That may sound like a no-brainer, but how often have you fidgetted through dinner on a hard chair or read Jay Rayner or his readers complaining about the seating and how it detracted from the food?
Seats are important, this is what Mr Rayner he wrote in one review, where thankfully his nether regions were as well catered for as his stomach. "The seats are comfortable. Going from some of the comments online on these reviews, that is a matter of serious concern to a certain portion of the readership."
And this is all part of the restaurant's core ethos - to give people a good night out. Truly great wines are offered at accessible prices; this is by no means a cheap restaurant, but it does offer true value for the money you pay. At the time of writing the set menu of seven perfectly judged courses is priced at £48. Don't write to us, shout at the restaurant or whine on review sites and social media if that's not the price when you visit.
The menu has been conceived to give you a great dinner, with the price reflecting the quality of the ingredients and the cooking.
The wines have been priced competitively, so that your drinks bill doesn't leave a nasty taste in your mouth.
And let's talk about the food.
Over the course of an entertaining conversation, we learned that the only thing Nathan doesn't enjoy is raw oysters; it used to be all raw fish, but he is coming round to some of it, just not the oysters - cook them first!
But fish has paid a large part in his life, with fond memories of a teenage life lived on the coast, with access to a small boat and fishing lines, he spent many an hour out on the water bringing home a catch. And now he buys his fish direct from the boats. If they haven't got what he'd planned to cook, he will change the menu, rather than buy elsewhere.
He can still recall, I don't know why I say still, he's not that old even now, the first meal he cooked. As a teenager he served his family fresh tomato soup with pesto, a boiled ham with vegetables and a chocolate tart, recipe from Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef, which despite his conviction of having followed the recipe exactly, didn't set.
As an aside, Jamie Oliver was "discovered" when working at the River Cafe in London and it is rumoured that no-one has ever managed to make their Chocolate Nemesis recipe successfully - perhaps there is a link.
Nathan is trying to source all the ingredients as locally as possible; he makes bread from wheat grown and milled down the road, has a number of local, organic fruit and veg suppliers, is working on dairy supplies, Wales is better known for its sheep than its cows, and relationships are being forged with local farmers and butchers for high quality meat.
Then, of course, there is the abundance of food to be foraged from forest, field and hedgerow. Birch trees are tapped for birch water, which will be simmered down to create birch syrup; a complex, rich almost curranty taste, which we got to sample neat. Soon the wild garlic will be harvested and pickled, fermented and added to oil. It will be a full year of seasons and harvests before Nathan has accumulated the larder filled with the jars that he wants to enhance his dishes. These are not things you can ring up the wholesaler and order on a next day delivery. Time is the key ingredient here.
The menus are changed every two weeks and are not advertised on line. It is a set menu, although with advance notice, they can take dietary restrictions into account. Learning from Gareth, and confident in his ability to create delicious food, Nathan presents a succession of dishes designed to fit together like a jigsaw, so that when the last piece is finally in place, there is a feeling of satisfaction. If you start tinkering withe the pieces, the picture is going to be skewed.
If you got to SY23, and we think you should, let us know what you think. If you send us a review, we may even publish it!
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©
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