A good gastropub should do two things: serve upmarket food that can compete with the fanciest of restaurants but also maintain the personality and unfussy aura that makes a great British pub. It’s a tough balance to strike, but one that the Unruly Pig, led by chef patron Dave Wall (formerly Bibendum and Claridges), seems to have nailed. That’s probably why it's been crowned Estrella Damm’s best gastropub in the UK for the third year running.
Between the exposed beams and cosy fireplace, the first thing you notice walking into the 16th century inn is the playful, irreverent decor – there’s a ginormous frame of Lego mini figures at the main entrance and a ‘Last Supper’-esque portrait of The Sopranos cast above our table. It feels like the Unruly Pig is assuring you that, yes the food is fancy, but look, we don’t take things too seriously.
After we take our seats beneath Tony, Carmela and their brood, we start with the Unruly Dozen, a tray of 12 oysters in four forms: natural, deep-fried, grilled and pickled. I’m not normally one to drool over oysters, but these paired with a fizzing glass of Langham Culver? I’m still dreaming about them.
Side note here: while lots of restaurants around the UK have removed raw oysters from their menu over norovirus concerns, the Unruly Pig serves exceptionally plump, briny raw oysters and these ones definitely did not give us a sore belly. In October, it became the first restaurant to serve the ‘worry-free’ mollusks pioneered by Colchester Oysters, which are put under extremely high pressure (higher, even, than the deepest part of the ocean, owner Brendan Padfield tells us) to eliminate any traces of noro.
The natural oysters made for gorgeously salty, buttery mouthfuls, while their soft seawater flavour balanced neatly with the embellishments added to the fried, grilled and pickled options. The latter – delightfully vinegary, and topped with fresh dill and a small spoon of caviar – was a personal favourite.
Then, Italian white onion velouté arrives luxuriously smooth and musky, coupled with a glass of Reisling. The chewy Taleggio crouton bathing in the middle perhaps raised the dish’s saltiness a tad too much. My dining partner went for the gorgeously smoky and soft barbecued octopus – the prettiest dish of the evening. It lands on our table charred to pure perfection, encircled in a delicate pink ring of gel and accompanied by a creamy anchovy emulsion and jammy pickled onion.
When it came to mains, a steamed wild halibut, paired with dots of mussel and a foamy green ramekin of potato and seaweed ragu, was impeccably cooked, breaking up in large tender flakes. And, coming highly recommended by our server, the roasted mallard breast with braised leg pie and huntsman sauce (which utilises as many parts of the animal as possible) is the perfect example of Unruly’s genuine commitment to sustainability.
A chocolate hazelnut tart concludes our evening. It’s a welcome sweet treat with satisfying level of richness, but for me, it’s got nothing on the courses that came before it.
The Unruly Pig switches up its menu all the time, so you’re unlikely to ever get the same thing twice (besides the oysters – they’re not going anywhere). But you’re in insanely good hands. Throughout the evening, our servers show off their intimate knowledge of everything the gastropub’s bar and kitchen has to offer – in a genuine way, not just like they’ve memorised from a script. They’re warm, passionate and embody the conviviality that makes every good pub great.
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