River Cottage Canteen Winchester

Winchester has become a fantastic venue for restaurants, and more and more of them are focusing on freshly prepared local and seasonal Hampshire produce. River Cottage Canteen in Winchester is exceptionally passionate about this, which isn’t really that surprising if you are familiar with the River Cottage brand.

Back in 1998, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall started filming a series about leaving the London rat race behind and becoming self-sufficient, by growing his own food and raising animals, which he would trade or barter for services in a rural Dorset community. The cottage he started living in was called River Cottage. The first series let to an additional two more being filmed at River Cottage. After the third series, Hugh moved into an old dairy to expand his River Cottage business. This became known as River Cottage H.Q. Not long after this was relocated to the current site, Park Farm, near Uplyme in Devon.

One of the River Cottage H.Q. business ventures was to open a Canteen and Deli in Trinity Square in Axminster.  This was soon followed by a second Canteen and Deli in Plymouth, and a couple of years later a third Canteen was opened in Bristol.  Their fourth Canteen opened in Winchester in 2014.

The location of the Winchester Canteen is in the grade II listed Abbey Mill, part of Abbey Mill Gardens, which is located near the Broadway in Winchester city centre.

Recently I got invited to an evening at the Winchester Canteen.  Upon arrival we were greeted with a welcome drink by the general manager, Phil Bendall.  During a tour of the Canteen, Phil explained how they had managed to use a lot of the reclaimed items from the old mill within the restaurant.  The lighting, for example, had been incorporated into the old reclaimed ropes. Phil also discussed their involvement with the local community and the different charities they support.  He also told us about past and future events, including live music and opportunities to meet their local suppliers.

We were then introduced to the Head Chef, Mark Price, who discussed how they put their menu together, details about how ingredients were sourced and how the dishes were presented.  Mark told us that all the River Cottage Canteen’s head chefs would regularly get together with Hugh and talk about menu planning, and how he asks each of the head chefs to prepare a new dish, to bring along with them for everyone to try.

Mark then brought out some Wild Garlic Scones along with Spiced Carrot Hummus served on flat bread.  The scones were light and fragant from the wild garlic and the carrot hummus was warming from the cummin.

We then tried some local Danebury wine, from their vineyard not that far away in Stockbridge.  I have tried their wines before and they have a product the French would be impressed with.  It was the perfect accompaniment with Mark’s next dish of Portland Crab served with a Pear, Celeriac and Hazlenut dressing.  The sweetness of the crab was followed by the earthy flavours in the dressing.

The local butcher that supplies their meat is Uptons of Bassett.  For the next dish, they used Uptons Boudin Noir and paired it with their own River Cottage Canteen Home Cured Bacon, Apple & Sage.  The boudin noir was smooth and carefully spiced, and the bacon was the perfect example why you should cure your own.  The apple helped cut through the richness.

This was followed by Braised Lamb Shoulder with Moroccan spices, Quinoa Tabbouleh, Yoghurt & Corriander.  The lamb was soft and full of flavour, the quinoa and pumpkin seeds gave the dish texture, while the yoghurt provided a creamy finish.

Another dish followed, this time Warm Spelt, Squash, Red Onion, Pear and Homemade Feta, served with Watercress.  It was a perfect example of how great vegetarian dishes can be.  The squash and feta worked amazingly well together and the peppery leaves balanced the dish.

To finish the meal, we were served apprentice chef Jodie’s Lemon Cake with Rosemary Sugar and Cream.  No description required, you get the idea, just simple perfection.

As a digestive, we sampled some of the Chocolate Mead produced by Chalice Mead in West Sussex.  It was very smooth and the chocolate complimented the honey flavour.

Winchester Canteen is a fantastic introdution to the River Cottage way.  Phil and Mark were supported all evening by Michelle, who looks after front of house.  They will all make you feel very welcome indeed.  If you haven’t been before, but are passionate about local, seasonal food from some amazing suppliers who have a story to tell, then this is definitely a restaurant, or should I say, a canteen for you.

I was invited to dinner by Winchester Canteen, but all editorial content is my own.