On our trip to the U.K. for factory training at Naim Audio, our hosts took us out to dinner one evening at what is known as one of the oldest pub/restaurants in Great Britain - the Haunch of Venison. The pub dates back to the 14th century and it was recently listed as one of the 25 English Pubs You Must Drink In by Buzzfeed.com. One of my goals was to drink beer in an old English pub and the Haunch of Venison took care of that.
Records show that the building the pub is housed in dates back to 1320 when it housed workers who were building the nearby Salisbury Cathedral. (see map) The building faced St. Thomas' Church and was reputed to be a brothel in the 15th century. Clergymen living at St. Thomas' - in order to save embarrassment - actually built a tunnel between the church and the Haunch of Venison in order to visit the ladies living in the building. (Another pub not far away from our hotel - The Cloisters - also had a tunnel that led from the Salisbury Cathedral so the clergy could visit the ladies at that brothel, as well.)
Alex Marshall is the owner of the Haunch of Venison. In addition to owning this pub, Marshall is also the Publican at the Pheasant Inn in Salisbury. (After dinner, we hung out in the pub downstairs and I got to meet and talk with Alex Marshall. He's a gregarious guy with a faint resemblance to Tom Hanks.) Tracey Thorne is the General Manager/Bartender at the Haunch of Venison. We got to know Tracey almost too well with all the beer and Scotch we consumed that particular evening.
The bar counter is made out of pewter - probably the last full bar top like it in the U.K. And the beer taps are the original gravity-fed taps - the Haunch of Venison is one of only five pubs in the U.K. where gravity-fed taps still exist.
There is a small room - a snug - off to the side of the bar that is called the "Horsebox". Originally, it was used for women to sit in segregated from the males who drank in the pub. It is said that Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower used the Horsebox as a meeting place before the D-Day invasion in 1944.
The public bar area is small with an iron fireplace inserted into the original hearth. The bar had a number of mismatched stools and chairs and could, possibly, seat 15 people. The dark wood paneling was supposedly the original paneling in the bar.
Just upstairs from the pub is the House of Lord's room, or where the upper clergy would drink beer and cider centuries ago. Back in the corner of the small room is a caged window that houses what is supposedly the decaying bones of a cut-off hand of a card-cheat, complete with the cards he supposedly used to cheat with. It was pretty hokey and looked like something you'd see in a cheap traveling carnival. But it helps add to the lore of the Haunch of Venison.
The restaurant part of the building dates back to the 16th century. In what used to be called the Merchant's House, that part of the building was annexed by the Haunch of Venison in the 1700's and has been a place where food has been served ever since. The original fireplace from the 1500's is still in the main dining area which was carefully restored to the unique and cozy feeling it had six centuries ago.
We were seated in what was the "newer" of the two dining rooms upstairs. The kitchen was off to the side of the first of the two dining rooms. Larry Pender and Wotjek Durzynski run the kitchen at the Haunch of Venison. Most of the food they offer on the menu features locally raised meats and produce. Steaks, range-free chicken, seafood, lamb and, of course, venison are available at the Haunch of Venison.
The menu changes depending upon availability of fresh food and that evening they had a lamb rump entree, a beef filet, wild mushrooms in a cream sauce embedded in a Wellington pastry, a slow-cooked pork belly with black pudding, venison and smoked bacon casserole, and a roasted cod loin. I was still a little hinky on getting steak in the U.K. at that point, but I figured that they probably knew how to do lamb pretty well. I ended up getting the lamb rump.
Before dinner, we had a series of salads and appetizers. One of the more interesting items - and truly locally sourced - was the roasted pigeon breast. It was cut into quarters and was served with a red wine and juniper sauce. And, no, I didn't try it.
The venison lollipop carpaccio was a popular choice of many at the table (above right). Four thin slices of seared venison were on the plate along with watercress. Now, I did have that and it was very good.
Below left is a scallop appetizer that one of my colleagues had. It featured two large sauteed scallops on a bed of sauteed spinach and sampfire with a bacon and red pepper sauce. That's the one I wish I would have gotten.
The entrees came out not long after finishing salads and appetizers. Above right is my lamb rump - sliced lamb that was not only moist and tender, but had a great flavor. I'm usually not big on lamb on its own (I like lamb in Indian food), but this was just absolutely fabulous. It came with savoy cabbage, sort of a Wellington-style potato loaf and drizzled with a redcurrant sauce. My meal was just excellent.
The roasted cod was also a popular choice that evening. (below left) It was featured on a bed with pureed potatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes and samphire.
One of the guys from Naim Audio got the wild mushroom Wellington. Sliced new potatoes and braised red cabbage came on the side with watercress on top and a sweet pepper puree drizzled around the plate. It looked very good and he said it was actually as good as it looked.
The appetizers and entrees weren't all that large so that left room for dessert at the table. I went with the creme brulee which was very good, but there was a chocolate dessert that one of my co-workers who sat next to me ordered up. It was a three-layer chocolate cake with a thin caramelized chocolate wafer embedded into the cake.
Down at the other end of the table, one of the guys ordered a traditional English cheese and cracker plate for dessert. Fresh grapes and raisins were including with the cheese and crackers decked out on a cutting board. I don't know, but I thought it was rather neat to see this.
After dinner, we hung out in the bar downstairs for a bit. Some of the guys lingered a little longer trying all types of Scotch - many that weren't available in North America. I had a couple Scotch's after dinner, but was tired from the lack of a good night's sleep the previous evening and ended up heading back to the hotel around 10:30.
After coming back to the U.S. and reading more about the Haunch of Venison in Salisbury, I came to realize that my visit and meal were probably a little more special than I thought it to be at the time. Given the history of the place, the reverence that many bestow upon the pub, and the interesting and eclectic food that we were served, the Haunch of Venison turned out to be one of the "one-in-a-lifetime" places to experience. My only hope is that we get a chance to go back at some point - not necessarily to have food, but to at least have a Scotch or a beer at the bar with Tracey.
Food looks great, but I'm rather fond of bangers and mash. Mushy peas and Heinz Beans not so much. ;)
Posted by: Slakingfool | September 10, 2014 at 08:48 PM