Is This Somerset’s Hottest New Restaurant?

Sandy Carr finds a spot of sunshine at Sam Lomas’s new restaurant, Briar, in Bruton.

Review: Briar, Bruton, Somerset

Briar has romantic associations. As Shakespeare’s ‘eglantine’, the sweetly aromatic blush pink petals made up Titania’s bed, and Briar Rose was the name given to Sleeping Beauty by the Brothers Grimm. In the here and now it conjures up nostalgic images of the English countryside, traditional hedgerows promising harvests of hips, nuts and berries. And it is that emotive appeal that seems appropriate and was indeed much of the inspiration for Briar, the new restaurant that has replaced Osip at Number One Bruton.

Number One opened its hotel in 2020 in a collection of historic buildings around a secluded courtyard in the centre of town. It has since built up an enthusiastic clientele and has been much praised for the warmth and homeliness that is nestled alongside its eclectic artsy crafty style. Vibrant colour on walls and furnishings softens the bare floorboards and exposed beams of traditional architectural features and antique susani textiles display happily alongside glossy 1960s fashion photography, a Kaffe Fassett mural and fabulous mosaic mirrors and candlesticks by local artist Candace Bahouth. The same stylish but sympathetic aesthetic applies to Briar. Osip was if anything a little austere, well suited to the elevated refinement of its food, but the new dining room with its sunshine yellow walls, earthenware pots and other elements of rustic chic is altogether more welcoming.

Briar’s gifted young chef is Sam Lomas, already a winner of numerous awards and an alumnus of River Cottage, and his cooking reflects a similar devotion to the fruits of the forest, field, farm and kitchen garden. His last posting was as Head Chef of Glebe House in Devon, where his food was described once as ‘utter perfection’, which might sound somewhat intimidating. In fact, his style is totally approachable, with food that is imaginative and inventive but above all meant to be relished and enjoyed. The connection between ingredients and locality is paramount. ‘I like the food I make to feel warm, generous and representative of where it was made. For me, cooking is most satisfying when I have a very direct connection to how it is grown or produced. Whether it has been grown where I work, or I know the farmer that reared the meat.’

The menu at Briar is tweaked daily depending on what is available seasonally in the restaurant’s own kitchen garden and from local artisan producers, who are abundant in this area of Somerset. A series of small and not-so-small plates can be shared or arranged in a conventional meal pattern. Two of us shared five plates and two puddings, which added up to a substantial meal, unlike Osip where an eight-course tasting menu, exquisite as it was, could leave you feeling only just fed.

We started with cheese gougeres topped with wild garlic capers and pickled brill fillets. The gougeres could have been a bit more cheesey and the capers were neither here nor there but the brill was truly divine – moist and delicate in a marinade of tomato water and basil oil. The so-called porridge bread served with it was also scrummy. Then came stewed shin of beef with butter beans– rich and hearty – a delicious shredded kale salad with beetroot and pickled quinces and a chunk of pollack, perfectly pan-fried with a wonderful lightly creamy sauce of diced potato and anchovy. Sam can really cook fish. Desserts were a luscious chocolate mousse with damsons and a disappointing Caerphilly cheese with greengages. Why is it so difficult to find an authentic Caerphilly cheese these days? It should be mild, moist, slightly crumbly with a hint of lactic acidity but is so often more akin to a mild Cheddar.

Minor quibbles aside, however, this was a totally satisfying meal fulfilling all the requirements of an excellent neighbourhood restaurant rooted in the locality, serving delicious seasonal food based on good ingredients much of which are sourced in the surrounding countryside. And the prices – £30 to £50 a head – are reasonable. The wine list too could be said to be locally sourced since many of the wines are supplied by Yapp, just down the road in Sparkford, a wine merchant renowned particularly for their clever sourcing of French regional producers, very evident here.

What more could one want? We’ll be back…

BOOK IT

Briar is open to residents and non-residents for lunch and dinner between Wednesday and Saturday. numberonebruton.com