The heart of the matter

woodcock

We headed to the St John’s Chophouse for dinner, and perused the menu over drinks (a pint of Sparta for me) by the bar. I opted for the venison heart and pork terrine for my starter. Sadly, the photograph didn’t come out well, but three round slices of venison heart meat surrounded a softer pork interior were presented along a side salad and beetroot slaw. Very good, I thought, and it went well with the Three Stones pinot noir (from New Zealand.) The baked duck egg, with leek and mushroom (and, I’m told, cheese) also received appreciative noises.

For my main course, I opted to have the roast woodcock, with dauphinoise potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, and jerusalem artichokes – from the specials board. I was surprised when it arrived to see it whole – as the photo above attests, the head and neck were still attached and (I soon discovered) so were the giblets. I guess it makes sense, as that could be a right pain to have to remove for every little bird.) Readers will no doubt realise that I’m not the sort of person to get squeamish about such things, but I imagine perhaps some customers with more delicate sensibilities (and cognitive dissonance when it comes to the origin of meat) might be perturbed. Still, it was delicious – deeply gamey, and worth the effort of removing meat from bones. Interestingly, it sat on a square of toast – I guess, perhaps, that’s a traditional way of serving woodcock, but I don’t know!

I had room for dessert, and opted for the “Cambridge Burnt Cream,” which I insisted on calling a Trinity burnt cream, with a glass of the Domaine Treloar muscat. Another thoroughly excellent meal from the Chop House, which has never failed to impress with the consistent quality of its food.