Fay Maschler reviews Wilder: Take a walk on the wild side at Terence Conran's chic new Shoreditch spot

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Fay Maschler27 November 2019

“Wilder than what?” asks my companion. We are sitting deep down, two floors down, in Boundary London, the Shoreditch hotel owned by Sir Terence Conran, now run by his son Ned.

Terence is a long-time friend, 50 years about. His third wife Caroline, mother of Ned, is one of my dearest chums. From setting up The Soup Kitchen in 1953, where two revolutionary aspects were the second Gaggia espresso machine in Britain and homemade stocks, to latching on — in partnership with chef Richard McLellan — to the notion of staunchly local and also home-grown and foraged ingredients, Terence has been in at the inception of well over 50 restaurants. That BHS, which until Sir Philip Green bought it was part of his Storehouse plc, has recently been launched as Market Hall West End, the UK’s largest food hall, must tickle him. Or maybe infuriate.

The setting at Wilder is industrial chic — the building was originally a Victorian linen factory — sporting an open kitchen, menacing globes of greenery from fashionable florist Worm and, as you might expect, stylish furniture. The menu is written shopping list-style, groupings of ingredients with no clue as to how they will be prepared — and sometimes not much elucidation coming from the staff.

I’ll help you. Pig’s head, beremeal, walnut; a luscious take on brawn clumped on a bread made from barley grown since Viking times on the Orkney archipelago. Bread cracker, carrot, oil; a snappy, shiny, bubbly flatbread served with carrot purée where the vegetable’s innate sweetness overrules. Curd, girolles, pear, linseeds; a somewhat random assembly notable for catching the pear in that small window of opportunity for perfect ripeness. Mackerel, cultured cream, pumpkin, sea aster; a collection where it would have been helpful to know in advance about the cooking of the fish — barely any.

Stylish: The interior of Wilder
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

The small portion of cod, trotter, cured yolk is judged by its recipient as having been made by someone in an advanced stage of hipster ennui. My dish of the day of roasted pheasant — game is much cherished — comes with a notably good finely chopped red cabbage stew. Dessert of apple, soured cream, lemon thyme, oats is a tightrope walk of sour/sweet, smooth/crunchy, pure/smoky — a delight.

At another meal, sharing cheese in place of dessert, I am startled by the grudging amount of Tamworth. On both occasions there is a little unannounced freebie of a nettle leaf encased in frilly tempura topped with a teaspoon of smoked cod’s roe purée that summarises the culinary proposition perhaps most ably of all.

My friend Melanie, producer of The Wine Show, is beguiled by the list devised by Lucy Ward with special mention for the Tissot “DD” Arbois Jura 2018. Wilder than what? Well, than the usual classic French meal that Terence would espouse. Good on him.

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