Rare roast beef, horseradish and Yorkshire puddings at Wild Flor, Hove (Roarke Pearce)
Autumnal comfort and Sunday lunch at Wild Flor, Hove
It is the most sudden and contrasting change of the entire year. Falling asleep at the end of the August bank holiday, full of rosé wine and summer salads and waking up on the first of September fiercely craving game, pies, red wine, roast potatoes and rice pudding. Most dishes on the menu at Wild Flor are beginning to turn away from the vibrancy of summer colour to crimson and brown, a most welcome change, as the leaves start to turn.
The first grouse of the season has been served with celeriac and pickled elderberries. Rice pudding, served cold, but with the warmth and spice of fig or blackberry nudging through the creamy comfort. Crushed celeriac and hazelnut butter as a side dish, a gratin of Cornish mussels, farfalle pasta and girolle mushrooms, the menu is a feast of Autumnal delights.
Thoughts also turn to a proper Sunday lunch. Rare roast beef with horseradish and Yorkshire puddings calls for savoury class and a classic claret. Something like Chateau des Annereaux 2007, from the underdog Lalande-De-Pomerol. Just enough fruit wrapped up in the graphite and cigar box, properly decanted and showing its silky nature.
For roast chicken stuffed with pistachio and brioche a bottle of good white Burgundy is gospel. Head for the Macconais for a bottle of Viré-Clessé from Les Heritiers Du Comtes Lafon or the spectacular Macon-Fuisse from Jules Desjourneys, both open, showy and potent wines with good structure and ideal for quaffing.
The last of the late summer glut of courgettes and green tomatoes are partnered with roast saddle of lamb and is delicious paired with Dalamara Estate’s Xinomavro ’Naoussa’ from the mountainous north of Greece. A spectacular and self-assured wine with the aroma and palate of black olive, tomato stalks, wild mint and thyme. It echoes the elegance of Burgundy, the attitude of Barolo with an intense and beguiling fruit that is perfect with Autumn lamb.
A fitting finale to Sunday lunch is a proper pudding such as a fruity Bakewell tart and custard and a glass of Vin Doux Naturel, a Rasteau from Domaine Des Trapadis. Gently fortified, not so much as a port, there’s a lively crunch. Teenage port for the excitable diner to round things off nicely.
Reservations can be made for the ground floor restaurant on tables tucked into banquettes or in the airy, light filled first floor dining room, which is ideal for families and larger groups.
About Wild Flor
Wild Flor is a neighbourhood restaurant on Hove’s Church Road, serving classic British and European cooking alongside world-class wines. The menu has a strong focus on locally sourced and hyper-seasonal ingredients while a fantastic wine list mirrors the menu in balancing quality and value. The beautifully pared back interior evokes the ambiance of rustic French elegance.
New head chef Chris Trundle boasts an incredible CV, having held head chef positions at the Michelin-starred Manfred’s in Copenhagen and Lyle’s in Shoreditch, London. His style of food favours honest and uncomplicated dishes using hyper-seasonal ingredients that makes people happy, using classic cookery techniques.
Robert Maynard, Faye Hudson and James Thomson run front of house operations as co-owners with many years’ experience at some of Brighton’s best restaurants. All three have known each other for years and share an immense enthusiasm and commitment to delivering a first-class dining experience and bringing all that they love about food and wine to Hove. In Wild Flor they have created a relaxed comfortable setting for diners to enjoy some of the best food and drink the city has to offer.
A bustling and residential area, Church Road is lined with artisan shops, wine bars and restaurants, where Regency houses back on to the seafront, only a few minutes’ from Wild Flor and fifteen minutes’ walk from the centre of Brighton.
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Opening Hours
The times are for first and last reservations, but the restaurant stays open until midnight or until the last table is ready to leave.
Monday to Wednesday - Closed
Thursday to Saturday - Midday-3pm and 6pm-9pm
Sunday – Midday-4pm
Wild Flor
42 Church Road | Hove | BN3 2FN
Book a table online for either the ground floor or first floor dining room
www.wildflor.com
info@wildflor.com
Telephone: 01273 329111
Instagram: @wildflorhove