We’re waiting for the Uber to take us from our meal at The Lighthouse back to Jim’s so that he can continue to batter me at both pool and darts in his games room. Yes, he has a games room. I suppose in another home it could have been a separate dining room, an additional living area, or maybe with the use of a hammer, an even bigger living area, but here in rural Derbyshire, Jim has chosen this room for a large orange American pool table, darts board, vinyl records and beer mat collection. A man cave if you like, except there are no stairs to a cellar or sense of an impending midlife crisis. I ask him what he thinks of the meal, to which he says that he really enjoyed 90% of it. He asks what I think. I tell him that they should get Chef Patron Jon Hardy on to Great British Menu as soon as possible and that he should bend whatever naff theme they have that year into place to put the szechuan butternut squash course on, with whatever means possible. Be it a ceramic prop of Trump’s head, or the sound of Putin riding a horse bareback (I’m hedging that the 2027 theme will be ‘WWIII’). That dish needs to be put in front of Kerridge, Lorna, and the other one, because that dish is absolute gold dust. Banquet winner. Book deal. The restaurant is full every night. Bosh.
So I liked the szechuan butternut squash. We’ve established this and we’ll get to it in good time. But first the important bits. The restaurant is in the middle of nowhere, straddled roughly equidistant between Burton, Derby, Uttoxeter, and Ashbourne, meaning you will need a designated driver or pre-booked taxi. Secondly, it’s very pretty and the staff are both kind and attentive. And then the food, which, if TripAdvisor is to be believed, is the best in Derbyshire. A knockout chilli and coconut broth goes down a storm amongst the four of us, being bright and deep in flavour. Then a flurry of snacks; cheesy sable biscuits that taste like Ritz sandwich biscuits though pleasingly less feet-like, a superb bite of raw red prawns with a little red curry at the base, and some confit duck leg on a pancake/crumpet that is a touch stodgy and sticks around longer than the meat.
First proper course starts four in. Kombu cured trout with nahm jim is a refined take on some punchy flavours with pearls that don’t quite burst as intended, followed by very good milk bread with two butters; one a slightly cheesy number dotted with dried apricot, the other a vibrant parsley butter with chive oil with gets cleared significantly quicker than the other.
And then the squash course happens. Looking at it now on paper it has absolutely no right to work and yet it does, cohesively, with nothing but pure unadulterated flavour. At its core is a heavily roasted rectangle of butternut squash, sat in a puddle of cheese sauce cut with coriander oil. There are pops of szechuan pepper that cause the palate to numb and then come alive and yuzu kosho – the greatest condiment on the planet – for pops of hot citrus. It’s borderline genius. Hang it in the Louvre. That end of year top ten list of mine is already looking very tasty, but this has to be in it.
After that they really hit their stride. Fat scallops come with a beautifully burnished crust, and really sing because of the unexpected pairing of tart gooseberry against the sweet flesh. Then beef in two serves; first a slightly jarring tartlet of raw beef that’s garlic heavy, followed by a fillet of beef that’s the rarity of being both meltingly tender and full of flavour. With this is peas and a killer sauce of glossy beef stock and black bean. I suspect chef has eaten at Ynyshir recently and that’s no bad thing, especially when it produces a sauce of this quality.
Pre dessert is a blend of strawberry sorbet with macerated strawberries, cashew milk, meringue, elderflower, and dill oil. I enjoy it, though others on the table think that the dill is far too strong. Then a well made opera cake of chocolate and pistachio that sings due to an inspired sour cream ice cream. Petit fours include a strawberry and matcha fudge and a blackberry pastille. Both are overworked.
Two bottles of wine between four of us, with an additional four glasses of wine and four cocktails, means that the bill is £600 between four. I actually think that’s good value. I left The Lighthouse with a clear thought that it was a nine-out-of-ten review, though having stewed on it I’ve come to the conclusion that it is a very good restaurant which could be an excellent one with the tightening of a few dishes. Jon Hardy can clearly cook and has an understanding of how to pull dishes together that create interest. Should the tiny details be addressed; the duck pancake, the failed spherification attempt, the balance of a couple of courses, and the petit fours. Get these right and it won’t just be me singing their praises, but the guides that look for total consistency. Regardless of this, it’s well worth the journey.
8/10
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