The Oakfield – Great history surrounded by natural beauty* #Review
Stephen Wundke
28th March 2019
We decided it was time for a visit to Cheshire’s biggest attraction, The Chester Zoo, and the reason wasn’t just for the amazing animals and the fact that they have achieved making Chester the first sustainable Palm oil city (we helped with that), it was primarily because we were intrigued to see what their new restaurant , The Oakfield was like.
This was a different assignment from the norm, as the Oakfield can only be visited by those attending the Zoo, which means currently that it doesn’t open in the evenings. No problem there, it had been a while since Gaile and I had visited the zoo and as Gaile’s dream job is to work with the chimpanzee’s for a day she took little or no encouragement to join me on this visit. I think it was more in the hope they might be a handler short for the day, sadly for her they weren’t but there was still a matter of lunch and when we arrived at the Oakfield, straight away we were impressed.
This beautiful building was the family home of Zoo founder George Mottershead. It is a handsome building with some of the rooms still featuring the oak panelling of days gone by. The current management have added a fabulous conservatory and thoughtfully staff tend to place those with younger children in this area. We noted on arrival that a company was using the venue for a day conference. The room that they had coffees and teas on arrival was superb. It really is a special venue for a conference and what fun at break time to see the nearby Lions and Cheetahs.
Inside the designers have done a great job, the right mix of old with new. The attention to detail is superb with the lining fabric of chairs featuring peacocks, birds and leopards, the glasses are embossed with the Oakfield logo, there are ramps for both disabled access and the various push chairs and the toilets, we both agreed, are second to none. Sorry no pictures from the toilets – Gaile thought that was a bit weird!!
We were greeted with big smiley faces and shown to our table, which was extremely well laid out with proper cloth napkins and complimentary water on the table. That is a nice touch and I think more and more places are realising how they can please their customers at little or no cost, just by going that bit further.
The menu choices were very good. They blend pub classics, like burgers, pies and grills with more elaborate dishes from Rump of Lamb to Sea bream. Gaile was impressed with the separate vegan and vegetarian menus and she decided it was time to try these as dining options.
Gaile chose for her starter, Hazelnut and brown lentil pate, bacon jam and toasted granary. The consistency of the pate was spot on but she felt it could have done with a bit more of a kick with the flavour. The bacon jam was strong and bold and held everything together. It was an odd name choice and hopefully wouldn’t put people off. It wasn’t bacon of course but the smokeyness was ideal with the pate. My starter was Smoked Haddock and sweetcorn Chowder with a soft hens egg and granary bloomer bread. All the flavours were evident, the hen’s egg runny and the bread lovely and fresh. A very nice start to our meal.
Everything is prepared fresh, which of course means certain dishes can take a bit longer and looking at some of the dishes served on other tables I was starting to get a bit of food envy, not that we had to wait very long but on another table a diner had the Braised beef cheek suet pudding, pomme puree and flavours of Burgundy. He hadn’t ordered a starter and was chasing his dish up after 5-6 minutes. When it arrived it looked fabulous and he devoured the lot. I sometimes wonder what people think it takes to prepare a dish like that from fresh. Had it arrived in just two minutes I can assure him it wouldn’t have tasted or looked as good as the dish he got. Patience is its own reward where food is concerned.
Our mains duly arrived and looked great. Gaile opted for Grilled Mediterranean vegetables, toasted pine nuts and caper berries with Crispy fried tempura tofu. It wasn’t quite what she was expecting but the flavours were strong and the tofu perfectly cooked. My main was, Sea bream, sticky pigs cheek, glazed carrots and crackling. Perfect carrot, soft, tender pigs cheek with Sea Bream that had a nice crispy skin and just, opaque flesh, the way I like it. Nice touch by the chef.
We finished our mains and were full. It was an ideal lunch that we knew we could walk off, which we did by visiting the monkeys, the reptiles and the birds of prey on our way back. Now where else can you do that after a nice meal in such opulent surroundings.
The Oakfield is a great addition to the Zoo hospitality offering. They haven’t skimped on the presentation and their front house staff are extremely good. I know they are keen to work out how to get people in to the zoo after closing time and if they solve that problem this will be a must eat venue on the evening dining scene. In the mean time it’s a lovely way to spend a day at the best Zoo in the UK, in a very nice restaurant.
* Today’s lovely experience was gifted by the amazing team at The Oakfield and we stand by all comments in the article, don’t believe us? Go give it a try for yourself, you wont regret it.
The Oakfield
Cedar House – Chester Zoo, Caughall Road, Chester, CH2 1LH
The Oakfield is no ordinary pub. Situated in the heart of Chester Zoo, this is a truly unique contemporary British pub. Indulge in freshly prepared locally sourced food.
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