The Blue Anchor – Menuwatch
TV chef Paul Bloxham is hoping that a market-driven menu will help to attract the home counties diners at his second gastropub, the Blue Anchor in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Neil Gerrard reports.
Paul Bloxham delights in his claim that his new venture, the Blue Anchor, is in what was once the red light district of St Albans. But the area has clearly mellowed somewhat since the 17th century, when the pub was built, and is now populated by genteel home counties types of a certain age.
It's the well-to-do daytime clientele, combined with the passing weekend trade from Verulamium Park, which runs along the rear of the property, as well as the nearby cathedral that made Bloxham decide it was worth taking on a lease with local brewer McMullen and shelling out £100,000 of his own cash on a refurbishment.
And while his other business, the Tilbury in nearby Datchworth, has a reputation more towards the fine-dining end of the gastropub scale, Bloxham is looking for the Blue Anchor to fit into Hertfordshire village life with a more simple, rustic approach that is all about the flavour of the food and less about the pomp of presentation.
That means a strongly seasonal, market-driven menu, with two dishes changing every week. Bloxham aims to keep the offering fresh by exploiting his contacts among Hertfordshire farmers and butchers, as well as with the bigger national players.
"These are well-heeled people in St Albans, but we still have to work bloody hard to keep prices keen. We are in a buyers' market at present, and I have been loyal to my suppliers for 15 years. I expect some of that loyalty to come back, and it is. It is not about buying power; it is about communication," he says.
A starter of locally-grown sprue asparagus, Jenny's free range bantam's egg and hollandaise sauce (£7) typifies the appoach, with the eggs coming from the village of Buckland, just a few miles down the road, from bantams fed on a diet of Weetabix and Little Gem lettuces. And an assortment of charcuterie in Mediterranean style makes use of British meats, such as air-dried Cumbrian ham (£5), Woodhall Farm salami (£3), Telmara duck pastrami (£6) and Old Spot pâté (£3). A platter selection of the meats is also available for £9.
But despite 40-50% of the produce used on the menu coming from Hertfordshire, Bloxham is willing to cast his net a little further if there's a good deal going. The megrim sole, shrimps, surf clams, samphire and crispy spuds (£14), based on Bloxham's French favourite, skate grenobloise, is a prime example of that.
"It's a season on a plate. Five minutes in a pan and you've got a dish that is just delicious, with great French origins and great British produce," he says.
The result is a summery dish, and the sweet-yet-firm flesh of the megrim, brought in on a Cornish day boat, is a worthy alternative to its more expensive Dover counterpart.
"It was witch sole last week, megrim sole this week. It could be skate wings or ray wings next week. We don't know, and neither does the customer - that's the fun of it," Bloxham enthuses.
And although the "Anchor" smoked salmon, Dorset crab and baby cress on toast (£8) also comes from further afield, the salmon is smoked on the premises using the Blue Anchor's own smoker.
Desserts are traditional, at least at first glance, although they too benefit from the occasional quirky twist. Bloxham disappears into the kitchen to ensure his brigade of four chefs produces a buttermilk pudding with roasted plums (£5) that has precisely the right consistency to produce the perfect "wobble" before it is served.
In addition to the 30-seat restaurant, with its 30-seat garden, is a non-booking bar, which helps contribute to the 120 covers that the pub can squeeze out of a service on a busy day.
Aside from the food, Bloxham is also keen to advocate the local ales, and it is hoped that the pub will soon offer its own exclusive McMullen brew, a 3.8% abv session beer, to be called Rusty Anchor.
Meanwhile, the interior of the listed building has changed little, and the dark wood panelling, timber joists and white slatted bar still point to the building's country pub heritage. And despite its history in an area formerly of ill repute, Bloxham and his team clearly hope that the Blue Anchor will earn a considerable reputation.
The Blue Anchor, 145 Fishpool Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 4RY
Tel: 01727 855038
WHAT'S ON THE MENU
â- Razor clams, chilli, lemon, garlic and mint, £7
â- Atlantic prawns with herb aÁ¯oli, half-pint £6, pint £10
â- Roast stone bass "byaldi" aubergine, cauliflower couscous and tzatziki, £13
â- South Devon breed sirloin steak, chips and béarnaise sauce, £15
â- Herdwick mutton chops, peas, breads, tomatoes, capers , mint and chlorophyll potatoes, £14
â- Apple and amaretto crumble and custard, £5
â- Buttermilk pudding, roasted plums, £5
â- Sticky toffee pudding, vanilla ice-cream, £5
