Well, yes. In the case of Marlow’s The Oarsman, that’s literally the case.
Marlow is one of those British towns that punches way above its weight in culinary terms. Tom Kerridge has his Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers there, not to mention his other Michelin-starred pub The Coach. And then, just over there, at The Compleat Angler, Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar has his restaurant Sindhu.
And now, adding to the mix, is The Oarsman, where Michelin-trained head chef Scott Smith is celebrating British game on his Sunday lunch menus, while it’s all in season. “It’s a staple in British tradition,” explains Scott, “and we’re proud to make the most of it while we can.”
While the season kicked off, perhaps predictably, with grouse, some rather more exciting, lesser known (and lesser eaten) options also feature, including snipe – the smallest of the game birds – and woodcock plus, it almost goes without saying, all the trimmings. Should that not float your boat / cock your rifle, there’s a vegetarian option – hazelnut and parsnip nut roast – and something more traditional in 32-day-aged Entrecote, spiced carrot purée, roast potato and Yorkshire pudding. Just to keep the theme going, the cows are flushed out of the grass at dawn and shot as they take to the air*
The Sunday lunch game menu will be available until 27th November. The Sunday lunch regular menu will be available for a long time after. For bookings, take a look at their website. But you knew that, right.
*No. No they’re not.
Neil Davey
Neil Davey is a freelance writer specialising in things you can do sitting down, but mostly eating, drinking, travelling and interviewing the odd famous person. The author of The Bluffer's Guide To Chocolate, Neil also writes for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Metro, Delicious Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, Escapism, Foodism and Hello!. Thanks to a karaoke machine in Montana, he once told a billionaire that he loved his sweet little pussycat nose and sang I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a Hollywood star, in the space of 15 minutes. He now generally stays away from karaoke machines in Montana.