For C's birthday this year, (a cold, windy Sunday) we ventured to the west and to The Publican. We've been here several times before and frequent the other establishments in this small restaurant group. The three things you need to know about The Publican are: oysters, pork, and beer. If you said "check, check, check" then you are in good shape!
Our menu was a bit different - Sunday's are low-key, 4-course prix fixe menus, with the option to pair complementary beers. We went with the beer pairing and had a really interesting (and quite delicious) menu:
Oyster & Celery Root soup
- with leeks and grilled sourdough
Grilled Sturgeon
- on top of lentils, Brussels sprouts, and yogurt
Braised Oxtails
- with fingerling potatoes and celery salad
Dessert was an Almond Macaroon with lemon(?) filling, a white chocolate ganache flavored with white pepper and rosemary - sounds strange, but was nice and light and complex!
We were less than impressed with the beer pairings, would have preferred to get our own and drink leisurely (plus, no weird "sweet and sour" beer) but it was a good experience and new for us. They did forget the celebratory reason we were there, but that is a recurring issue for us these past few years. Maybe we like birthday's too much...
