Lots of lovely art, a great relaxing walk and food that’s far, far better than you have any right to expect. Nick will happily race back to 24 at The Goodwood Art Foundation
Yes’, says the nice security man emerging from his designer wooden kiosk, ‘ I can see your reservation’. With the roof still down on our ancient car (the last ten or so miles have been glorious for open top motoring) we roll the last few hundred feet down an immaculate driveway to a small car park surrounded by woods.
This is the The Goodwood Art Foundation , a seventy-acre site that the owner, the Duke of Richmond, has dedicated to art. Not only is there a futuristic gallery in the trees, and works of sculptural art dotted around various walking routes, there is also a restaurant also designed by Studio Downie Architects, vaguely resembling a crashed spacecraft which, in addition to art on its walls, has works of art on all the tables in the shape of a menu driven by the seasons and local produce.
It really is a stunning site. Walking into a kind of all-white lobby, you round a corner to meet a corridor awash with light from above that gently draws your eye straight down, over the tables, and on outwards over the terrace to the views through the forest and on to the coast.
The main room is impossibly high ceilinged and this with the glass walls, gives a wonderful sense of calm, almost zen-like, tranquility. As the day is warm, but not quite sunny, we head out to the terrace which is raised on stilts to be at one with the greenery all around.
A half canopy ensures some shade for when the sun does blast down and also protects from rain. Something we found useful because at dessert time a sudden light shower had those outside the canopy’s cover sprinting for dry land, while we remained blithely insouciant.
The set menu from chef Harry Cartwright is clear and crisp. Two kinds of nibbles to share and then choose one starter from three, one mains from three and one dessert from three. It all changes depending on season and availability.
Whole wheat focaccia has erupted to create a fluffy bread with its lid blown off. Soft chewy pieces can be torn off to then be slathered with Marmite butter. I love Marmite myself, but even if you’re a hater you’ll still enjoy this.
I wasn’t too sure about the yellow split peas dressed with salt and vinegar, quite an addictive nibble but my main issue was more personal; my Hampsteads are increasingly vulnerable to crunchy foods and so I was living in fear with every handful I tossed in. But like I say, highly addictive, so I carried on playing Russian Roulette.
Nutbourne beef tomato, Cascable chili, seeds, red onion and rocket starter was excellent. Nutbourne tomatoes are grown pesticide-free not far from Goodwood and are one of the tastiest you can grow in the UK, while Cascable chili is a mild chili that adds piquancy.
Red onion and rocket combined with a variety of seeds, I suspect Sunflower and pine nuts among others, created a ‘jammy’ topping to the tomato. This wasn’t my starter but I enjoyed the few morsels I was allowed to taste by the remorseless eating machine otherwise known as my wife.
I had a fishcake, for some reason I really fancied a fishcake. It was a good sized portion not overloaded with potato and the fish was fresh from the coast. I liked the crispy exterior and the fluffy interior, and the caper and watercress mayonnaise cut through well. Not a dish to set the more demanding critics on fire, but just right for a relaxed lunch.
Now I rarely order steak, it can be the most boring thing on the menu and quite frankly I can cook steak at home. However, seeing ‘bavette’ steak on the menu, I was immediately hooked.
Bavette is the French name for flank steak and it’s very similar to my all time favourite steak, onglet. Both cuts are taken from the abdominal/diaphragm muscles of the cow. Overcooking any steak is a crime, but overcooking bavette should be a hanging offence. It has to be seared hard on the outside and the inside left very rare. It’s not for everyone because of that.
This is perfect, a bit of a smoky exterior and meat that is loose and which requires a bit of fork work to get every flavour-packed ready-sliced piece. It’s surrounded by a sauce labelled as peppercorn. I don’t pick up much of that, but it’s a lovely sauce, rich and just the right viscosity to drape the meat but not smother it. Braised red chicory adds a perfect bitter note. Chicory really doesn’t get much love in the UK, I was told by a Dutch grower that they barely bother selling to our market, such a shame.
P has a South Coast trout perfectly grilled for crispy skin. Shredded fennel, nicely wilted, provides an adult aniseed note, while a deeply flavoured bisque floats both the fish and a luminous creamy quenelle. We both share some new potatoes, which I assume from their frazzled appearance, have been dropped in the deep fryer, very nice too. Almost chips.
And so to dessert, Rhubarb Hazelnut and Rhubarb Sorbet was excellent. I was somewhat surprised to see rhubarb on the menu, mine went to seed some weeks ago, but I loved the way the rhubarb pieces here had not been stewed down but cooked to soft firmness to contrast with the nuts..
Burnt Cream doesn’t sound as sexy as Creme Brulee or Crema Catalana ( the latter substitutes milk for cream) but I love it. Here the gorgeous softness is set off by a juicy blob of Pedro Ximinez, a reduction made with the stickiest sherry in the world and possibly the most expensive.
With that we set off to enjoy the art, even though walking was now a bit of a struggle. The art side is not within the remit of a restaurant review, but it was very good and made the whole day a memorable experience.
Go to Goodwood? You really should
The restaurant’s three course set menu (£40) includes entry to the Foundation on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays when booked online in advance
24 is open daily from 9.30am-4pm during summer months and is open 5-9.30pm on selected Friday and Saturday evenings
Members of the Goodwood Art Foundation receive 10% on food and drink in 24.
24 will be closed 4-16 July during Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Foundation’s summer programme runs until 1 November and features artists including Nancy Holt, Yayoi Kusama and Eva Rothschild
Goodwood Art Foundation, New Barn Hill, Goodwood, Chichester, PO18 0QP