Review: The Nut Tree is simply egg-ceptional

What came first, the chicken or the egg? It was a question we pondered throughout our eight course tasting menu at The Nut Tree, because both were extraordinary – the parfait of free range chicken livers with garden rhubarb, apple chutney and spiced brioche was not just a wonder to eat, but also to behold.

The egg on the other hand is head chef Mike North’s signature dish – disguised as a fresh barnyard version, complete with salt on the top. It’s only when you dig in, that instead of the soft white flesh and runny yolk, you dive into salted caramel, milk chocolate mousse and then praline cream, each having its own specific taste and texture, to form a spoonful of perfect heaven topped with popping candy.

But however divine, these were just two of the many exemplary dishes presented to us that night, the memory of which still lingers weeks later.

The Nut Tree in Murcott’s reputation precedes it of course, its Michelin star setting the standard before you even set foot in the place. But the problem with stars, if there is one, is that they can be rather intimidating, one imagining that the restaurant must be rather grand, expensive and fancy to have received such an accolade.

This couldn’t be less true of The Nut Tree, because although the food and standards are second to none, it is the most relaxed, unpretentious, friendly, oldy worldy village pub you can imagine.

Run by Mike and his lovely other half Imogen, the pair live there with their two children and have just undertaken a massive refurbishment project, which we featured here a few weeks ago. Closing for several months, Mike saw his dream kitchen realised earlier this year and was like a kid in a sweetshop when he showed me around. That he had managed to get his star under such previously challenging conditions said it all.

It meant that once they finally re-opened, we couldn’t get a booking for three months, its loyal customers flocking back in their droves.

The anticipation, however, was well deserved, because our resulting meal there was a triumph.

We were served drinks in the courtyard garden and then led through to the bar-side restaurant.

I won’t list everything that we ate, because with four for dinner, a vegetarian included with their own taster menu, and a son who went à la carte, there are too many to list, so I’ll pick our favourites. The salad of griddled English asparagus with peas, broad beans and aged parmesan was one, its simplicity belying its flavour – the smokiness of the asparagus, the lemony, simply braised lettuce – summer on a plate.

For the others, the chicken livers, the fillet of aged charolais beef with sautéed foie gras and pomme mousseline which elicited Turrets-like moans of “exception-al” or “so tender” at inopportune moments, the salmon with whipped horseradish cream and Avruga caviar, or the “delicate” turbot, another favourite with green herb risotto and hollandaise sauce.

• The interior of The Nut Tree, in Main Street, Murcott

My son opted for a straight-forward starter and main, having his eye trained keenly on the steak, but was so taken aback by the duck entrée which came three ways, that he was rendered uncharacteristically speechless.

The steak then shut him up for good, one easy slice into the perfectly cooked cut transporting him somewhere beyond teenage realms, from where he was reluctant to return. “That wasn’t just good steak, that was exceptional,” he managed.

But for me, it was the desserts which triumphed. The egg had already taken my breath away, but just when I promised that not one more wafer thin mint would pass these lips, the raspberry soufflé arrived with its own sorbet, tasting so light I thought it would float off, that inspired mix of soft, sugary sweetness and the sting of the raspberry. Sublime.

“But how much?” I hear you cry from the stalls. £60, I kid you not. £60 a head for the whole lot. OK with wine, which again was as exceptional as the food, it was more, but that’s still £7.50 a course, which for food and ingredients this good is almost unfathomable.

So go. It’s where I send my friends when they want to venture somewhere a bit special, and we have so much on our doorstep right here in Oxfordshire, we need to learn to embrace the stars and give them the appreciation they deserve.

As for the chicken or the egg, well the jury’s still out on that one.

The Nut Tree
Main Street, Murcott, Oxon, OX5 2RE
01865 331253 nuttreeinn.co.uk

Opening times:
Tuesday to Saturday
Lunch: noon to 2.30pm
Dinner: 7pm to 9pm
Sunday: Lunch noon to 3pm

Parking: Yes on site

Staff of note: Mike North, head chef, Imogen North, front of house