White Horse Easton Review: Enjoying Perfectly Plated Food at The White Horse in Easton

You know, I do love a good pub. Almost all pubs across Britain have so much history to tell, are stranded in remote locations and serve up some of my favourite dishes. From the classic fish & chips and flaky pies, to finishing up on that indulgent sticky toffee pudding. With all that said however, The White Horse in Easton is a very different story altogether. Yes it does offer some of those classics for clientele who still demand a hearty fix, but they also offer a menu which isn’t only delicious – but original and interesting.

I’m a big believer that the first and last thing you eat should always be the most memorable and The White Horse Easton seem to understand that. We started our food journey here with some delicious snacks and excellent bread. Some cheesy aerated meringues (I think) and crackers of crispy chicken skin topped with a saffron gel topping. I didn’t quite know exactly what I was eating if I’m honest, but it really didn’t matter because the flavours were spot on. Each of those little loafs of bread were also awe-inspiring, a true testament to bread perfection and the whipped butter was an extra treat.

Starters continued with the delicious theme, opting for one dish from the a la carte menu and one from the blackboard menu. The terrine was certainly the highlight, leaving us all fighting over it. A tight pressing of pork with dollops of apple sauce, celeriac and truffle honey. Even better still was the crispy chicken with pea, bacon, Girolle mushrooms and hazelnut. A rich dish full of textures, flavours and utter satisfaction.

Main courses were another solid effort from the kitchen, but one was much more accomplished than the other. The roast rump of spring lamb, shoulder crustilliard, aubergine, courgette and spiced lentils was a very satisfying plate of food, though presentation wise it could have done with a little more effort and I wasn’t entirely sure of the crispy white meringue nuggets sprinkled on top. Flavour wise it was perfect. Star dish was the rare breed pork belly, braised sticky pigs cheek, BBQ hispi cabbage, cider onions and sage quaver. Quite honestly one of the most satisfying plates of food I’ve devoured all year. The pork was perfectly cooked and cut through like butter, the cheeks were soft and supple, the quaver was interesting and that BBQ hispi cabbage was outstanding. It added such a lovely depth and smokey flavour to everything, leaving a lovely lingering flavour in the mouth.

Probably the one thing we weren’t expecting after all we just ate was Michelin star standard desserts. Each had clearly been created with precision, love and care – which really came through on the plate. The lemon tart, raspberry, chantilly and g&t sorbet was legendary. Chocolate and cherry with aerated, roast white, dark torte, cherry sorbet and boozy cherries was outstanding, while the vanilla panna cotta, roast peach, honeycomb and pistachio satisfied every craving. If you visit this beautiful little pub  – make sure you save room for desserts.

The White Horse Easton really was the perfectly place to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. Nestled away within the Deben Valley and just 12 miles from the Suffolk Coast, this pub is the perfect stop-gap while travelling and its locals are very lucky indeed. Head chef, Dominic Clarke feels very at home here in this 17th century inn, serving a menu which isn’t only tasty, but exciting and for that reason I’ll most certainly back. White Horse Easton – I’ll be seeing you again very soon.

I was invited to review