Knowing where the food on our plate has come from is important to most people these days. As a result, many restaurants pride themselves on building strong links with local producers and farmers. They can comfort diners of the journey their produce has travelled to make it to the table. Few, however, can claim to offer true farm-to-table dining quite like Wilsons.
The low-key, neighbourhood restaurant in Redland has recently expanded its farm, becoming Wilsons’ sole supplier of vegetables, fruits and herbs. You can’t get fresher than that! No wonder the restaurant has a Michelin Green Star, which is awarded to restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to sustainability.
Approximately seven miles away from the restaurant, Wilsons’ ‘no-dig’ farm produces enough fruit and vegetables for a weekly changing set menu. Each week, a new menu is written based entirely on what is growing and ready to be harvested. Surplus produce is used in bread and bakery items, and sold at the newly opened Wilsons Bread Shop every Saturday.
Sustainability has always been at the heart of Wilsons’ ethos since opening in 2016. Beyond what they can grow, co-founders Jan Ostle and Mary Wilson only work with producers and traders that use ethical and low impact methods. Wilsons sources its beef from the biodynamic farm Three Pools and poultry from Woolley Park Farm in Wiltshire. For venison, Wilsons goes to Grove Game Larder, with pork products from the neighbouring Belmont Estate.
This Autumn, homegrown celeriac was transformed into ice cream, and served with Wiltshire truffle and fermented honey. While other in-season servings have included Devonshire scallops with Tokyo turnip and scotch bonnet, and Ichi Kuri squash cooked slowly within lobster to make Cornish lobster, herbs and butter sauce on the plate.
Wilsons’ hyper-seasonal, weekly-changing six-course set menu is £60 per head. At lunchtime, Wednesday to Saturday, Wilsons also offers a menu du jour lunch special for £25, which comes with a glass of natural wine. To book now head here.