At the outset I should say I had never heard of Wilson. Was it in Derbyshire? Yes it was and just a stone’s throw from Melbourne, so after a quick trip down the A38 we arrived in the most idyllic village with timber and brick cottages and a pub dating from the early 1700s, which is famous for its beers. Formerly a Punch Tavern, The Bulls Head is now owned by Kevin Hall who has been landlord here for the past 15 years and has now put his own stamp and character on the place. It is definitely a pub of two halves, the bar area traditional and antiquated, then you emerge from here into a large dining area tastefully decorated in Farrow and Ball colours with low beams and small alcove areas. The new chef James, has a background in fine dining and has known Kevin for most of his life so this union is a natural one where business is concerned. Over the past 15 years Kevin has also been chef at the Bulls Head so having James on board with his undoubted talent alongside Kevin’s all round experience of the industry they create a winning team. We arrived for lunch and after ordering our drinks, which included a pint of Doom Bar from a popular Cornish brewery, we were seated in the restaurant for our meal. My friend was delighted to see a trio of his favourite beers on tap; Tribute, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Doom Bar all of which are very popular. The main course menu is varied and includes steaks, traditional English dishes, curries, fish dishes and vegetarian options. But to begin at the beginning I started with spinach parcels; triangles of crisp, buttery pastry filled with spinach and pine nuts, with a pleasantly dressed salad was served as accompaniment.
My friend chose asparagus as this has such a short season you have to make the most of it while it’s here. Served wrapped in a generous portion of parma ham, the spears were really tender and the mayonnaise very creamy. I followed this with breast of chicken which was really moist, helped in part by the warm stilton filling which oozed through the meat, the chorizo gave the dish a bit of heat and the bacon stopped the breast from drying out. A dish of well cooked seasonal vegetables were served alongside new potatoes and for a change a chasseur sauce. It was a generous portion, nicely cooked and presented. Homemade steak and stilton pie was my friend’s lunchtime choice. This is also served as a special on their ‘Early Doors Menu’, served 5pm-7pm Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm-2pm Wednesday to Saturday and with a drink (from a selection) comes in at just £5.90. It was filled with lean beef and stilton always makes for a rich deep sauce. Crushed new potatoes and peas were served to accompany this. Room for a pudding was getting tight but when we heard that they were all homemade by the chef’s mum, we couldn’t resist. What a good choice, the lemon meringue was absolutely delicious, a very crumbly meringue with a sharp lemon base, not thick with cornflour like many and thin crisp pastry. It was a perfect finish. As we enjoyed our coffee we discussed returning one evening and bringing my friend’s mum and sister, it’s always a pleasure to find somewhere new.
It is a lot lot better since Ian Pascoe took it over. Quirky place with quality food from a proper chef