Frome is a town quietly growing a modest foodie reputation, with it's twice-weekly street markets and monthly Farmer's market, not to mention the infamous Frome Deli, run by local culinary hero and madman Benoit. However despite this, it is a town that has been lacking a really top-notch restaurant for some time (without, of course, meaning any offense to Frome's handful of modest but seriously decent eateries).
This, then, is where Archangel is pitching itself - a classy venue serving unpretentious but remarkable food in an increasingly gastronomic town. Archangel describes itself as a hotel, bar and restaurant, but entering into its cosy front room with low chairs around a fireplace, one still feels a distinctly pub-like atmosphere. The crumbling stone walls and peculiar lay-out, with lots of very small, oddly-shaped bar rooms and the dining room arranged around a long stone corridor leading through to a spacious L-shaped courtyard, also hint at Archangel's former life as a coaching inn. The lunch menu, too, strikes a balance between high-end restaurant and gastro-pub, offering some really exciting and inventive starters - tataki of rare tuna with noodles and wasabi, marinated flat-iron steak with beetroot puree and radishes - followed by some more typical, but appetising, gastro-pub main courses with an emphasis on the best quality local ingredients - local fillet steak, local beefburger, local fish and chips and so on. They also offer an extremely well-priced set menu - 2 courses £13.95, 3 courses £15.95 - which today featured sweetbreads or confit of tuna, followed by assiette of lamb or grilled Cornish gurnard, with a choice of two desserts.
Indeed, the main courses on the a la carte menu were so outshone by the starters and the set menu that not one of us ordered one. My parents both took the set menu - my father ordering meat followed by meat, my mother fish and fish - while I opted for two dishes from the starters list: puffball, ceps, black pudding and hollandaise; and the flat-iron steak (doubled up to a main course portion).
My mother's confit of tuna was tender and rich, and accompanied by a perfectly-boiled egg - just wobbly in the middle - and a pile of tender green beans which were sadly rather short on seasoning. My father's sweetbreads also met with approval, although he said that the home-made tartare sauce rather overpowered their delicate flavour. My dish of mushrooms and black pudding, however, was exceptional. The pungent earthiness of the ceps with the equally rich black pudding and fresh, buttery Hollandaise could have been overly rich and cloying, but it was cut through with just enough lemon to balance it all beautifully. The firm, fleshy mushrooms, crisp black pudding and creamy sauce were an exquisite combination, and I mopped up every drop of juice on my plate with a piece of their extremely good home-made ciabatta.
The grilled Cornish gurnard, served with chorizo and confit tomatoes, was the best piece of fish my mother had eaten in a long time. The skin was beatifully crisp, the flesh succulent and flaky, and the chorizo and tomatoes the perfect foil for the delicately meaty fish. My father, inscrutable, said only that his lamb was very nice, and then ate it all, so I can only assume that it was good, but I'm afraid I can't go into any detail about how good. My flat-iron steak, served cold and very rare, was meltingly tender, and there were some subtle but very interesting flavours of spice and orange in its marinade, as well as the sweet and earthy beetroot puree. Again, it was a little short on seasoning, but I can at least say that the maitre d' was not shy or prissy about offering us salt and pepper to season it ourselves.
Indeed the service was excellent thoughout. We arrived without a reservation and the dining room was full (which is impressive for a Wednesday lunchtime), but they didn't hesitate to make us up a table in the bar area, and from then on we had full restaurant service and were never neglected, despite not actually being in the dining room. The staff were friendly, informative, passionate and helpful, and really made us feel welcome.
In short, Archangel offers a great atmosphere, impeccable and friendly service, and some very promising and exciting food which only occassionally fails to live up to its own aspirations.
7/10
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