The one universal thing people miss when they move from city to country is a good curry. Genius of the Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire then to come up with Tuesday Curry Night.
But first a bit about the Beckford. Nestled slap bang in the middle of the picturesque Fonthill estate it’s been a destination pub in these parts for many years and a big hit with the hunting shooting fishing crowd.
Then came the takeover from a much younger duo, Charlie Luxton and Dan Brod, who brought their London ways with them. Cinema nights? Cocktails? Gourmet breakfasts with decent cappuccino? All of a sudden the Beckford had reinvented itself as a country pub with an urban twist. And the locals loved it.
Devastatingly, just one year into their ownership a fire almost razed the pub to the ground. The Beckford was painstakingly rebuilt and redecorated over the next 14 months; now it’s back and multi-tasking with a vengeance.
Yes it’s a proper boozer – impeccable ales from Butcombe and Keystone brewers, creamy Guinness, perfectly chilled cider from Ashton Press – but you can also get a side order of the crunchiest pork crackling or a slice of flakey, home-made sausage roll with your pint. On Sundays you can order a whole roast chicken to be carved at your table and in the evening there’s the cinema club – collapse onto a sofa with a plate of fish pie, a movie and the prospect of revisiting the bar as often as you want. Like it.
So, to the new curry night. We shared the lamb and fish curries which were both good – melting, well-spiced lamb slightly had the edge – and came with all the trad accompaniments of rice, naan, poppadoms and mango chutney plus a pint or a glass of wine. Not bad for £11.50 a head; really quite something for the depths of the countryside. Just make sure you get your curry cravings on a Tuesday night.
We also shared a platter of home-made ice creams – an extraordinarily vast offering of malted vanilla, cinnamon and salted hazlenut with a blob of cherry compote. I don’t normally think of myself as a pudding person but this combination, my God, we’re talking last meal on death row here.
There’s all kinds of other stuff going on at the Beckford – top knotch breakfasts, cream teas by the fire in winter or in the lovely, long garden in summer, the wonderful Bramley bath products made by Chloe Luxton, restauranty food (at restauranty prices) for evening blow-outs and luxed-up bedrooms for weekending Londoners (or for when you can’t face leaving).
Essentially though, it’s what it always was: a great country pub that offers good food and booze in an unbeatable location.
