Our New Lunch Menu in Wells: Croques, Tartines and Garden Plats
David SchroetterShare
New on the pass
Our New Lunch Menu in Wells
Daniel has written a new lunch menu, and it is on now. Lighter, more French, and built around three things we keep coming back to: croques and tartines, generous garden salads, and a board in the middle of the table. A few steps from Wells Cathedral, in Heritage Courtyard off Sadler Street.
Cooking with the season
A menu written for late summer
The menu turns with the year. The braises and long-simmered dishes that carried us through the colder months have gone back into the winter repertoire, where they belong, and Daniel has brought in the things that suit a late summer lunch instead: salads, tartines, and produce that wants very little done to it.
The new arrivals are a tin of Ferrigno sardines served as a board, a fresh set of hors d'oeuvres, and three garden plats, which are salads in the French sense: a proper plate of food rather than a side. The croques and tartines have been reworked too, and lunch now runs midday to 2.30pm.
All served with dressed leaves and grated carrots
Croques and tartines
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Croque Monsieur
£15.00Wiltshire cured ham, mature cheddar, sauce Mornay
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Croque Madame
£14.00The classic Croque Monsieur, topped with a fried egg
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Smoked mackerel tartine
£14.00Confit tomato tapenade, flaked smoked mackerel, herbs, lemon oil
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Tomato and Comté tartineV
£13.00Comté custard, sweet caramelised onions, heritage tomato salad
Two croques this season, with the Madame in its classic form: the Monsieur, with a fried egg on top. If you want the background, we have written a guide to Croque Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle.
Salads, served generously
Garden plats
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Salade PérigourdineGF
£16.00Slow-braised crispy duck leg, grilled artichokes, pickled cherries, crushed pistachios, white truffle dressing
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Salmon niçoiseGF
£16.00Poached salmon, soft-boiled egg, marinated olives, confit tomatoes, fine green beans, mustard vinaigrette
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Goat's cheese and fig saladV
£15.00Grilled goat cheese, seasonal figs, roasted walnuts, onion marmalade and croutons
For the middle of the table
Boards
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Charcuterie board
£15 for one / £28 for twoTruffle saucisson, pâté de campagne, bresaola, coppa and chorizo, with toasted sourdough, remoulade, pickles and charcuterie sauce
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Sardines by Ferrigno
£12.95Served in the tin with house pickles, salted butter and toasted sourdough
The sardines are the one to try if you have not before. Conserverie Ferrigno tin theirs by hand in Marseille, and they are closer to a delicacy than to a store cupboard tin. Choose citron confit with preserved lemon, huile d'olive with Camargue sea salt, niçoise with tomato, olive and caper, or escabèche in spiced vinegar.
To start, or to pick at
Hors d'oeuvres
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Olives and artichokeVGN
£7.50A classic bistro mix of marinated olives, sweet piquillo peppers and artichokes
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Cervelle de canut
£7.50Whipped goat's cheese, herbs, beetroots, honey, roasted walnuts and buttermilk biscuits
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Whitebait and tartare
£8.00Whitebait, house tartare sauce
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GazpachoV
£9.00Chilled tomato soup, toasted artisan sourdough
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Pâté de campagne
£10.00Remoulade, charcuterie sauce and toasted sourdough
Sides
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Somerset sourdoughV · VGN
£5.00Salted butter, or oil and vinegar for a vegan option
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Sautéed new potatoesVGN · GF
£5.00Garlic and parsley
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Bistro saladVGN · GF
£5.00Pickled shallots and walnut, mustard vinaigrette
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Bistro friesV · GF
£6.00Chilli and basil aioli
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TartifletteV
£7.00Roasted potatoes, confit onions, alpine cheese
The shop is the wine list
Something to drink with it
House wine by the glass is £8, or £9.50 for a large, red, white and rosé, all 100% Grenache with labels David paints himself. Beyond that, every bottle on the shop shelves can be drunk in for £10 corkage, which makes the whole wine shop your list.
Tell David what you have ordered and he will point you at something. A dry Loire white against the croques, something bright and coastal with the sardines, a light red with the duck salad. It is the part of lunch he enjoys most.
Come and eat
Lunch is served midday to 2.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and breakfast runs from 9am to 11.30am. The Pressoir, 10 Heritage Courtyard, Wells, Somerset BA5 2RR, a short walk from Wells Cathedral and the Market Place. Lunchtime tables are worth booking ahead, particularly on market days. First time visiting? Read how to find The Pressoir in Wells.
Food allergies and intolerances: please speak to our staff about the ingredients in your meal when ordering. Dishes and prices are correct at the time of writing and the menu changes with the seasons
More at The Pressoir