you may gather from the name that this pub is something of a “gastro-” one. the menu is embelished with less than common ingredients and combinations such as salsify chips and rhubarb compote, and i was salivating at the sight of beetroot and apple crumble on their website.

IRL the q&a wasn’t feeling as adventurous and i had to settle for pear and apple. same approach as smithfield, crumble packed into a terracota dish (which i believe might be called a cazuela but i could be wrong) in an attempt to “poshify” it. thing is, crumble ain’t posh, it’s an old fashioned pud which isn’t supposed to look neat and pretty. though i must admit, the little jug of custard on the side did.

the fruit was well-cooked and perfectly tart, with good constrast between the softer, sweeter pear and the tangier apple. the topping was more crunch than crumble (too much sugar) but the custard did taste as good as it looked: flecked with vanilla seeds and realistically pale.

marks down for small portion size and not enough room for mixing all three components together, so:

7/10

this restaurant used to be one of my favourites, but since the recession took grip it seems to have gone downhill. still packed every night, so they must be making money (that’s how it works, right?) but they appear to be cutting corners.

since the first, glorious time i tasted ooze’s crumble, i have been unable to stay away from the restaurant. the gorgeous, nutty topping has the perfect crunch and the balancing crème anglais envelopes, not suffocates, the main affair.

but what now lacks is the fruit. before, you could pick out the apple from the pear, the almonds subtly nestling in between. now, past the golden meal of a topping, there is just mush, without the clarity that a subtle sprinkling of cinnamon used to give.

ooze, you’ve got the icing, but not the cake. stop skimping on the fruit and i’ll give you a ten.

8/10

apple crumble and vanilla ice cream, served in a shallow terracotta dish. apple okay though not chunky enough, probably so it could be contained in the dish. crumble too compact. ice cream good, but really, it’s all about custard isn’t it? a good attempt on making crumble neat and tidy. which isn’t the point of crumble.

6.5/10