Tom takes in the beautiful and eerie Norfolk Coast coast as a safe place to eat.
The White Horse’s ‘abundantly generous’ seafood platter
Whistle and I’ll Come to You. Possibly the most terrifying of M R James’s ghost stories, a tale of eerie East Anglian beaches, ancient bone relics and vengeful apparitions. A ruined sheet has never caused so much fear.
The classic BBC adaptation was filmed at Waxham, a few dozen miles down the coast from where I’m sitting now, in The White Horse at Brancaster. The view over salt marshes has an eerie, desolated beauty. As the tides sweep up the unwary, the huge winter sky changes from a brilliant blue to an ominous gray. A sinister ghostly figure on the distant horizon is what I see, calling me to my imminent doom.
However, tequila is the best spirit to be found in my immediate vicinity, as it’s the basis of an excellent passionfruit margarita. My only worry is that I will have to get up and leave my comfortable chair in one of the best seaside bars. It’s one of those places where the service is as warm as the food is unpretentious, where the kitchen has the confidence to let the ingredients speak for themselves.
There are tinned Catrineta sardines, some of Galicia’s finest, fat, luscious and sweetly oily. Lobster bisque combines elegance with a deep crustacean sound, while potato terrine is pure winter ballast. Its special combination of truffle and potato contains the yolk poached from a single egg, bringing everything together in one oozingly concupiscence.
Brancaster Bay mussels are as fresh as you’d hope, being harvested a mere stroll away, swimming in the sort of thin, creamy garlic sauce that demands a hunk of bread. The skin of Barbary duck breast is crisp and the fat has been rendered perfectly. While the flesh of the bird has a satisfying texture, it has a crispy pink color. The tart taste of pickled blackberry juice is a nice complement.
Their seafood platter is abundantly generous for £65, with half a North Sea lobster, decently cooked. There’s a pot of saffron pickled cockles – an inspired creation – and a half dozen rock oysters, bold and briny, and some salmon, robustly smoked at the end of their garden. A couple of plump mackerel fillets and a few prawns also get the same treatment. One thing that is disappointing about this dish? The lukewarm fried shrimp.
A storm gathers outside and the night is cold. It is unknown what terrifying wraiths lurk in those desert sands. The inside is cozy and warm with lots of laughter. M R James would be proud.
About £30 per head. The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk; whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk
DRINKS: Olly’s wines with turkey
Go big this Christmas – pick the best wine you can. Red Rioja, with its gentle power and the ability to take on a variety of flavors from fruity sauces to rich gravy, is a traditional pairing. Pinot Noir, a New Zealand Pinot Noir, or the sacred French Burgundy sites are both delicious for a light, smooth treat. The US Zinfandel has a rich, fruity flavor, while the South African Pinotage is more subtle. Italian Amarone, a powerful wine that can be enjoyed in full throttle, is the best. Rich whites can be equally as impressive: oaky Chardonnay, or, for value, a peachy Alsace Pinot Gris.
WINE OF THE WEEK Jerome Galeyrand Gevrey-Chambertin Billard 2017 (13%), £43, The Wine Society. This succulent, young, and delicious Pinot Noir is full of layers of complexity, aroma, and flavor. This is a classic.
Specially Selected Alsace Pinot Gris 2020 (13%), £7.99, Aldi. Immense value for a plush peachy white that’s beyond delicious. It’s great for turkey curry.
Parcel Series Central Otago Pinot Noir 2020 (13.5%), from £13.99, Majestic. This beautiful, silky wine is almost perfect in its fruity framework.
The Best Amarone 2017 (14.5%), £16, Morrisons. Big as the Hulk’s biceps, this is a spicy wielder of joyful power.
L’Avenir Single Block Pinotage 2018 (14.5%), £28, wineand something.com. This Pinotage is as delicious and elegant as a fully-fledged cranberry. It has a wonderful structure and class. This wine is a show-stopper.