I’m not a foodie. For me, food is a fuel – I am an eat-to-live, not a live-to-eat person, and it has not been unknown for me to forget to eat if I am busy and occupied with other priorities. But I do enjoy well-made and cooked meals, and avoid UPF and ready-meals, much preferring to cook from scratch.
I find that going out for meals can sometimes be a bit… meh, and often feel rushed and overwhelmed – especially if the restaurant is busy. And there’s always that awkwardness when eating with others when some people want all the courses and others opt to forgo a starter and sit there like – well, a pudding – while you try to enjoy yours.
Until now.
I was lucky enough to be invited to eat at Vraic – the new restaurant in town (well, out of town – at Chouet, in fact). Touted as ‘a new dining experience’ in Guernsey, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The website describing a ‘multi-course tasting menu, shaped by Guernsey’s unique produce, whilst maintaining a link to his Welsh upbringing with flecks of Welsh ingredients’, sounded intriguing, and the sample menu online was made up of a few words which I presume were key ingredients. But in the short time the restaurant has been open it has had rave reviews, including from celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, who had flown into the island especially to try it out.
He was impressed, describing the Vraic menu as 'some of the most amazing, exciting and tasty food I’ve eaten in a long time! Get on a plane people and go!’
Executive chef Nathan Davies was behind SY23 in Aberystwyth, which earned a Michelin star and was crowned ‘Opening of the Year’ in the 2022 Michelin Guide. Nathan boasts a varied career from working for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, to being a private chef in France.
He was also Gareth Ward’s head chef at Michelin-starred Ynshir for four years and has also been a finalist on the Great British Menu. At Vraic, Nathan is joined by his wife and operations manager, Hollie Davies, former SY23 colleagues, including senior sous chef Kuba, and new local team members from Guernsey.
So, on a Thursday lunchtime my colleague Amanda and I headed up to Chouet to try out Guernsey’s newest culinary experience.
We were warmly greeted at the entrance to the restaurant – not the door, the actual gate to the property – and invited to enjoy pre-dinner drinks either on the front terrace complete with fire pits and sheepskin rugs, or upstairs, to take in the panoramic views of Chouet.
The menu is served in single sittings, at 1pm for lunch and 7.30pm for dinner, and everyone eats the same courses from the same menu. This simplifies things for everyone – diners don’t need to make a decision, and staff aren’t rushing around serving different things to different tables. Every element of the experience, including a carefully curated soundtrack, is crafted to complement the rhythm of the service and the menu.
There is an extensive drinks menu and also a wine pairing option (£95 per person), but as Amanda and I weren’t drinking alcohol, we opted for water (still and sparkling) and also a glass each of non-alcoholic sparkling rose, which was dry and not too sweet (which many non-alcoholic wines can be).
The layout and decor has changed since Roc Salt. There is now an open kitchen running along the entire back wall – complete with barbecue – and the interior is simple and clean with a Japanese vibe to it. Natural stone finishes and clean lines of wood dominate, with deerskin touches and a large bespoke glass chandelier, and the large window looks out onto the seating area which is set out with the fire pits, large canopy umbrellas, sheepskin rugs and woven crab and lobster pots.
The restaurant has around 20 covers, and this weekday lunchtime all the tables were occupied, but the space didn’t feel overcrowded.
Our introduction to the meal began with an amuse-bouche of seaweed, crab and hazelnut, and a miniature lobster steamed bun which were presented to us on little pedestals. I have to admit something here – I am a bit of a fussy eater and not a fan of seafood or fish, but I figured that I could be persuaded if the preparation and cooking was good enough. So I plunged in and popped the seaweed, crab and hazelnut bite into my mouth in one go (as was recommended).
Instantly I was blown away – the crab was sweet, the seaweed providing umami and the hazelnuts (not something I would think goes with seafood) adding a slightly earthy, buttery and sweet taste with the textures adding to the experience. I was sold.
The rest of the meal continued in a journey of sights, smells, tastes and textures that surprised, delighted and amazed. From the jewel-like pieces of seaweed in broth, to the pillowy-softness and crunchy crust of the Welsh-grain bread slathered in miso Guernsey Dairy butter (‘Eat this like no-one is looking’), the surprisingly light and spring-like tasting turbot (along with the surprise course of crispy turbot skin with a sour cream and caviar dip – nothing is wasted), to the beery local sirloin beef, the lemony explosion-in-the-mouth meringue and the sweet (but not cloying) tangy yoghurt sorbet with pinecone syrup, which I could eat forever.
The service was effortlessly charming. Each dish was exquisitely presented, without being pretentious, and the ingredients’ provenance explained, including pine cones from Herm, Alderney salt, and local meat and fish, as well as the very locally-foraged seaweed, harvested just a couple of hours earlier. And it is evident that the staff love working there, they are knowledgeable, passionate and proud of what is produced, and happy to talk about it and welcome questions.
I won’t go into detail about every single course – I would probably run out of superlatives, and despite the number of courses, the portion sizes were just right so you didn’t feel overfull. It was one of the most enjoyable three-plus hours I’ve had in a long time – you’ll have to go to experience it yourself.
What about the price? £145 a head seems pricey, but a quick Google tells me the price is on a par with other tasting menus in the UK. And as Nathan tells us, he doesn’t expect people to regularly come back every month or two, and that you are paying for the talent, skill and the experience.
Is it worth it? Definitely. And I don’t think it will be long before Guernsey has a Michelin-starred restaurant again.
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