The Artichoke

“Setting the regional standard with dazzling modern cooking” - AA Inspector
AMERSHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE


Our Inspector's view
Amersham's finest continues to set a regional standard for dazzling modern cooking delivered with engaging brio in an atmosphere enlivened by views of the kitchen pass. Laurie Gear offers a sheaf of tasting menus, as well as the standard prix-fixe, a set lunch and vegetarian options. He's the kind of chef unafraid to do the simplest things: a plate of just al dente risotto flavoured with parsley roots and dressed with melted Lancashire Bomb. For fish, there could be skate wing garnished with diced apple, sea beets and triple-cooked chips seasoned with powdered capers and vinegar, in a sauce of mussels and cider. Succulent venison sausage is partnered with a terrine of potato cooked in beef dripping, red cabbage purée and beetroot. To finish, there may be Cambridge burnt cream offset with poached rhubarb, blood orange and aerated white chocolate. Preliminaries include the unmissable Chiltern Black Ale bread with lamb-fat butter.
Facilities – at a glance
Vegetarian menu
Tasting menu
Private dining
Wheelchair access
Service charge
Features
- Seats: 48
- Private dining available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Steps for wheelchair: 1
- Assist dogs welcome
- Closed: false
- Wines under £30: 5
- Wines over £30: 208
- Wines by the glass: 14
- Cuisine style: Modern European
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the area
About the area
Discover Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a land of glorious beech trees, wide views and imposing country houses. Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli savoured the peace and tranquillity of Hughenden Manor, while generations of statesmen have entertained world leaders at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s rural retreat. Stowe and Waddesdon Manor are fine examples of even grander houses, set amid sumptuous gardens and dignified parkland.
The Vale of Aylesbury is a vast playground for leisure seekers with around 1,000 miles (1,609km) of paths and tracks to explore. Rising above it are the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covering 308sq miles (798sq km). They are best appreciated in autumn, when the leaves turn from dark green to deep brown. In the southeast corner of the Chilterns lie the woodland rides of Burnham Beeches, another haven for ramblers and wildlife lovers. Although the county’s history is long and eventful, it’s also associated with events within living memory. At Bletchley Park, more than 10,000 people worked in complete secrecy to try and bring a swift conclusion to World War II. Further south, an otherwise unremarkable stretch of railway line was made infamous by the Great Train Robbery in the summer of 1963.
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