FOOD REVIEW: WILDWOOD

ESP's food writer Kelly Jackson was invited to sample Wildwood’s Christmas offering at an exclusive tasting event so if you're looking for somewhere to celebrate read on...

This year, the Italian restaurant has two Christmas menus – a classic menu and a deluxe menu. We had the opportunity to try a selection of foods from both menus, including starters, mains and a dessert.

The first thing that struck me was the value for money for a set Christmas dinner. From £22.95pp for the classic and from £31.95pp for the deluxe, diners can enjoy a range of festive delights with an Italian twist – and there’s lots of choice, with something for everyone.

To start, we were given the Chicken Liver Pate (spiced pear chutney and toasted hazelnuts on grilled sourdough bread) and the Truffle Mushroom Arancini (served with a truffle mayonnaise dip and cheese) from the deluxe menu. The pate was my favourite and is something I wouldn’t hesitate to have again; although the arancini was good, it had a little too much mayonnaise for me. The chef also served up a winter speciality, not on the Christmas menus, called Sambuca Prawns – it was delicious. Keep an eye out for this.

The mains consisted of items from both menus. Tuscan Sausage Ragu Busiate was a firm favourite among the group; the twisted pasta came with spiced pork sausage, sage, ragu and pangrattato. Two pizzas also came our way; a Winter Four Cheese, with goat’s cheese, blue cheese, mozzarella, mature cheddar and cranberry sauce, and a white-based pizza with mozzarella, caramelised onions, chestnuts, stuffing, rocket and… pigs in blankets! Yes, you read that right. While both pizzas are delicious, the four cheese variety had the edge for both me and my dining partner.

We were certainly spoiled for choice - that wasn’t it! Next, we sampled a traditional Christmas type dinner in the form of roasted turkey breast stuffed with chestnut and pork, served with winter squash puree, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and Brussel Sprouts. The turkey was tender and succulent and the squash puree added a tasty twist.

For dessert, we tried profiteroles drizzled with a caramel sauce, which we were told is part of Wildwood’s new winter menu, followed by a Tiramisu Martini – I’m not a fan of Martinis but this one won me over and went down a treat!

Wildwood, located in Peterborough’s Cathedral Square, is the perfect place for a Christmas get-together. I was thoroughly impressed by the variety of options available (including veggie and vegan) and the quality of the food, not to mention the cost. I will certainly be planning a revisit, just so I can try the Tuscan Sausage Ragu and Tiramisu Martini again while I can.

Book for Christmas at: https://wildwoodrestaurants.co.uk/christmas/