Good food all sewn up (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Good food all sewn up

4:11pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in Eating Out Reviews

PAULINE LEIGHTON admires the decor and the food at a one-time drapers and haberdashery

There is nothing quite like a good meal in a cosy, semi-darkened restaurant oozing with atmosphere – even more so when the said eatery is steeped in history. And the Rat’s Castle in Faringdon has oodles of it.

Walking into the two-storey premises, with its spacious, old-fashioned shop windows, is like stepping back in time – around 160 years, to be a little more precise.

The first thing you notice are the aged, imposing mahogany shelves which look like something out of a BBC adaptation of a Dickens novel. You half expect to catch a glimpse of Wilkins Micawber, Uriah Heep or Mr Pickwick.

Then there is the curving staircase which leads to an oblong first floor gallery, adding to the time capsule feel of the Rat’s Castle.

It became no surprise to learn that the bistro, located in Bromsgrove, just around the corner from the centre of the ancient market town, was once a shop.

What is incredible is that it served as a drapery and haberdashers for about 120 years – from the 1850s until the mid Seventies.

Playing an important part in the daily lives of Faringdon folk, the shop – originally Goddard’s Drapers – sold everything from gentleman’s outfits, hats, hosiery, and various items of sewing and knitting materials to furniture, carpets and lino.

One of its owners during the late 19th Century was a Reverend Fish, of the family which went on to open the well-known Swindon car dealers.

So how come the prominent mahogany shelves and distinctive staircase – not to mention a host of other Victorian features – are still in situ?

It is all down to John Betjeman. So concerned was the future Poet Laureate and champion of traditional English architectural values that the building would be modernised that in 1969 he successfully campaigned for it to become Grade II listed.

Having been transformed into a successful restaurant in the Seventies it was initially called Mistinguet – one of the first nouvelle cuisine eating houses in the area.

A later restaurateur re-named it in honour of his previous pub, The Swan at nearby Radcot, which – for reasons lost in time – was known to locals as the Rats Castle.

In recent years the restaurant – where diners eat on both the ground floor and the gallery – became vacant until the current owner snapped it up at a blind auction.

The night we were there a party of some 30 or so had taken over the gallery, and from the sounds of it, they were having a very convivial time. No matter, we were happy to dine downstairs and lap up the ambience – and the adventurous dishes.

We started with soup of the day (£4.95) and linguine tossed in truffle oil with sundried tomatoes and prawns (£5.25). Both were delicious and left us savouring the prospect of the mains.

Now this is where my eyes proved bigger than my stomach! My choice of pork tenderloin with black pudding (£15.95) was big enough to feed Desperate Dan, and came in a cream and wine sauce with wild mushrooms and onions... and cheese dumplings. Three of them!

It was very good indeed, but not for the faint-hearted.

My husband went for a lighter option, pan-fried sea bass with a tagliatelle of vegetables and crab meat (also £15.95), and pronounced it excellent.

All main courses come with a choice of potatoes and vegetables or salad. Service was great – friendly but not intrusive – and we left feeling we had had value for money.

The Rats Castle runs a Tuesday Supper Club when you can sample some of the dishes and a glass of wine for £10. There is also a specials board with dishes starting at around £7. Sunday lunch is £12.95 for two courses and £15.95 for three.