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Chester@Large reviews are highly subjective by nature. We're touch-feely. We aren't that bothered whether the best bitter is a degree too cold or the onions need to be a little bit more caramelised. Sure, we notice these things, but we care more about how a place feels to us, or how it makes us feel while we're there. Pubs and restaurants have personalities, like the rest of us. The ones we like best are the ones we leave already planning when we can get back for our next visit.
Nowhere, in recent times, has this been more so than with Artichoke. The old Steam Mill, on the canalside, is one of Chester's most distinctive buildings and cannot help but lend Artichoke a hefty dose of character. But, more than this, the old place gets its appeal from the people who run it. They are young, almost too young it seems, to be responsible for such a place. Look at the menu, look at the bar: this is grown-up stuff. Whose idea was it to leave these kids in charge? But there is an enthusiasm and an easy expertise about them that quickly disperses any doubts. They are proprietorial: you believe they know what they're doing and that they care whether you like it. They smile. You actually like them!
The bar area is conducive to socialising and relaxing, extending out through french windows onto the canalside with its york stone paving and granite runners. The dining room is deeper inside. Seating, both in the wooden floored bar and at the tables, is courtesy of weird classic retro Panton S chairs, which manage to make up for their alarming appearance by being surprisingly comfortable. These apart, the premises are decorated in a sensibly agnostic fashion, with bare brickwork dominating.
We have visited in the guise of a frisky young couple nibbling at small dishes, as a large party of garrulous ladies demanding the full monty and as a solitary old curmudgeon in pink socks. In each case service was efficient, friendly and without error. The menu has a familiarly contemporary look and feel, focussing as it does on the local, with a leaning towards hearty flavours. Goat's cheese, mackerel, black pudding, anchovies, smoked ham, rabbit and chorizo all featured on our last visit. But manly as these ingredients may be, they are prepared with a sensitivity and precision that shows both confidence and experience. Everything, including pud, is cooked in-house.
No less interesting than the menu is the bar offer. There are four hand pumps, each pulling a locally brewed beer, an inspirational cocktail list and sensible wine list. We had fun with the variety of vodkas from the house of Stoly, available in shots. The beer was spot on.
Prices are a smidgeon below average, which for the kind of quality you get constitutes a real bargain. Throw in the ultra-capable service and the pleasant surroundings and you have a really attractive proposition. See you next week.
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