The Shippon, Wrexham

Finally, a good quality eaterie on our doorstep (ish).

The Shippon at the Plassey, Wrexham, opened on Friday after an extensive refurbishment of the old milking parlour.  The decor makes great use of the original features but also brings some much need light to what was previously a dark, slightly claustrophobic space.  There’s plenty of room at the bar if you just want drinks rather than to dine.

I was delighted when I found out that patron and chef was Mark Ellis, having very much enjoyed the experience Allium, his Tattenhall restaurant, offers.

The menu offers seasonal flavours with the option to opt for al carte style courses or a range of lighter bites on the Lounge Menu (including a range of tasty sounding breakfast dishes served for 10am-1pm).

We had three courses from the main restaurant menu for 4 with 3 alcoholic beverages and one soft drink and the bill came in at £135, which for the amount of work that had clearly been put into each dish, represented good value.

All the options from the main menu offered beautiful presentation with distinct layers of flavour.  I enjoyed sampling some local trout as part of my starter; which was light and beautifully paired with grape and fennel.

They offer wine tasting sessions (pre-booking required for groups of 2-4) and afternoon tea at £15 per person.  If you can’t decide what to pick of the menu, try the ‘Experience’ menu; £40 per person for 6 courses.  This can also be paired with wine or gin for an additional £25 per person.  If you’ve not had the pleasure of food pairings with gin before, this really is worth a go.  I was lucky enough to sample food and gin pairings at a recent Warner Edwards evening at The Chester Fields and it was a ginny revelation!

As word gets out, I would expect peak times to book up so would advise giving the restaurant a call or booking through the online facility on their website.

n.b. The tealight holders are salt not quartz to save you tasting them.  You’ll see what I mean if you go! 😉