Michelin Bib Gourmand
2008

Local Secrets: The Hole in the Wall, Little Wilbraham

Locally sourced and grown meats, organic where possible, take pride of place on the balanced and considered menu. This is a kitchen that understands the sourcing and preparation of meat well - a free-range pork loin with a sage and onion crust from the specials board was tender, with strips of brittle crackling and a buttery crust. A roast pheasant breast was kept moist and delicate with a wrapping of plump, crisp bacon and a delicious onion and port reduction. Fondant potatoes, famously difficult to prepare, were an unexpected and delicious accompaniment; crusty, buttery and cooked to perfection.

Because the menu relies on the seasonability of local produce, it changes between three and four times a month. A specials board, which changes daily, also offers a good selection. Our meal, in the same week as Burns' Night, featured haggis fritters with a sweet and earthy beetroot chutney, a terrine of local ham hock with a coleslaw of celery and apple, free-range, locally raised pork and some well-kept game; whatever the time of year, visitors can expect to be offered a wide choice of local foods. Desserts were excellent. A chocolate fondant, recommended by the server, came with preserved black cherries and a white chocolate sauce; and an apple and butterscotch crumble, again from the specials board, was rich and delicate. The dessert menu also offers a selection of English farmhouse cheeses.

Service is helpful, pleasant and informative, while the cooking and presentation is something the owners can be proud of. There is real enthusiasm for the food at The Hole In The Wall; expect to leave with a smile and something of a waddle in your gait.

Local Secrets www.localsecrets.com January 2006

The Inn Thing

[...]The pub itself is a venerable Tudor pile, although the dining room dates all the way back to 1984. Rural artefacts—chaff bellows, gurnard pickers and sluicing poles...well, something like that—hang decoratively on the walls. The beers that are available on tap are local: two from Norfolk and a fresh, hoppy bitter from Ely.

Gutsy British ingredients pepper the menu: haggis, piccalilli, Chepstow duck, black pudding, even rhubarb from a nearby garden. I started with dressed Cromer Crab, which is served ‘properly garnished’ as menus used to say, with tiny capers, chopped shallots, sieved hard-boiled egg and lemon mayonnaise; gratifyingly large chunks of meat lurked in the shell...The choice of a Chilean Cabernet Franc was a revelation: just the sort of quirky, interesting, well-priced bottle that an enterprising pub should sell.[...]

Bill Knott, Waitrose Food Illustrated - September 2006

A Delight to Find

"Delighted to find this cosy and welcoming ancient pub on a cold December day! We ate in the snug, with a wonderful old range fire casting a cosy glow. There is an even bigger wood fire in the other bar, which has a livelier atmosphere, but we couldn't resist the old range.

Food was absolutely delicious - especially the haddock tart and the seabass. Apparently the steak was perfectly cooked as well. The thick chips were piping hot, crunchy and crisp. Service was friendly, welcoming and efficient. We will definitely go back and are looking forward to working our way through the rest of the tempting menu and the specials.

Can't recommend it highly enough! A delight to find this so near to Cambridge. I read about it in Waitrose Illustrated a couple of months ago and now wish I had visited sooner."

Ruth (customer review online) December 3, 2006