‘Tis the season

Over the past week, quite a few people have asked us what we made of the recent Budget …especially from the point of view of a small, independent hospitality business.

Tempting as it was to share a few thoughts here, we’ve decided to stick with the old adage: If you’ve got nothing nice to say, say nothing at all! Besides, it’s nearly Christmas, a time for good cheer and good will to all…even HMRC!

So instead, here’s a quick round-up of what’s been happening at Wilson’s and what’s coming up over the next few weeks. December is always a hectic time in hospitality…busy services, big groups, and that ever-present pressure to make the most of the festive rush before the quiet months of January and February roll around.

To kick off December we held our first ever wine tasting evening last Tuesday, hosted by Alex from Modest Merchant. Alex has been on the journey with us since day one…in fact, he supplied the wine for the pop-up we hosted at Oscar’s back in summer 2023, before we even had the keys to the restaurant!

Many of our bestselling bottles are from his list, so it was a real pleasure to welcome him properly and share some of our favourite Spanish wines with a packed table of guests. Each wine was paired with a small plate from Henry, and the whole evening was a lot of fun…so safe to say there will be more of these in 2026 and as always, this newsletter will be the first place to hear about them!

On the food front, our new dinner menu launched last night and brings with it a whole lot of festive flavour. Christmas classics such as Glazed ham with pickled red cabbage are complemented by some Wilson’s classics, including the return of Chicken liver foie-fait now served with pickled kumquat (pictured above)!

Mains include an epic Confit duck with dauphinoise, port & blackcurrant sauce, and a side dish of sprouts is obviously on the menu…ours is pan fried with lemon & almonds since you ask…

We’re pouring Champagne by the glass, and opening some incredible wines from the top of the list, including a new Cabernet Franc from the Loire that pairs beautifully with the duck…text book stuff!

Henry’s been busy cooking up a new batch of our Wilson’s Cream Liqueur…think Baileys, but better, and boozier and perfect to round off a meal!

Hopefully all of that has tempted you and if so then we’d love to see you this side of Christmas…just click below and get yourself booked in!