Restaurant review: Wildwood

Where I ate:

Wildwood, Backnang Square, Chelmsford

The weekend before last I met up with my friend Laura and we decided to meet halfway in Chelmsford for lunch. We’d both been wanting to return to Wildwood since the time we went pre-cocktails and had been craving the hoi sin duck pizza ever since!

As it was a beautiful day, we dined al fresco – there are a number of tables outside, shaded by canopies, which is lovely. The only downside was all the pigeons – and the rain which started as we paid the bill, but luckily we ran for shelter in the shopping centre. I have to say by sitting outside, the service was lacking slightly – I mean we had to wait 20 minutes for drinks and I was so thirsty! That aside, it was very good again.

What I drank:

Mandarin mojito

As I got the train to Chelmsford (definitely quicker than driving and at £6 for a return, probably cheaper!),  I decided to have a drink. I didn’t really fancy wine and I wasn’t impressed with my raspberry bellini last time so finally settled on the mojito. I was really refreshing, but went down far too easily, although I only limited myself to the one. The mandarin flavour was strong and with the chopped mint, managed to keep its crisp freshness. I’m definitely contemplating making this by the jug load for garden parties or barbecues this summer.

What I ate:

Hoi sin duck pizza with rosemary fries, followed by Wildwood sundae

We both knew we were going to be sharing the pizza again as it was so good the last time; honestly, whoever thought up the concept of a duck pizza is an absolute genius! It’s almost like a giant duck pancake, the base is so thin! It was just as good as I had remembered, although seemed bigger than last time – I don’t even think the photo does it justice. We ordered a portion of rosemary fries each as one just wouldn’t be enough to share and they’re so moreish! I love the springs of rosemary and rock salt, seasoned to perfection. I’d definitely recommend sharing a pizza and then adding sides – the portion sizes are pretty big!

We managed to save some room for dessert and in true lunch date fashion, shared an ice cream sundae! We both had our eye on the Wildwood sundae, largely due to the amaretti biscuits so it was an easy decision to make without disagreeing. When it arrived, I was glad there were two spoons as there was no way either of us would have managed a whole one; it was so sweet and sickly. The amaretti biscuits were crushed on top of lashing of whipped cream; while raspberry and chocolate sauces were swirled between vanilla ice cream and there were even chocolate brownie chunks throughout the sundae. I dread to think the number of calories or amounts of fats or sugar in the thing, but my was it good! I’m sure I’ll be sampling the chocolate variety next time, it sounds divine!

It was so lovely to catch up with Laura, given I don’t see her everyday anymore and it doesn’t get much better with good food and sipping cocktails in the sunshine. I think next time we’re heading to LDN...