Restaurant review | Wildwood

Where I ate:

Wildwood, Backnang Square, Chelmsford

Nearly three weeks ago, I met up with my friend Laura for dinner and drinks – and of course an evening in Chelmsford could mean only one place: Wildwood! It’s our favourite place to go to; the food is always good, it’s reasonably priced and there’s always a lovely atmosphere. I think they’ll start knowing us by name soon, we always seem to get the same waiter.

What I drank:

Mandarin mojitos

The cocktail list is pretty good, with classics like Cosmo and Sex on the Beach, as well as two types of mojito and several Champagne based drinks. I had the mandarin mojito last time and it was lush, but it’s definitely one of those drinks more suited to a summer’s day when you’re sitting outside. I really didn’t fancy wine though. My first tasted more like orange juice and the citrusy mandarin was nowhere to be found. The second was a lot nicer though, so refreshing – the trouble is, they go down too easily! Next time, I think I’ll try the Wildwood mojito... it’s like your usual mojito, but it’s topped with prosecco!

What I ate:

Hoi sin duck pizza with rosemary fries, followed by salted caramel & popcorn sundae

Laura and I always share the hoi sin duck pizza – it is incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever order anything else from the menu, because it’s that good! The base is always freshly baked, hot and crisp and the toppings are just divine. Think a giant crispy duck pancake – salty duck, sweet sauce and plenty of fresh cucumber ribbons and spring onion. There’s no way either of us would be able to eat the whole thing so we always share and order the fries seasoned with rock salt and rosemary sprigs – an excellent accompaniment.

We had quite a wait after eating so decided to order dessert – which was lucky as there’s no way I could have managed one straight away. Last time, we shared the Wildwood sundae which was lovely, but I chose the salted caramel & popcorn variety from the specials menu. I had high expectations and wasn’t disappointed when it arrived. There were layers of salted caramel sauce swirled into vanilla ice cream, topped with lashings of cream and handfuls of salty popcorn. The popcorn and sauce right at the bottom was quite sickly, but it was lush. Laura went for the chocolate sundae which looked really sickly – she said there was a lot of Baileys in it... one to try next time!

I can’t believe Brentwood are finally getting a Wildwood – I cannot wait, but I’m worried I’ll end up there every weekend!