Artichoke
Amersham, United Kingdom
⭐1 Star
The Experience
From Michelin Guide
At the centre of a picturesque town sits this 16C red-brick house: a bijou place, with a heavily timbered interior and a contemporary design-led style. Self-taught chef-owner Laurie Gear brings together his experience from ‘stages’ at The Fat Duck and Noma in an array of menus. Accomplished, modern British dishes are confidently prepared and the well-measured flavour combinations have an understated complexity. Lamb is reared locally and venison is from the Woburn Estate, while seafood from Brixham is a highlight.
Unique Things
From Visitor Experiences
"A Michelin-starred dining experience at home or workplace": Artichoke offers not only a refined restaurant experience but also brings Michelin-starred dining to private settings, adding style and theatre to personal or corporate events, making it a unique extension beyond traditional restaurant dining.
"Interiors influenced by Scandinavian chic in a 16th-century Grade II listed building": The restaurant's design blends Scandinavian aesthetics with the historic charm of its old Grammar School building, featuring muted tones, amethyst glass, and local hand-crafted pottery, creating a seamless and welcoming atmosphere that respects heritage while feeling contemporary.
"Use of foraged herbs, berries, and flowers in modern European cuisine": Chef Laurie Gear incorporates locally foraged ingredients into inventive, seasonally changing menus, emphasizing a strong connection to nature and artisan producers, which distinguishes the culinary approach at Artichoke.
Ingredient Stars
From Visitor Experiences
The most honored or signature ingredients at the Michelin-starred restaurant Artichoke in Amersham include:
White crab meat from Lyme Bay: Used in a signature starter where it is encased in a delicate tube of passion fruit jelly, paired with avocado cream, shellfish mayonnaise, and cucumber sorbet. This dish highlights a balance of fresh seafood with vibrant, cleansing elements.
Passion fruit: Incorporated as a jelly around the crab meat, adding a bright, acidic contrast that enhances the seafood’s natural flavor.
Avocado cream: Adds richness and smoothness to the crab starter, complementing the fresh shellfish components.
Cucumber (sorbet and frozen slices): Provides a crisp, refreshing texture and palate cleanser in the crab dish, emphasizing the dish’s lightness and balance.
Truffle: Featured in items like the truffle choux bun and paired with honey for cheese accompaniments, showing the kitchen’s use of luxurious, aromatic ingredients to elevate dishes.
These ingredients are significant as they showcase Artichoke’s focus on natural flavors, precise technique, and harmonious combinations that highlight the main ingredient without extraneous garnishes. The crab starter, in particular, exemplifies the restaurant’s signature style of balancing texture, flavor, and visual appeal.