The Cricketers, Clavering in Essex: Bowled Over
Once the preserve of Trevor and Sally Oliver who successfully served crowd-pleasing pub food for 44 years, that’s successful Essex-boy-chef Jamie’s parents, btw, this gastropub with rooms was recently taken over by the Chestnut group. Their cache of 12 atmospheric places to eat, drink and stay span the east of England including the Packhorse Inn in nearby Moulton, Newmarket, and the Rupert Brooke in Grantchester on the outskirts of Cambridge.
Entering the picture-perfect country pub on a late summer afternoon, having driven through the rapeseed-yellow fields that flank the narrow north-west Essex lanes, the atmosphere is easy-going and welcoming. It was a relief not to have to sit in a lobby and fill out forms, instead the cheerful barmaid got the key and showed us the way to our room. I’d brought my then 16-year-old, Maya, so we drank Tea Pigs tea and at the posh biscuits to keep us going until dinner.
A makeover has updated rooms housed within the 16-century main pub and, in single-story buildings dotted around the grounds and across the road. Graded ‘Good,’ ‘Better’ and ‘Best’, Good are housed in the pub, ours was a Better, pink and grey with an on-trend tree-patterned feature wall, lent a coolness by the addition of a Danish design classic Wishbone chair and an Essex element by the fur rug and pink, fluffy cushions. Close to the pub, it felt private but not too remote. I do think they stinted on the plain white bathrooms, which don’t quite match the cosy-comfort look elsewhere. Designed for less mobile guests, the Best rooms have bold botanical print wallpaper or a rich teal theme and inviting terraces for a morning brew.
In the dining room space, creaky old wooden beams and caramel leather chairs contrast well, helped by industrial-style low lighting. Our waitress kindly tipped us off that a wedding party was due in, so we got our order in quickly. I like that kind of service.
The Oliver family’s love of Italian food isn’t that prevalent on the new regularly changing menu, although the wood-fired pizza oven remains and is fired up twice weekly. Local supplies also, er, pepper the menu, from Maldon salted almonds and Priors Hall Farm meat to cheese from Cambridge and Norfolk. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Michelin Guide, who recently awarded the pub a Michelin Plate.
Hugely indecisive, I didn’t necessarily order well, picking a salad for both starter and main. The first tomato-based version was just right, with a handful of pretty yellow and rich-red varieties adding sweetness to my night. I’d say I overdid it with the second salad, the Cricketers Superfood. A big bowl of all things healthy from avocado to quinoa, pomegranate, beetroot, roasted squash, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cucumber, broccoli, baby spinach, basil, blueberry and ginger dressing was lovely, yes, but too much on top of the other. So, I stole too many of Maya’s Adnams battered onion rings, sweet, hot, crispy and satisfying. She was more than happy with her healthy ramen noodles and tofu in a satisfying herb and green veg-infused broth.
Come morning, aside from a stereotypical Essex boy/man-racer zooming around the village in his sports car, all was peaceful. We ate creamy porridge with berries and fluffed-up pancakes sat outside in the morning sun.
Given the fame of Jamie Oliver, guests may well include fans following his formative years in his parent’s pub’s kitchen, although they’d be missing a trick. If a location could multitask, then this one surely does, firmly in Essex yet sneakily close to the borders of both Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Proving airport hotels don’t have to be faceless chains, Stansted Airport is a 20-minute drive away. Jacobean Audley End House & Gardens is reachable in half that time. Pukka.
Doubles from £140 B&B www.thecricketers.co.uk; 01799 550442