I’ve seen a lot of hospitality openings over the last decade or so doing this. Somewhat surprisingly I’m not actually particularly jaded by that succession yet and most new places that pop up pique my interest in one way or another. Occasionally, though, one really gets me going. One such business is Black Wheat Club on Fossgate which I’ve covered briefly already but having had the opportunity to return for evening service demands revisiting. Black Wheat Club comes from the lovely couple who have been serving up incredible street food Krep on Shambles Market, and distills their ambition to open an all day venue into a clear vision. I was lucky enough to have a look round a few times during fit-out and the scale of the endeavour was clear immediately, occasionally telling across Tom & Marta’s generally positive and relaxed demeanour. Now though it’s open and in full swing with the micro-bakery upstairs keeping brunch service in bread, buns and pastries while the ground floor keeps diners happy. Every brunch dish I’ve had has been exceptional and worthy of repetition so I approached my evening meal with expectations intimidatingly high.
The menu is split slightly ambiguously between smaller and larger plates, with some of the smaller plates reading like they would function as mains. There are a number of intriguing flourishes which mention the headline elements being joined by a host of intriguing sounding condiments that made it a struggle to narrow down our selection. There’s a distinct Eastern European flavour to much of the menu too, reflecting the owners’ background. The space itself is cooler than I’ll ever be, though no more intimidating for that being the case, and all the details are spot on with bespoke tableware and beautiful joinery that happens to be the work of a very talented friend of mine.
After some in-depth debate about the menu, we settled on Baron Bigod cheese, pierogi, Plaice, Pork Steak, Roasted Celeriac and BWC salad…gambling on our constitutions’ ability to cope with an influx of that magnitude. We selected a bottle of red wine from Georgia to wash it down with and things were underway before we knew it, with Baron Bigod first to arrive. This wonderful brie-style cheese from Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk is a firm favourite and the two wedges served here were generous and given a hint of caramelisation with a couple of rounds of toasted bread and two pink domes of a gel. This turned out to be chive blossom gel with an alium note at serious odds with the sweetness I’d expected which complemented the rich cheese perfectly; a seriously confident start before the baked potato and cheese pierogi with brown sage butter, sour cream and chives made its entrance. Pushing on for a decade ago, I had pierogi from a street food concept these guys put together and these matched up to those happy memories, with a deep richness from the potato dumplings and brown butter accented by sage and brought into relief by sharp sour cream.
Plaice with turnip, lovage emulsion, pickled agretti and mustard frill oil was a bit of a journey into the unknown for me with a couple of the accompaniments unfamiliar, but no need to worry of course as everything balanced very nicely indeed, with those preserved elements bringing a real zing to the plate before BWC salad arrived. Scattered with dukkah and making a feature of kohlrabi, this was every bit as good as I’d been led to believe, before another vegetable dish dropped into proceedings to celebrate celeriac. This had more dukkah for texture and brought romesco and a squash salsa into the mix too, drawing out all the strengths of one of my favourite vegetables. Last up came what will surely remain one of the highlights of my year, “12 hour pork steak”. This impeccably tender piece of meat was doused liberally with a leek, lovage and bbq sauce amongst which more chunks of tender celeriac were lurking. With a less delicate touch, this is the kind of dish that could easily be enjoyable but end up as an indeterminate mix of flavours. Here though, everything came together to showcase each element with aplomb while also becoming more than the sum of their parts.
I appreciate I’ve used a lot of hyperbole here, but I can assure you it’s justified. I had very high hopes for Black Wheat Club based on my prior experience and the team have absolutely smashed through most expectations, producing one of the most exciting hospitality openings in York for years. This is even more the case when you consider the breadth of the offering, which stretches throughout the day, as well as allowing you to call in passing for a loaf of bread or pastries. Truly a remarkable achievement and a real asset to York.
