Micklegate has been looking a bit sorry for itself in recent years. That’s not to say that there aren’t some great businesses along there but the closure of places like Brigantes and Brewdog as well as the much-missed Ken Spelman books has left a few notable gaps in the street, though I gather one of those is likely to reopen before too long. The lengthy construction of the new Aparthotel can’t have helped either, but now that’s complete, the street is ready for an injection of new blood. Step forward Wet.
Wet on Micklegate has landed in the space previously home to Notes which took over from Fish & Forest when that moved onto larger premises. It’s an intimate little space that’s fairly minimalist but still feels welcoming and cosy. Service is friendly and personal to such a degree that I never even set eyes on a wine list before a couple of bottles for me to sample have been selected, both white and refreshing as a precursor to a later switch to Beaujolais in honour of the day of our visit being Beaujolais Day!
Getting into the serious business of food, I decided to abandon any pretext of choice and leave the decision to our server, taking into consideration my dining companion’s vegetarian status. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one but I know of a chef-consultant who’s been helping Wet on Micklegate get their menu together and could see his fingerprints on a good few of the dishes. From the eight savoury dishes we ended up with five plates which arrived as one would expect, at a leisurely pace but without dragging on unnecessarily. That said, I enforced a wait until everything was on the table ready to be photographed… the camera eats first obv. A good rarebit balances just on the line between stodge and sharp relief thanks to the combination of beer and mustard but this one brought another of my favourite things to the party – Hendo’s. When a dish arrives with a bottle of Henderson’s Relish just for your table it’s a sign that things will progress well, as indeed they did. The rarebit hit the spot and we were soon in the swing of things tucking into Jerusalem artichoke that had been confited then served with ricotta whose delicate sharpness complemented the soft and earthy artichokes, a vegetable not seen nearly enough.
Beetroot is another favourite of mine but I tried to show restraint in the face of my vegetarian friend who didn’t share my recourse to the meat based dishes, with limited success. Simply presented with a zesty gremolata to help it live its best life, another tremendous showcase of one of my favourite vegetables. Meat dishes came next with lamb sausage coming accompanied by beetroot that, this time, had been given a touch of charring. The lamb was tender and well seasoned while benefitting from a generous spice too but my favourite plate matched one of my favourite vegetables to an unusual meat. Celeriac is a much more flexible vegetable than some give it credit for and presented as a mash here it made a superb backdrop for gamey chunks of ox heart with crispy shallots thrown in for good measure. All this food only attracted a debt of £45 which was superb value, the quantities certainly weren’t skimped on and we even had a few bits leftover to take home for snacking on. Wet is a great addition to a street which is hopefully on the up again now, the wine was memorable and clearly chosen with great care while the food represented superb value and some originality.
