Outside The Wicked Lady

THE Wicked Lady is so called because it was a haunt of a 17th-century highwaywoman who, according to legend, terrorised Hertfordshire before bleeding to death in a mid-robbery accident.

The stylish pub/bar/restaurant is situated in the intriguing location of Nomansland Common in Wheathampstead, and when setting out to dine at The Wicked Lady, I was sure there was going to be a sinister magic to the place.

There is certainly an air of magic here, but there is nothing evil about it. In fact, the only slightly-unnerving experience I had was just how much of the menu I devoured.

The Wicked Lady was refurbished when the management changed hands in November 2006, and it is looking good as a result. The spacious dining section has a modern, pine-themed design, but manages to retain a cosy pub feel with touches like a log fire and huge, chunky wooden benches in the centre for larger groups to dine at.

My partner and I arrived at The Wicked Lady on a jam-packed Friday evening, and were greeted warmly by several of the youthful, energetic staff. We were shown to our fireside table and felt instantly mellowed - a culmination, I think, of the dim lighting, warming blaze and cheerful background chatter of fellow diners.

The menu at The Wicked Lady contains classic pub favourites, but with a more-refined spin.

Dishes have been planned to be ideal for social eating. There are plenty of sharing platters, pizzas and sides that would be great for dipping into during conversation breaks if you don't fancy a full-on feast.

Our stomachs were growling, however, so it was the three-course option for us. To start I chose a pasta dish of pumpkin ravioli with pinenuts and baby spinach. This was a delicious combination of sweet pumpkin purée-filled ravioli purses scattered with fresh, shredded spinach and a handful of crunchy pinenuts, and made for an exciting mix of textures in every forkful.

The cosy decor inside the restaurant

My partner sipped a tangy bowl of wonderfully-fresh tomato and basil soup, accompanied by a few hunks of the warm bread which was brought to our table with this course along with dipping oils.

My main course was the classic fish pie with a cheese and dill crust. This arrived in a deep bowl next to a small side-dish of sweet and sentimental mushy peas. The pie didn't scrimp on the fish - including a sea of yummy prawns and salmon chunks - and was kept nice and light with fluffy top layer of cheesy mash with dill. On our waiter's recommendation, I ordered extra vegetable sides of honey-roast parsnips and carrots, as well as greens, leeks and peas, and a few scoops of these rounded my meal off nicely. As did the Pinot Grigio blush spritzers I washed it down with.

My partner's selection was a fired pizza - a thin, crisp base topped with circles of soft mozzarella, spicy sliced pepperoni and chorizo sausage and sprinkled with plenty of tiny-but-deadly jalapenos. A great pizza, but not for the faint-hearted and spice-shy. My partner's mouth was suitably sizzling after a few slices, but a few gulps of his lager soon sorted that out.

For dessert, I could just find room for the light and zingy lemon tart, served with a cool dollop of crème fraîche, but looked on in awe at my partner's impressive and intoxicating almond amaretti ice cream with protruding ears of soft chocolate chip cookie. I managed to fight for a taste, and it was worth it.

The Wicked Lady is a fantastic restaurant for relaxed dining, good food and a good time. I'll be back.

The bill
Ravioli £6.50
Soup £4
Fish pie £10.50
Pizza £8
Vegetable sides £6.25
Lemon tart £5
Amaretti ice cream £5.50
2 rose spritzers £7
Lager £2.70

Total £55.45 (excluding service)

Call The Wicked Lady on 01582 832128 or log on to www.thewickedladypub.co.uk

10:17am Thursday 5th April 2007

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