Review: Albright Hussey, Shrewsbury

I felt almost guilty as I pulled up a chair at Albright Hussey. It's one of Shrewsbury's best loved restaurants, a well-established hotel venue where guests can relax in style and enjoy traditional comforts.

I'd been given a charming welcome by the hotel's general manager, Paul Subiani, who was overseeing restaurant operations on the Friday evening that I ate. I was looking forward to food cooked by one of Shropshire's most trusted chefs, Michel Nijsten, who's been at the venue for the best part of 10 years.

My internal monologue kicked in: 'Fool, damn fool.' Why? Simple. I'd not visited the venue for three years. I have no idea why not. I cursed myself for leaving it so long.

There's no need to mistake my absence from the venue for a lack of interest or a sense of having been underwhelmed on a previous visit. The reverse is true. I've eaten at Albright Hussey on several occasions and can remember with perfect clarity a number of dishes – chocolate fondant 2004, being foremost among them – and encounters with head waiter Malcolm. The venue pays attention to detail and has never given me cause for disappointment.

So I hold my hand up. My fault – not theirs. In an age of new restaurants, fancy Dan concepts and star chefs, it's too easy to take things for granted. It's simple to be dazzled by glittering new ideas – and forget that there are those who do things better, by sticking to what they know.

Shrewsbury is enjoying a gastronomic resurgence. It's on the rise – just as Ludlow was about 15 years ago. Before the Millennium, Ludlow was a quiet market town with a handful of half-decent restaurants. Then a small number of chefs arrived and tried to raise the standard. Shaun Hill, Chris Bradley, Claude Bosi and Ken Adams turned Ludlow into Gourmetville. The subsequent arrival of Will Holland cemented that reputation.

Shrewsbury hasn't yet got a Michelin star – and, truth be told, I'm not sure there are any restaurants knocking on that particular door just yet. It does, however, have a collection of exceptional chefs and restaurant patrons serving brilliant food in impressive surrounds.

The House of The Rising Sun, under head chef Adam Badland, is the newest kid on the block and is deserving of its probable success. Recent arrival Chris Conde, at Henry Tudor House, is another with his eye on the prize. The ambitious young chef has great technical skill and an impressive grasp of seasonal produce.

Badland and Conde won't have things all their own way. Matthew Strefford at the Lion + Pheasant is a class act who continues to turn out good food. Shrewsbury also boasts a top class tapas bar, half a dozen extremely good pubs and bistros and more besides. The guy who's been around longer than all of those, however, is Michel Nijsten. If the town has a culinary Godfather, it's him.

Michel formerly cooked at Albrighton Hall Hotel, while his CV also featured a stint at the Hostellerie de Hamert, a prestigious Michelin star hotel in Wellerlooi. In 1985 Michel moved to London for seven years working in the Savoy Hotel, Meridian Hotel, The Hilton Park Lane, Whites Hotel and Halcyon hotel among others. He then started his quest to find Britain's best regional produce, spending four years in Scotland and five in Devon before arriving in Shropshire 11 years ago.

Michel has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Shropshire food. Talk to him about sausages and he'll reel off the name of eight butchers and five pig producers, telling you what's good and bad about each. Talk to him about asparagus and he'll tell the exact field that is responsible for the county's best. Eggs, cheese, meat, vegetables, fruit – you name it, he's the go-to guy who has enviable contacts with the region's best producers.

It's not just Michel's ability to source fine produce that is impressive. It's also the respect and affection he shows ingredients when they reach his kitchen. Michel is half-artist, half-technician. He's got exemplary cooking skills, which are rooted in the classics. He also creates great combinations and flavour pairings, using his creative flair to produce gastronomic fireworks.

I'd booked a quiet table to enjoy an end of week supper. I enjoyed drinks in the lounge, where Paul engaged me in conversation for 15 minutes. He was charming and amusing. He is cut from the same cloth as his well-respected father, Franco Subiani, who is one of Shropshire's longest-serving restaurateurs and who oversees Romolo, in Frankwell. Paul does his father proud.

Paul presented menus, which featured a selection of new dishes created so as to celebrate the flavours of the season. I'd have been able to eat anything and everything from it. The best local game featured prominently, and I choose a rabbit consommé with confit rabbit and onion bread, followed by a pot roast pheasant with a pearl barley risotto. To finish, I opted for pumpkin tart.

Paul showed me through to the Moat Room Restaurant, which is redolent of a different era. Its wealth of oak panelling, original beams and huge open fireplace make it a delightful room in which to eat. Paul was supported by two impressive waiters who were attentive throughout the evening. Pouring drinks, commenting on menu choices and returning to my table frequently, they put in a faultless performance.

And so to the food. Chef Michel served a small amuse bouche of salmon with pickled salsify. The sharp pickle cut through the riches of the dense, protein-rich salmon. It whet my appetite for what was to follow.

I'd been looking forward to the consommé with great enthusiasm. Consomme rarely features on local menus – largely because it takes so much time and effort to make. It is a classic clear French soup, made using a mirepoix – combination of carrots, celery and onion – in addition to stock. It is simmered for hours, with impurities being skimmed from the surface, so that the final dish is as clear as crystal. Michel had created a rabbit consommé, which was utterly brilliant.

Full of rich, seasonal flavour, it had body and depth. There were small pieces of leek and tiny slithers of rabbit loin, to add texture and bite. I was tempted to pop home between courses and return with a flask, so that Michel could fill it and send me on my way. The attendant confit was buttery and intensely flavoured while the soft, dense onion bread was a perfect, slightly sweet accompaniment.

My pheasant main featured an outstanding pearl barley risotto. It had been flavoured with pheasant stock and was rich in taste. The pheasant had been pot roasted and small florets of broccoli were served with it.

I finished with a pumpkin tart, served with a lip-smacking toffee apple ice cream. Pumpkin is one of life's great ingredients. Incredibly versatile, it works beautifully as savoury or sweet – and Michel's treatment of the seasonal squash was first class. The top had been bruleed and my spoon broke into the sugary crust with a reassuring 'thwack'. My dinner was unhurried, the food was delightful and the service first class. There was little not to enjoy.

Michel's food was the highlight. He displayed real skill in creating his consommé and pairing it with a delightful confit and bread. His cooking was beyond reproach. The risotto, meanwhile – make with pearl barley, rather than Arborio rice – was packed with flavour. Brilliantly seasoned, it was the dish that only an experienced master could make.

Next time, I won't leave it for three years.

Andy Richardson

In a recent food column, we suggested that a customer had been told they were no longer welcome at The King's Head pub in Bridgnorth. This was not the case. We are happy to clarify the situation.