Eating Out review: Grand Junction in Buckingham

There is something quite conservationist about what the locally founded Oakman Inns pub restaurant group is doing in our towns and villages and it deserves praise.

Oakman was founded in Tring with The Akeman, not far from the Bucks-Herts border, by restaurateur and entrepreneur Peter Borg-Neal.

And the company has grown rapidly - now boasting 40 pubs, hotels and restaurants across 13 counties - with a vision of rescuing important local buildings and turning them into thriving pub-restaurants at the heart of their community.

One of its latest restorations is a historic High Street pub in Buckingham which reopened its doors last April/May, after a major six-month project to completely renovate it.

The Grand Junction was originally built in the early 1800s alongside the Buckingham Wharf, the terminus for the Buckingham Arm of what was then called the Grand Junction Canal.

Under the ownership of the award-winning Oakman Group, the venue - previously known as ‘13’ - reverted to its original name.

The Grand Junction is instantly welcoming as its interior highlights its historical connections with the canal systems of Georgian England. The redesigned bar area offers plenty of seating wrapped around the long bar and a cosy fireside alcove. Those who have visited Oakman’s Cherry Tree in Olney will be instantly familiar with their surroundings as the steps lead down to a spacious restaurant seating 90. One person who is certainly familiar with the surroundings is brilliant GM Stevie Watts - formerly of The Cherry Tree.

There is also a private dining room and, across the far wall, The Oakman Group’s hallmark theatre-style kitchen, where the team of chefs prepare each dish. Outside is a Mediterranean-inspired courtyard garden with a large gazebo and large container plants. Clues abound to the history, customs and traditions of the Grand Union Canal – including lacquered paintwork, hand-painted signwriting, creative lighting and wall art – and even the floor tiles in the restaurant replicate the contours of the former canal.

But that’s enough with the history lesson and interior design assessment, what about the main reason we’re all here, the food and drink experience...

Staff are polite, extremely welcoming, attentive but - importantly - not intrusive.

Oakman has carved out a real niche by offering what I refer to as affordable fine dining. It is always a meal to remember without the silly prices that greet you at some other venues in the same bracket. After a seriously tough few years for the hospitality industry, it would have been easy for Oakman to lose sight of its core values and slip into that trap. Thankfully it has not.

There is plenty of choice for children and those looking for vegan and vegetarian options and all angles are covered from the delicious roasts to proper wood-fired pizzas.

If you visit for brunch or lunch I thoroughly recommend trying the Shakshuka. Not only does it look striking but it tastes wonderful too. Free-range eggs baked in a tomato, sweet pepper and smoked paprika sauce with grilled sourdough and you can add chorizo and or halloumi (I added both) to make this even more of a taste sensation.

There are a host of home comforts on the menu at Grand Junction from fish and chips, to cumberland sausage and mash and a plant-based cottage pie.

But the king of home comforts is the good old traditional Sunday roast. On a Sunday you can have the roast with slow-roast beef, porchetta pork belly, thyme-roasted chicken or mushroom and roasted butternut squash wellington. But the porchetta version is available on any day of the week.

It’s easy to see why, a personal Oakman favourite of mine, it never disappoints and didn’t at Grand Junction either. The rolled pork belly with fennel, rosemary and sea salt is accompanied by duck fat roasted potatoes, roasted roots and kale, Yorkshire pudding (of which you can order extra), gravy and apple sauce. Plus for every Porchetta sold, Oakman donate 25p to a local charity too.

There are a range of salads, burgers and pasta dishes but give the Calabrese al forno fusilli a whirl. I’ve had a similar dish in the region of its origin in Italy - Calabria - and this was every bit as good. Chicken, nduja sausage, chorizo, tomato and a white wine sauce accompanied by chilli, parsley, Marzanino tomatoes, Fior di Latte Mozzarella, Grana Padano, rocket and basil pesto. Sensational.

The fantastic wood-fired pizza oven sits in the heart of the kitchen in the main restaurant area and it takes an iron will to resist ordering something off that section of the menu. And I wasn’t feeling particularly iron willed on my visit.

The 00 flour, tomato sauce and Fior di Latte mozzarella are all sourced from Naples. The dough is proved for longer resulting in a lighter crust and every pizza has a unique smokey flavour and is authentically charred, something that is impossible to replicate with a gas or traditional home oven.

There is a choice of 11 pizzas and 11 additional toppings. But why not give one of the two calzones a try - I went for the prosciutto funghi and it was literally packed - as you’d expect from a folded pizza - with flavour with a combination of tomato sauce, prosciutto Cotto ham, mushrooms, Fior di Latte Mozzarella and rocket.

A choice of six desserts await if you still have room including baked choc chip cookie dough and an apple and blackberry crumble - which goes down a treat after a roast.

But if you’re struggling why not try something from the mini dessert selection. You can choose from a warm Portuguese custard tart known as pastel de nata, Bombolone - which is mini Italian doughnuts with chocolate sauce - or a classic Affogato - double espresso and vanilla ice cream.

Grand Junction is a homely, warm, atmospheric venue that is perfect for a family meal, special occasion or just a catch-up with friends. The outdoor area is perfectly designed for summer and the design of the main restaurant area has undoubtedly contributed to the excellent atmosphere. With ample parking right on its doorstep in Buckingham it really does have so much going for it.

Yet another feather in the Oakman cap and another important local building not only saved but given new purpose.