Critiquing The Critic – William Sitwell On His New Pub Venture
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3 hours ago
The food writer discusses being at the critics' mercy with Jenny Jefferies
William Sitwell is a food writer, columnist and restaurant reviewer for The Telegraph, and often seen on television as a judge on MasterChef UK. Sitwell is no stranger to hosting supper clubs and food safaris – his Sitwell Supper Club has been running for three years to success – but his latest venture transplants this experience boldly into a more permanent home. The little market town of Wiveliscombe, Somerset, now has an Italian menu at The White Hart by William Sitwell, in collaboration with landlords, Jon and Millie Coward. The 17th-century coaching inn will also be launching 16 rooms and a co-working space this spring.
Is the restaurant critic ready to be critiqued? Jenny Jefferies interviews Sitwell a month into his venture.
Interview: William Sitwell On His New Pub
The White Hart pub in Wiveliscombe, Somerset
Between 34 and 50 pubs close down in England each month. Is your new business a gamble?
It’s a huge gamble. Without question, it’s the riskiest thing I’ve done in my life. It’s a financial risk. It’s a reputation risk. And I’m entering the world of hospitality, having written about it for 25 years, at a time when it is on its knees. As you allude to, the figures are frightening; one pub on average closes every day, so part of me would say I’ve gone mad because I know about this business so well – I should have known better. But I entered into this thing with my eyes wide open.
When did the White Hart, the pub you’ve taken over, originally close?
It closed in July 2025, which was a great sadness to me and to many of the locals because it’s a fabulous ancient coaching inn that stands proud on the square in Wiveliscombe. I simply didn’t believe that that place wasn’t viable, in spite of the current grim economic condition. So I took it over and we’ve been trading now since 1 December.
Glassware courtesy of Richard Brendon, ‘one of Britain’s best glass-makers,’ says Sitwell. The lobby is designed by OKA.
And how is trading?
It’s going well. I’m pleased to say that, even for January, our numbers are looking fairly healthy. Trade is very quiet at the beginning of each week but then it slowly builds. We only do lunch on Saturdays, which is a strong day. We are slowly evolving the place and keeping a very firm eye on the financial tiller – so that we don’t employ too many people – and we plan to only grow as the business grows. We’re very cautious.
Why an Italian restaurant?
I wouldn’t do it in London, because what we serve comprises my favourite dishes from Italian restaurants so The White Hart’s menu is a sort of homogenised classics menu. In London you would want to offer a specialist regional take on an aspect of Italian cuisine.
Do you think this experience will make you more sympathetic to those in the industry you’ve criticised in the past?
I would say no, because I remain a critic, in that my job is to honestly describe the experience of dining – and The Telegraph’s additional brief is that I do it in a way that’s entertaining to read.
But I now know how it feels acutely to be criticised, however I can’t remove myself from my main job, which is to be a restaurant critic. I don’t see restaurant criticism as a sport in the way that Adrian Gill did. I am overwhelmingly positive about most of the places that I go to, but that might be more because I think the British dining scene is very good at the moment. In a way, this experience has given me greater insight than ever into the trade, which makes me a more incisive critic.
Which is more important: the food or the storytelling?
If storytelling is marketing, then marketing is everything, because it doesn’t matter how great your place is if no one knows about it. You have to be a great storyteller, but then you have to also have authenticity – and the story you tell must not have any holes.
Two-pronged storytelling: the carpaccio’s story must resonate with would-be diners, and then taste fantastic, to boot
For example, our chicken milanese has to be bang-on… Crisp, beautifully cooked… Our fries must be crisp, too, while our broccoli must be al dente and charred – but not overcooked, nor undercooked. Our wines must be served at the right temperature. The environment has to be perfect, and the lighting has to be great, so that when people come in, because they’ve heard about this place, they get to be more impressed by the entire experience than they were by the story that they had heard in advance.
Where did your passion for food come from?
I have absolutely no idea, because I was a sort of shrivelled up piece of skin and bones as a child. I didn’t really eat and had no interest in food. I didn’t like school food, and I didn’t like the food I ate at home. I sat alone in the dining room, pushing peas around my plate while everyone had left because I had to finish.
I suppose I’ve been making up for lost time in my career as a food writer and restaurant critic. While my father loved restaurants, we ate simple standard British food – not wildly exciting. I think I got into food through journalism; I was a writer who ended up on a food magazine and realised that food was actually the greatest subject for a writer. Food is about everything: politics, culture, history, death, hate, war, crime, and love.
People are at the heart of everything that you do. Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired to always improve so that every guest has a great experience. I’m inspired by my team. My manager, Christie, who is the most extraordinary woman of dextrous talents; I’m inspired by my great fiery Greek barman, George the Greek, who is as mad as he is wild. I’m inspired by the locals who want to see us succeed, and I’m inspired by a wonderful chef in the kitchen, but also by just seeing great produce.
Designing the wine list was no chore for Sitwell
And is there anything about this experience you’re particularly enjoying?
The ability I have to create my own wine list! Because you can be selfish. I’m very fussy and a bit of a wine snob; the list is literally what I want to drink and what I think is great, because I’m slightly self-confident in that regard. I leap out of bed everyday and even though this is a crazy challenge, it’s definitely life enhancing.
What is your main message to C&TH readers?
Get out there: eat out, drink out. Be kind to your servers and leave a nice tip. If you book somewhere, for God’s sake show up. Get your arse off the sofa and go down to your local pub and have a pint. If you’ve got a local restaurant, go and eat there because if you don’t, hospitality will die. Don’t just blame the government for taxing it out of existence; it’s up to all of us to eat out constantly. Food is a cornerstone of British culture and we need to dabble in it, enjoy it, revel in it, get stuffed, get pissed, so the world can keep turning.
