Da Costa

Art world power couple Iwan and Manuela Wirth continue to stride confidently into the UK restaurant scene with Da Costa, which replaces Roth Bar & Grill on Artfarm’s picturesque Bruton campus. A rustic Italian farmhouse kitchen might feel an odd fit for Bruton, but the influence comes directly from Iwan Wirth’s Italian grandfather, who emigrated to Switzerland and ran a small restaurant there for many years.

Da Costa continues that legacy, though we imagine with a rather bigger warchest to spend than was available to the elder Mr Wirth. As a result, this old stone building has had a huge makeover, and for all you can say about Artfarm, it knows how to design a restaurant. What other group could casually sling wicker baskets and chairs over the rafters of a dining room and make it look elegant? Da Costa is a restaurant of small, meaningful touches, from copper pans bundled onto hooks around the kitchen to lone candles burning gently on the tables. Each detail has purpose, and the result makes it a lovely place to spend an afternoon, especially given the excellent drinks selection.

Anyone who loves Italian food will light up at the sight of the menu, which builds around seasonal produce from nearby Durslade Farm, as well as wild ingredients gathered by Artfarm’s in-house forager Kenny. Thankfully the blazing fires of the open kitchen aren’t just for show - there’s some excellent cooking that emerges. A rare slab of venison is perfectly cooked, dressed with Da Costa sauce (the contents are a mystery but it’s an excellent sauce) on a bed of rich, buttery polenta. We love simple but well executed little bites, like crisp gnocco fritto loaded with folds of mortadella, and melting fonduta croquettes drizzled with Durslade Farm honey. Among the pasta dishes, pappardelle is nicely made with good bite, but a confit duck ragu sauce hasn’t quite had the requisite tossing to thicken up. Any quibbles are small, though, and Da Costa is still early in its journey. Stylish, but with substance, this is another lustrous feather in Artfarm’s cap.

From the mountainous region of Northern Italy to the rolling hills of Somerset, Artfarms most recent venture Da Costa is exploring the culinary crossover of the quintessentially English and the flavours of Veneto. Setting up shop in world renowned art gallery, Hauser and Wirth, in the town of Bruton, the restaurant continues the galleries celebration of combining art with nature, with a beautiful courtyard in which you can enjoy your meal while bathing in the sunlight and enjoying the views of the various sculptures that decorate the grounds at Hauser and Wirth.

Iwan and Manuela Wirth developed Artfarm as an extension of the values they formed while founding and running Hauser and Wirth. The Artfarm developments celebrate intersections between art, community, people and place, and Da Costa is no different. Inspired by Iwans grandfather who had moved from a small village in Northern Italy, to Switzerland where he went on to open his own restaurant, Da Costa is an ode to Iwans familys cultural, and culinary history.

The menu explores the similarities and overlaps between the food native to his grandfather's homeland and the produce most readily available to them in Somerset. Much of the fresh produce featured in the dishes will have been grown and harvested from their own garden onsite, allowing them to ensure that they are serving the highest quality fruit and vegetables. The menu will contain a selection of antipasti to begin, before moving on to their homemade pasta dishes, like the risotto with toasted walnuts or buckwheat pasta with Fonduta. The menu will contain nods to traditional, regional Italian dishes such as the zuppa d’orzi, a comforting barley soup that’s perfect for a cold winter's day. Other menu highlights include the beef carpaccio with Cornish Yarg and the grilled red mullet served with a fennel and caper salad. Mains are prepared over the wood fired grill, bringing a rich smokiness to the dishes.