This was the biggest meal I ate with friends all week, eight around the table overall. The early issue I'd taken with the Harwood Arms on this occasion was that they'd insisted on a reduced a la carte for our booking. It was slightly frustrating since there were only eight of us, but when you're dealing with Michelin stars, I suppose you get what you're given.
This is all well and good as long as what you're given cuts the mustard. We were all expecting a lot, since the Harwood Arms carries a lot of weight and especially since I'd been talking it up for weeks preceding the meal. There's nothing like good pub grub to bring friends together. If you can call this 'pub grub'.
Summer is a great time to be eating light, refined dishes. As much as I love meat (and believe me I do), there are times - particularly in summer - when only a little fish will do. Especially at the start of a meal. Smoked salmon served with beetroot, pink fir apple potatoes, sorrel and laverbread (puréed Welsh seaweed) is one of those dishes you seen on a menu and just have to order (left). Especially on a warm Sunday evening in July. Happily, it was worth it, the salmon shining through the well-judged accompaniments, texturally perfect.
Alongside the salmon, we tried the classic from our last visit; the faggot of rabbit, bacon and prunes with puréed celeriac (right). This is eating. This is modern British with a full-throated shout to anyone brought up eating meat in the midlands. This is just one of the best starters around: perfectly balanced, tender, gamey and simply elegant.
Many of the table came in pairs, so many ordered in pairs. Which means they ordered the rib of beef for two, myself and the other half included. This was a clear stand-out dish, particularly on a reduced menu. Served on a big wooden board, cooked rare, topped with slivers of bone marrow, it was outstanding (left). One of my favourite main courses of recent times, even. There was more on show than the beef though, with a divine Yorkshire pudding, within which lurked some soft confit onion. Add a bowl of greens, crispy roast potatoes and sauces, you had a wholly satisfying and gorgeous main course.
Two of the party opted against gorging on beef, one since he is vegetarian. He had some turnip croquettes with a side of roasted new potatoes in garlic butter. Both were wonderful. He was so moved by the potatoes in particular that he sent his compliments to the chef. Perhaps potatoes that can be openly complimented really is the height of pub food (right). It's a ringing endorsement to the Harwood Arms in my book, anyway.The final dish on show was a perfect summer main course: a whole mackerel with sea purlsane (salty seaside shrub), tomatoes, horseradish and rocket. It was another expertly-judged and creatively executed dish. An assortment of in-season British-European ingredients that remind one English food is quite on the money when it comes to restaurants such as this.
On to desserts, the choices were a little disappointing. That said, one leapt out at me instantly: the lemon posset with blackberries and warm Parkin (left). I'd never eaten Parkin before but the idea of a rustic northern sponge cake sounded too good to miss. The first mouthful of the dessert was impressive: a sharp burst of smooth lemon cutting through the cake and the fruit. Sadly, it kept on cutting and by the end of the dish I felt as if I'd been eating pure lemon zest: it was too strong. I also think the Parkin was a touch overdone, leaving little in the way of rich flavour (or maybe the lemon overwhelmed it all.)
The other half's Camp Coffee ice cream with biscuits was a more pleasant surprise (right). Having endured the predictable laughter at the name of it, Camp Coffee turned out to be a very mild and sweet flavour when used in ice cream. It sat very well between the thin home-made biscuits it was served with. The other dessert worth a mention was the trifle, served with a divine mild buttermilk custard and sherry sponge.I really enjoyed my second visit to the Harwood Arms. It remains a beacon in a sea of semi-average Brit pub-grub places in west London, with a pleasant enough atmosphere and a sensational grasp of flavours to keep attracting customers back. I'm sure I will be again soon.
The dessert may have let me down, but the starters and that ridiculous roast rib of beef remain some of the best dishes I ate all last year. If you care about modern British cuisine in the slightest, you really ought to have a look at this place. It is without a doubt some of the best pub food I've eaten and it doesn't break the bank. I also now know this place is suited to all seasons; warm summer and freezing winter. I loved it in both.
The Harwood Arms
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