The Bird in Hand - West Kensington, Thursday 11th July, 2013

Neigbourhood restaurants are a difficult thing to judge. Everyone thinks whatever's just around the corner from their place is the best you'll find and local bias can understandably be strong. Where I live, there's not a whole lot in the immediate area but then London is such a wonderfully accessible place that you're never far from somewhere interesting to eat.

Some summers ago (that's right, we're officially over two years behind now people), a work conference in London prompted three colleagues and I to invite the wife to join us for a bite to eat after a long day of discussion, round-the-table opinions and productive working groups. We'd been given a recommendation for a place that was within walking distance of their hotel and of my home which piqued my interest. The Bird In Hand used to be a pub which is now something resembling a pub, only focusing more on food. Instead of an emphasis on boozing, the main selling points are now modern food and good wine.

The menu read quite interestingly, essentially an Italian restaurant with some more British influences throughout. There was a whole section for pizza which is always fairly encouraging: if you're going to make proper pizza, it should be a feature of the menu, not an afterthought. The variation on show was just about right, with enough choice to make the menu appealing but not so much to suggest ambition outweighing ability.

Starters were two dishes the wife and I couldn't resist: mozzarella for me and seafood for her. Burrata (the soft, middle and best part of the mozzarella) is something I am always interested in, especially if it has been properly prepared and served. In this case, the dish was accompanied with slow-roasted tomatoes and pureéd basil (left). The cheese was just about right, though not as smooth as I've had elsewhere. I liked the idea of the tomatoes which had an enhanced flavour through the cooking with the skin removed to make for easier eating. A good start for sure.

The wife was instantly drawn to the braised octopus, which sounded like a classic Italian café standard, but when described on the menu, it seemed like more of an upmarket proposition (right). This was served with cherry tomatoes, gnocchi, chilli and a lemon gel. In a way, this dish was a microcosm of the idea behind the restaurant: a classic with a modern twist. Phrases like this often make me feel uneasy since it can be a cliché suggesting something is about to be pretentiously ruined. In this case, the dish and the idea was a triumph. The wife got through it with the sort of gusto and relish one would hope to see anywhere in Italy when presented with a plate of octopus and gnocchi. Equally comforting and delicious, this was impressive.

The theme of seafood continued into main courses, with the wife choosing the risotto of brown shrimp, courgette and a deep-friend courgette flower filled with prawn mousse (left). The key to this bowl of food was freshness. The wife enjoyed it very much and it was certainly a pleasant enough dish for me. However, I enjoy my risottos very creamy and rich, where this was more a case of supporting the seafood and the very enjoyable flower centrepiece. It was good, just not a spectacular dish for me.

I decided to put the pizza menu to the test (of course, the fact that it's great sharing food also helps when eating with friends) and the 'Salsiccia', with Tuscan sausage, porcini mushrooms, truffle paste and truffle oil was something I was interested in (and the wife positively insistent that we try it). It was a pretty glorious thing when brought to the table (right). Any pizza touting these kinds of ingredients ought to be suitably grand and this did not disappoint. It was thin, crisp, luxurious and rich which meant we were all very pleased.

Despite the meal to this point having been a success, we decided for some greed-forsaken reason to order three desserts. There were plenty of people at the table so I think the rationale was that we would be sharing them out. In the event, everyone tried bits and pieces but we did leave some unfinished. One of the main reasons for this was the salt caramel panna cotta, which in the event was so outrageously salty and abrasive that we couldn't get through it (left). Sometimes, caramel has the unfortunate effect of being a little too harsh on the palate and this was one such occasion.

Far more enjoyable was the strawberry and creme fraiche tart with elderflower sorbet (right). This was an excellent, summery, light pastry dessert. The cream in the tart was set well and the sorbet added a fragrant and refreshing note. The pick of the desserts for sure. We also went for the vanilla macaroon with a white chocolate mousse and raspberries (left). This was somewhere in the middle, with the sheer size of it possibly the most impressive thing about this dessert. It was sweet and enjoyable, but perhaps not at the standard we were hoping for.

This was a pleasant and unexpected meal. Which, when dining with colleagues after a long day of work talk, is about as good as one might reasonably expect. Tucked away somewhere near Brook Green is a rather enjoyable and interesting restaurant. Well I say restaurant, but I'm not entirely sure how to define it. The Bird In Hand looks like a pub. It sounds like a pub. But it doesn't taste like one.

The Bird In Hand