Hereford Road: Bayswater, Tuesday September 11th, 2012

September last year involved a few interesting events. A promotion at work (which has contributed directly to the decreased productivity of this blog) meant that there was a lot more to accomplish in a lot less time. All of a sudden I had become a company man, with remote access and therefore no excuse not to answer anything that was asked of me ever.

The culmination of a whirlwind few working months was a three-day long conference in town. The perfect preparation for which I had decided was a meal out at somewhere offering excellent and affordable British grub with a group of friends. Hereford Road had impressed me enough earlier in the year to suggest we try there with another group of six.

One thing I distinctly remembered from the first visit was how delicious their soup tasted. To that end, I was sold as soon as I saw the soup of the day: celeriac with seared foie gras (left). This was sumptuous, electrifying soup. The texture was just the right side of thin to be substantial, but not so thick as to be chewed. The taste was not overpowering either, which is often the problem with the flavour of celeriac. The foie gras was an obvious and beautiful touch of class; melting in the mouth and adding a rich, oily silkiness to the bowl.

The wife went for mussels steamed with cider and thyme (right). Mussels are a little wasted on me since I tend to find them overwhelmingly salty, but she loved them. I have to say on tasting one, I was a fan of the sweet cider glaze and fresh thyme on top. "Very fresh and delicious" was the consensus and I bow to the superior knowledge of others on this front.

Three rustic starters were devoured elsewhere without much ceremony (one friend was late coming to the table so she joined as main courses were on their way...) Some pickled chicory on the side of cold smoked duck breast was a simple classic. Smoked sprats and horseradish was an oily, flavoursome burst of delicious fish supported by a mild enough creamed horseradish sauce (left). More or less everyone else's starter was upstaged by the arrival of a whole artichoke served with vinaigrette, though (right). This was a real piece of theatre, with everyone in awe of the green globe on the table. The leaves of the artichoke were the meat of the dish, the chunkier, fleshier parts of the inner leaves to be chewed off and mixed with the spiced, sour dressing. In the event, a real treat and not half bad.

Main courses were a great variety between six of us, with meat, fish and vegetarian options taken. The veggie option in this case was a hearty mix of onion squash, courgettes and mushrooms, topped with Berkswell cheese (left). I was surprised how flavoursome this turned out to be and it was one of those rare vegetarian dishes which didn't actually need the meat. A grilled plaice with roast cauliflower, toasted crumbs and capers was exactly the unpretentious plate of English tradition it should have been (right).

The wife went for the glorious-sounding combination of lamb sweetbreads & tongue, fried potato, peas and mint (left). This was a hearty plate of expertly balanced food, appealing both visually and in terms of taste. The offal was cooked brilliantly, with enough give to make each mouthful a delight, especially when combined with such well-suited sides. The simplicity and integrity of plates like this deserve more recognition: this is how we should be eating once a week.

I had guinea fowl with courgettes and girolle mushrooms (right). Not quite in the same league as the wife's dish, this was a little on the dry side which was a shame. Good seasoning and mushrooms helped, but slightly overcooked courgette did nothing and I ended up feeling a little let down by my main course. That said, it could have been jealousy from having tried the lamb next to me...

Much of the discussion around the table during the evening had been on the nature of proper British cooking and eating (I was the only Englishman present, everyone else was from Asia). There are few things I enjoy more than introducing people to great, traditional English meals and this was a successful evening. One thing that I rarely have any disagreement on when it comes to British food discussion is dessert. As good as food from all corners of the world can be, there's nothing quite as comfortably satisyfing as a proper English pudding and Hereford Road's dessert list always reads well.

The wife ordered the chocolate terrine with créme fraîche and it was a sticky-sweet slab of rich chocolate (left). This wasn't overly spectacular or fancy to look at but the taste was pure indulgence with the rich, dark sweetness combining wonderfully with the soured cream on the side to provide a tempering balance.

On most nights, such a terrine would have been the last word but on this particular occasion it belonged to the rice pudding enjoyed by two of us at the table (right). Simply served with blueberries, this was actually good enough in its glorious simplicity to rival the wondrous Harwood Arms rice pudding of a few weeks before. Perfect, almost chewy consistency allied with a sweet fruit accompaniment was really the stuff dreams, memories and great meals are made of. Indeed, the friend who also ordered it claimed it nearly brought her to tears.

This is as good a place as any to re-state that, for a party of six, Hereford Road is just about as good as anywhere in London. It is affordable, friendly and casual and more often than not it turns out excellent unpretentious food. We all had a great evening and there was still time to get back to the pre-conference drinks in Covent Garden at the end of it.

This meal was a wonderful prelude to three days of meetings and networking: a totally relaxing dinner with good friends. The dishes were simple and reminded me of what great food is about and it brought a few people's recognition of British food into the modern age. Hereford Road really is one of my favourite places to eat in London.

Hereford Road

The Harwood Arms - Fulham, Thursday August 30th, 2012

Last summer proved to be a spell of re-visiting popular places. In the course of justifying our expense, the wife and I tend to use any social occasion as an excuse to eat out. More often than not, our friends will give us the choice of where to eat with the caveat that we should be picking somewhere we've previously gushed about.

The Harwood Arms is one of those places. And, like Heinz Beck and Gauthier Soho, last summer saw us making our third visit there, following a Christmas meal in 2010 and a birthday meal in 2011. A friend of ours was due to be leaving the country soon, so we thought a proper English meal as a send-off would be fitting. Our friend Mike, who originally started this blog with me years ago, was also invited since he'd been dying to try the place and was too ill the year before. Sadly though, the curse struck again, our friend for whom the meal was organised coming down with food poisoning.

So, a table for three it was and the options on the card were enticing. The great thing about The Harwood Arms' menus is that they always play to their strengths in the most appealing way: simply-presented food which makes sense. Glamorous pub food such as this requires two main things: great ingredients and good combinations. Execution is really a given, so the short of it is you're expecting to be impressed. And having been less than impressed at supposedly the greatest pub of them all - The Hand & Flowers - earlier this year, The Harwood Arms remains the zenith of pub eating to me.

Since Mike and I are such sticklers for people ordering distinct dishes at the same table, the fact that we were going to try nine different plates across the evening was never in doubt. I don't really understand people who have an aversion to sharing food but that may be because most of my social life revolves around eating. Every course was tried and dissected by each of us, and if that sounds like taking the fun out of a meal, you're just not as sharing and open as I.

The wife went for the starter of smoked salmon with broken eggs, pink fir apple potatoes and sorrel (left). The combination itself sounded marvellous and, with the right balance, it would have been. Unfortunately, only two pieces of salmon meant the perfectly broken eggs (soft-boiled and scattered across the plate) overwhelmed the flavour of the main event somewhat. The potatoes as a base and the sorrel as a dressing were undeniably excellent, but the whole thing fell slightly short overall.

Mike plumped for game as he tends to more often than not, with rabbit shoulders cooked in cider, served with girolles and spelt dumplings (right). This is what proper English gastro-pub food is all about: bold, traditional flavours harmonising perfectly. A sticky, sweet offal sausage was presented on the side, lending a delicious rustic punch of flavour. The mushrooms and dumplings sat exactly as they were intended to: a delicious support for a fine use of rabbit.

My starter was a special of the day and it seemed impossible to resist given that it was summer: chilled beetroot soup with a sour cream quenelle, buttermilk scone and mackerel (left). It was indeed a refreshing take on a more hearty starter and the scone, with cold mackerel inside, was delight. Sadly the actual soup wasn't all there, with the excellent beetroot flavours dulled by how cold it all was. The cream and chunks of cucumber within were lost; it was almost too sharp and chilled to fully reach its potential in the event.

Main courses were no-messing, hearty platefuls. Mike went for the neck and chop of lamb, served with barley, curd cheese and stewed courgettes (right). This was an imaginative and nicely varied plate of food, and one of those dishes which seems a bit disparate until you combine all the components together. On doing so, this jumped from average main course to serious excellence.


Mine was a more straightforward classic: cheek and jowl of middlewhite pork with celeriac, cabbage & crackling (left). Nothing can get in the way of this being a total winner if executed properly and it was. All the meat was succulent, seasoned exceptionally and for £18, a bit of a bargain. The two cuts of meat were impeccable on their own but came to life even more with the classic accompaniments. A rip-roaring success, especially when augmented with the divine garlic butter roasted new potatoes we shared on the side.

The wife pushed the boat out more with her main course of grouse, blackcurrants, sweetcorn and girolles (right). Costing £23.50 it was the most expensive thing on the menu but I suppose for out of season top quality game, you have to pay a little more. This was a delicious bird and the sweetcorn & mushrooms were spot-on choices to serve with it. I was a little confused by the blackcurrants which added a nice touch of sour acidity but then overwhelmed more often than not. A little sauce would have worked better here instead of the fruits themselves.

Desserts were a slightly tough choice because we were all wary of certain elements to just about every dish on the menu. There is nothing more frustrating than a dish (especially a dessert) which reads beautifully but has one thing you cannot stand. This is usually nuts of some kind in my case. However, I did find one thing that I jumped at sharpish: rice pudding (left). Made from pearl barley and served with stewed plums, yoghurt sorbet and a home-made jammy dodger biscuit on the side, this was without a doubt one of the best desserts I ate all last year. Stunning consistency and flavour in the rice pudding along with the sorbet adding contrast was an absolute delight. This was the rice pudding to end all others.

The wife ordered the brown sugar doughnuts (right). Served with sea buckthorn curd and sour cream, these were perfectly well made but lacking the wow factor of a great dessert overall. The curd was enjoyable and packed with citrus tang but the sour cream left a little to be desired as part of the dish. The wife certainly scarfed them down without complaint.

Mike was in a real jam as to what to order, so he went for a special of strawberries (left). This was a very simple assortment of fresh strawberries, stawberry sauce, ice cream and sorbet which actually acted as a lovely light finish to a meal which - to be fair - had been heavy up to this point. If you're going to eat rabbit then lamb, you need to finish with something fairly mild and this was a very pleasant, fruity end to a satisfying meal.

The Harwood Arms is one of my (and the wife's) favourite places to eat in London and the quality of the dishes combined with the natural charm of the pub make it a consistent winner. I don't know if I've ever had a meal beyond reproach here, but the highs are always high enough to justify the price and the food quality is - at its best - fantastic.

I cannot recommend this place highly enough if you are in the area. Actually, even if you aren't in the area it's worth the trip. It is still just a pub, make no mistake, but the food on offer is as good as I have eaten in a drinking house anywhere at all.

The Harwood Arms

Aspley's, A Heinz Beck Restaurant - Knighstbridge, Thursday 23rd August, 2012

As I finish off  yet another late review, I must say it feels good to be gathering a little momentum this summer. People seem to forget just how lazy I can be that with a full-time (and full-overtime) day job, there is often nothing left in the brain box by the time I get home every evening. Is this an excuse? Obviously not, but it's a fact nonetheless. That said, I thank you for reading...

Last summer, the wife popped up with another Valentine's Day surprise for me. "In August?!" I hear you cry: yes, Taiwanese culture celebrates one for ladies in March and one for men in August. It's always a lovely late summer event and it usually involves a restaurant visit.

For 2012, she'd organised a set menu dinner at Heinz Beck (again, I refuse to type the whole name of the place) which is always going to go down well with me. However, the price always grates a little: £45 for three courses is not cheap but then it is a Michelin-Starred Italian restaurant in London, so I'm not sure what I was expecting. It was the third time in three years we'd been back but that shows what an enticing prospect a meal here is.

Bread and olive oil at Heinz Beck is one of London's simple food pleasures in one of its more opulent settings (left). Gorgeous fresh and varied bread with strong, pure olive oil and sea salt is one of those combinations that needs nothing more. It is a perfect distillation of flavour and tradition. The paper-thin striga is a delight, as well as the crunchy breadsticks. There is a real danger one can fill up before the starters even hit the table.

The menu itself was pretty impressive, with many of the dishes featuring on the normal a la carte. To that end, I had to go for one of Beck's signatures on the menu: fagottelli carbonara (right). Apart from the inevitable sniggering when the name is pronounced, this is a quite incredible filled pasta. Thinner and more refined than ravioli or tortellini, the textural contrast from the cheese sauce filling and the crispy bacon topping made it an absolute winner. It's hard to top a classic carbonara in my opinion, but this came very close.

The wife went for the soup option. Whenever we've had soup at Heinz Beck before it's been excellent and this was no exception: minestrone with a poached egg and "cereals" (left). The cereal element was an array of pulses within the soup itself, playing a nice contrast to the beans and thick, satisfying liquid. The poached was typically perfect, lending a rich smoothness to the dish. It was testament to how good this was that she didn't steal more of my pasta.

Main courses looked tantalising and the wife went for lamb with a black olive crust (right). This was something of a no-brainer for her since she loves lamb and it was a pretty safe bet it was going to be cooked perfectly here. Indeed it was, with a delightful pink sheen enlivened with a beautiful lamb jus. The aubergine in the middle served to add contrasting texture and a rich savoury note to compliment the olive garnish.

I bucked our usual trend and ordered the vegetarian option for my main course. Whilst a fillet of sea bass appealed, I was persuaded by the sound of herb gnocchi with wild mushrooms and carrot foam (left). This was a dish that was typically superbly cooked to ensure there was nothing too soft or squidgy but nothing which required too much bite. The carrot foam was actually closer to a purée, meaning it acted as a sauce instead of a garnish. It was stunning and I'd order it again in a heartbeat.

Desserts looked a more troublesome proposition for the pair of us since we immediately both shot to the chocolate and passion fruit cube. Luckily I won out and it was a thing of exquisite beauty (right). As I have hinted at before; there is nowhere else in London I can think of that compares to Heinz Beck for outright presentation. The room, the food, the staff, the menus... All welcoming but proper, dignified and elegant. This particular dessert comprised of a pair of stunning chocolate boxes within which was the passion fruit as a gel. The strong fruit cut through the rich dark chocolate along with the raspberries as a decoration to contrast perfectly. Chocolate sorbet topped off the piece perfectly in terms of texture and temperature.

The wife went for "Five Rings" which we had to ask our waiter about beforehand. Made up of five biscuit rings with ice cream inside, covered with icing, it was a sight to behold (left). The rings themselves were delicious: a light and crunchy combination of flavoursome pudding which played on our childlike sensibilities as any nostalgic dessert should. Close to party rings, they were - for the most part - excellent. The raspberry and vanilla were particular highlights but the wife was delighted with her lot.

As a whole, the meal was excellent. We tend to expect nothing else of Heinz Beck these days. The food was delicious, the overall atmosphere excellent and the staff as gracious and personable as ever. Even though £45 for three courses is a bit toppy, it is worth it because I can't think of anywhere else in London you can get Italian food this elegant and refined, but also delicious.

Aspley's, A Heinz Beck Restaurant

Third Time Lucky? Gauthier Soho - Soho, Tuesday August 21st, 2012

I'm a firm believer that eating is just about the most fun anyone can have. Good food is peerless in terms of the fine, finer and finest things in life. Contrary to what some people assume about me, I am not one for showiness or pretence when it comes to great food. I don't need to see words like 'jus' or 'reduction' on a menu: 'sauce' is just fine. But here's the kicker: it has to be good.

It sounds simple, but people seem to forget the basic reason we eat in restaurants: we want to be impressed. We want to enjoy ourselves. We want the simplest thing in life yet it can be the most difficult to find anywhere. Of course, it's easy to criticise (how else would I get by?); not many people can work in a professional kitchen turning out credible results night after night. I am no slouch behind a stove but as soon as I'm cooking for more than four, I tend to lose the plot. You might ask why that gives me the right to criticise anyone's cooking - fair point - but it's why I'm writing a blog and not trying to run AA Gill out of a job.

Nevertheless, I know food. I know what is good and I know what is not. Why? Because I trust my opinion. And I can express it in a written form that makes sense. As above: simple but difficult to execute well. (Again; free blog amongst thousands, not a broadsheet newspaper.) Anyway, where was I..? Gauthier Soho, right. Once a winner, then a loser, then a Michelin Star loser (and, yes, this is that 'review to come'...) making this the third trip in three years to the very French, very townhouse-y and very varied Soho hotspot in three years. Perhaps that's my point: I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this place.

With another year came another nicely-worded e-mail to their clientèle explaining that another tasting menu was half off to commemorate another year of being open, so we thought another trip - for better or worse - was worth a try. Now, it's important to note that, at the time of visiting, this place still had its Michelin Star. The wife and I were adamant this honour should not have been upheld following our dreadful visit the year before. However, said visit meant that anything passable was going to be an improvement from last time.

The tasting menu had been somewhat pared back to its original glory which filled us with confidence. What was even nicer was that we were seated in the same table we'd had on our first visit. Bread, canapés and pleasantries were taken care of, readying us for a thrash at the starter, a very close take on the dish we'd started with in 2010: foie gras (left). Pan-fried and served with roast apricot for texture, ginger marmalade for flavour and port reduction for appearance, it was not bad at all. The only change I would have made is to put something to cut through the liver a little more. It was good but all a little too similar.

Scallops were up next and I was so happy they'd learnt from the year before: no more one third of a scallop per portion: this was serious food served properly (right). Two bulging scallops served with girolle mushrooms, parsley sauce and something called 'coral dressing'. I'm not entirely sure what this is but whatever it is lent a great balance to the dish. The seafood was properly cooked, meaning the rest was as it should be: supporting the main event excellently.

Risotto was still there and this is one of those dishes that the wife and I coo over at every recollected memory. This time, though, truffles had gone. I would guess it had something to do with the cost but perhaps a shake-up was on the cards anyway. Summer cep mushroom risotto is no mean substitute and they had kept the brown butter and parmesan cheese too (left). Still texturally perfect, the mushroom flavour was intense within a superbly al dente bowl of rice. Honest, real dishes like this should be on Michelin-Starred menus throughout the country.

Next was sea bass with baby squid (right). This was verging dangerously close to the overcooked nightmare of the year before but it turned out to be far better executed, if not perfect. The fish itself was flavoursome if a touch on the dry side, but the courgette tempura added a delicious crisp variation. The black squid ink fish sauce added colour and visual appeal but did not really add much to the dish as a whole.

The meat course harked back to the original menu of the place and I was looking forward to this one (left). Piglet belly with glaze heritage carrot, leeks and a cherry jam was a perfect balance of flavours and textures. The pork floss sprinkled over the dish was a slightly Asian-style addition but it did help the taste of the meat. Unfortuately the whole thing was a little insubstantial. It didn't hit the highs of the original visit and it was achingly close to great, but just short.

The cheese interlude was a very nice aged comté with assorted chutneys; again a step back from the assortment of cheese we'd once enjoyed but nice enough. The fruit dessert followed, with raspberries, strawberries, sorbet and blancmange combining to make a milky, sweet, acidic and fruity bowl of strong, refreshing flavours (right). Sadly, the last dish was the Louis XV which is always wasted on me because of the hazlenut base and the rich praline (left). The appearance and execution were as good as ever but those nuts!

So, with my opening in mind, plus the third visit in three years, what does it all mean? Well, sufficed to say it was a world away from the terrible service and food we'd had the year before, but neither was it as good as the excellent first time we went here. Maybe we have finally reached the true Gauthier level after some two years of fine tuning.

I suppose the remaining question is: should it have kept its Michelin Star? My answer is no, so the guide guys have got it right for now. I don't think places this inconsistent deserve that sort of recognition. Could they win it back? Absolutely, if they iron out the over-booked evenings and settle on a menu that will bring everyone back time and again. This is not a bad restaurant, but it's far from at the top of the game. I'm happy to pay to eat there, but I still haven't paid full price because I don't think it would be worth the money.

Contradictions abound, but at the end of the day, they are on an upward curve. If I end up eating there again in the near future, I've no idea what the overall outcome will be. I hope they hit the heights they previously enjoyed, but I hope if they do, it's because of excellent food, service and atmosphere, not because they're a fancy French restaurant in a chic Soho townhouse.

Gauthier Soho

@Siam - Soho, Thursday July 26th, 2012

As has been documented previously, I'm no fan of Thai food. Such barefaced criticism stirred a couple of readers into sarcastic feedback, so what better way to try and drum up some 'any publicity is good publicity' than to recant a trip to one of the busiest Thai places in the west end from last July?

This was another experience altogether from some of my previous Thai outings. We met two friends (one of whom is from Thailand) for some midweek dinner and I was as skeptical as ever. That said, our Thai friend actually knows the owner. Certainly something to make the evening more interesting...

The place itself has the look and feel (and definitely the name) of a very modern restaurant. Simply furnished without pandering to the kind of fake opulence that damns so many Asian restaurants in London, it absolutely is the kind of place you can wander in off the streets and enjoy a stress-free evening. The waiters wear shorts, the patter is friendly and you feel right at home as soon as you sit down.

Our friend ordered for the table which was a no-brainer. She was reminded that I cannot physically deal with anything too spicy but more or less everything else was fair game. There's something both reassuring and terrifying when you're left in the hands of an expert on a cuisine you've previously written off ordering for you in a language you can't understand.

The food was a mixed bag but in a far more positive light than I've considered Thai food before. We started with a gorgeous-looking sea bass which had been boned out and half-butterflied on the plate but with the head still attached and the body more or less intact. The array of green and red vegetable dressing added to the visual impact and the fish itself was perfectly moist and juicy. But it was just too spicy for me. I'm sure most people with an interest in tangy Asian food would love this but I couldn't hold more than two mouthfuls.

Some seafood soup was up next and this really is the kind of thing I quiver at the thought of. Thin Asian broths aren't something I enjoy and this looked essentially like a bowl of water with mussels and greens floating around in it. Sadly it wasn't one for me again but the wife loved it and the rest of the table got stuck in. I have to say, having tried some of the seafood itself, it wasn't half bad. It's just that seawater-esque broth that left a bad taste.

At this point, our friend mentioned to the owner that I was a "food critic". Cue embarrassed floor-gazing as I explained that I was merely a blogger-among-thousands and my outreach was negligible at best... But it didn't seem to matter. The rest of the meal was a thoroughly entertaining and engaging chit-chat with the owner which certainly helped relax me. Fortunately I wasn't quizzed on what I thought of Thai food in general but questions like "which is your favourite restaurant" did come up. That said, I did not lie when I said I was enjoying the meal.

The rest of the food was really rather lovely. Some rich, dark noodles with prawns were eaten mostly by me as the rest of the table enjoyed a pleasant-looking curry and the soup and fish which wasn't for me. Even better was some delicately-fried soft shell crab: a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness from the seasoning in the crisp coating. Essentially I ate the lot which meant we had to order a second bowlful.

I felt myself warming to the idea of Thai food. Maybe it was the owner or the friendly bill, or the genuine bustling bonhomie of the place, but something was clicking. Desserts came in the form of some mango and sticky rice which was so fermented (and served with a vile coconut sauce) that it made me recoil. Fortunately ice cream saved the day. Some green tea was okay, some sesame tasted of sesame (so not good at all) but two delicious scoops of mango and raspberry were a perfect end to what had been a very nice meal.

I don't write this review as a wholly-converted fan of Thai eating, but as a convert in the making (which I was). There will be more to follow, but for now, take my inexperienced but convicted advice: relaxed Thai food in Soho for reasonable money is a good thing. @Siam is a good thing. Thai cuisine is not a bad thing.

@Siam