Hereford Road

The Pretty Lady and I had our first anniversary recently. Among the things we decided to do to celebrate was the obligatory slap-up meal. I chose Hereford Road, a new restaurant near Notting Hill (but was really in Bayswater). Hereford Road was opened in October 2007, by Tom Pemberton, formerly head chef of St John Bread and Wine. It serves much the same kind of food - simple recipes, good seasonal produce, letting the food speak for itself.

Hereford Road
3 Hereford Road
London W2 4AB
020 7727 1144

The interior is a cross between minimalist chic and 1960s diner. There's a line of small tables each seating two opposite the kitchen. Leather seats, round tables, tiled floors marry well with a row of booths along the main dining room at the back. The Pretty Lady and I sat there, under a large round window in the roof, which allowed us to look up at the ceiling of someone's living room. Great natural light.

It was a plain 3 course meal, and the Pretty Lady had decided not to drink too much, so we had a 1/3 bottle of a Syrah / Nero d'Avola blend (blogged about separately as usual). I started with black pudding and poached duck egg. It came with stalks of salad leaf with salt and olive oil, and was very satisfying. There's something about the gamey flavour of fried black pudding, oozing with fat, that goes well with egg yolk. I then moved on to roast forerib of beef, green beans, roast garlic, which came pink and juicy, but was very tasty. It's hard to roast beef to the point where the beef fat is almost rendered and crispy yet retain the pinkness. Very well done, if you'll pardon the pun.

The Pretty Lady enjoyed her fish soup, which came with big wings of skate. I think I tasted saffron and some tomato in the stock, but it was mainly a riff on bouillabaisse that worked quite well. For her mains she had roast leg of duck, grilled chicory and buttered lentils. I think the chicory tasted more of butter, with the lentils a slightly bland counterpoint. The duck was roasted slightly too well done, and therefore dry for me, but right for the Pretty Lady. She did mention that she preferred the duck at Angelus though.

Dessert was the high point. I had buttermilk pudding (a panna cotta really, but sans vanilla and sightly tangy from the buttermilk) with stewed prunes. Well, 2 stewed prunes, but they were enough. The slightly caramelised prune juice was a nice touch, as were the shortbread biscuits. The Pretty Lady had brown bread ice cream, which was vanilla ice cream with little crumbs of brown bread to provide a texture contrast and slivers of caramel to provide a flavour contrast. That was by far the best dish of the night.

I'll definitely be back. Hereford Road is a neighbourhood and family restaurant - welcoming and personal, familiar and comforting. It's a shame it's so far from my own neighbourhood though.

Scores:

6 May 2008: TFQ = 26, CS = 25, S = 15, AD = 6, VfM = 7. Total = 79 points.

What does this mean?