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TOM PARKER BOWLES: Hereford Road is London's best-vale local ...
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A simple dish, sure, but spectacularly good, the very essence of great British cooking.
It’s a proper local restaurant, and I’ve lost count of the lunches and dinners where I’ve settled into one of those red leather banquettes, nibbled on warm, densely crusty white bread, sipped a glass of ice-cold Manzanilla and devoured the menu.
He used to run St John Bread and Wine in east London, and his menu here not only shares the same terse, utilitarian prose (‘ham hock, chicory and chervil’, ‘braised rabbit, fennel and bacon’) so beloved by his old boss, Fergus Henderson, but reveals the same obsession with unpretentious plates of proper British food (the odd Continental excursion aside).
Take the crab toast – a generous handful of hand-picked, bracingly fresh white meat mixed with great dollops of that blissfully mucky brown.
This is the menu I munch most times I come in, and you’ll find fat grilled sardines and great hunks of onglet; beetroot, sorrel and boiled egg; and steak-and-kidney pie.
Hereford Road, 3 Hereford Road, London W2 | The Independent
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It was set up four years ago by Tom Pemberton, who had been head chef at Henderson's St John Bread and Wine, and still boasts a menu that, from nose to tail, carries the stamp of Hendersonism.
These lead on to a few short steps, which take us into a lower-ground floor with a series of booths that can comfortably seat seven (three on each side and one on the end sticking out).
Tonight, a cold winter Thursday, there are 10 starters, eight single mains, three sharing mains, three sides, seven sweet desserts and a cheese selection – all told, a manageably short menu.
That is just as Henderson, whose spirit breathes through the walls here, would have wanted it, and if the skill and finish of these dishes doesn't quite attain the levels in either of his St John outfits, they at least show how deep his influence on our eating habits has been.
About £90 for two, including wine and service St John's younger and buzzier Spitalfields canteen spin-off is now even more reliable than its parent – and the British fare so adventurous in its simplicity as to be really exciting Inspired British cooking with an abundance of offal is served at this unassuming, relaxed establishment, hidden away near City Hall Showcasing the best of British food, this self-consciously basic Covent Garden pub conversion comes complete with lively interior
Hereford Road restaurant review 2009 June London | British ...
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Potted crab on toast was again simple, but the crab meat had very good taste (13/20).
The menu is simple, with half a dozen starters, main courses and desserts.
The eel itself was of good quality, with plenty of robust flavour, while the celeriac was excellent, the creaminess of the remoulade offset by a generous dose of mustard cutting through the dish (14/20).
Spinach, mushroom and cheese pie had good pastry and a rich taste, served with a well-dressed salad (13/20).
My pheasant in itself was cooked correctly but was, oddly, rather lacking in taste, but was served with excellent puy lentils and lovely red cabbage (13/20 for the dish overall, but the vegetables were 15/20 level).
Pomona's, London W2: 'It's pretty much a distillation of everything ...
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Another day, another west London restaurant – specifically, Notting Hill et environs – aimed at women who dream of being Elle Macpherson when they grow up, monitor their every mouthful, worship the Hemsley sisters and talk about food being “good” or “bad”.
(“Caramelised croissant and prune pie,” allegedly.)
Pomona’s is pretty much a distillation of everything that sets my teeth on edge: west London, Cameron-esque entitlement, yummy mummies in nappy valley ghetto squads, specious nods at “healthy” food.
The barman – knocking up not just those smoothies but also actual, alcoholic cocktails, and rather good ones, too – is the only man in the place during our visit.
On a warm summer’s day with the garden open and the option to pretend that raw brussels sprouts will save my liver, hell, yeah.
West London's top 10 budget restaurants | Travel | The Guardian
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The morning menu stretches from freshly baked pastries to Scottish smoked salmon and cream cheese on toasted muffins, and includes the Pekoe Florentine (£6), where the expected hollandaise is replaced (presumably with calorie-counting yummy mummies in mind) with fresh spinach and a dressing of olive oil.
Units T4-T5, New Shepherd's Bush Market, Uxbridge Road, W12 (+44 (0) 7798 906668, mrfalafel.co.uk) A little bit of downtown Damascus on the Uxbridge Road, this buzzy Syrian restaurant – all carved wood and ornate Arabic brasswork, satellite TV and genial bustle – offers eye-opening food at remarkably low prices.
Syria shares many dishes with its Middle Eastern and eastern Mediterranean neighbours (hummus, tabbouleh, Lebanese fattoush salad, moussaka, Moroccan tagines and myriad grilled kebabs) and, naturally, the aubergine plays a significant role in the Abu Zaad kitchen.
The daily takeaway menu includes the shop's own hot pasta bakes, soup, samosas, salads, various pies, sausage rolls (£1.10, and a little too heavily seasoned with sage and pepper, in my opinion) and seriously good cakes.
Everything about a sample salmon and cream cheese bagel (the dense, chewy, almost sweetish bagel; the rich, thick, sharp cream cheese; the bright, lightly cured salmon; the fastidious scattering of fresh chives and ground pepper) was testament to Mr Christian's enduring quality.
Hereford Road | Restaurants in Westbourne, London
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Nose-to-tail eating from a wonderful - and well priced - fixture in the W2 dining scene.
Hereford Road is run by one of those nose-to-tail champions – head chef Tom Pemberton has taken his use-every-cut training to this moneyed part of west London.
His restaurant makes its intentions clear: the first thing you see upon entering the long, narrow space is the kitchen; if it were any more open you’d be eating off the chefs’ laps.
Sit and wonder how the restaurant can manage to serve two courses for £13 at lunch as you tuck into hearty dishes like devilled duck livers with shallots, brill with roasted cauliflower, or onglet and chips.
A wonderful place.