Hereford Road, London

[Food Snob]

Hereford Road: A very pleasing experience.

I am a big fan of offal and funny cuts, so I really enjoyed the sort of cuisine here - nose-to-tail.

Pemberton, ex-St. John, seems like a chef enjoying himself, cooking the food he himself likes.

'Slip Soles, Jerusalem Artichoke and Red Onion' was the best dish; close behind came 'Deep Fried Calves' Brains and Tartare Sauce'

Read my Hereford Road lunch here

Good food, great value, friendly service.

Would return for to try the Whole Braised Oxtail they do for dinner.

Edited November 24, 2008 by Food Snob (log)

[nikkib]

Another great meal here toda, tried one of their ridiculously good value set lunch deals. Express lunch of a glass of wine, coffee and smoked haddock with white beans and cauliflower was delicious and a steal at $9. They also offered a $13 and $15 choice of 2/3 choices that also looked very good. Shame to see how quiet they were, hopefully this was just a monday thing as This is a great restaurant, doing a great job!

[RDB]

Sounds good Nikki, but is it a sign of current times that restaurants are charging in dollars

[nikkib]

And another great lunch again today. good to see the restaurant a bit busier than when i went last as well. I started with the Black pudding and fried duck egg which was well executed although far too big a portion of black pudding for me. I then had the Brill with Courgettes and saffron which was very good indeed, a nice meaty tranche roasted in lots of butter with chunks of courgettes sweated down with saffron. Perfectly cooked and great, simple flavours. I had a scoop of both the rhubarb sorbet and almond ice cream for dessert and 1 gls and a (250ml or 3rd of a bottle as they seem to have rebranded it) carafe of vermentino. My bill with a coffee and bottle of water and a tip came to £42 and i waddled off home happy and content. A great local restaurant that makes me very happy to live in W11.

[david goodfellow]

And another great lunch again today. good to see the restaurant a bit busier than when i went last as well. I started with the Black pudding and fried duck egg which was well executed although far too big a portion of black pudding for me. I then had the Brill with Courgettes and saffron which was very good indeed, a nice meaty tranche roasted in lots of butter with chunks of courgettes sweated down with saffron. Perfectly cooked and great, simple flavours. I had a scoop of both the rhubarb sorbet and almond ice cream for dessert and 1 gls and a (250ml or 3rd of a bottle as they seem to have rebranded it) carafe of vermentino. My bill with a coffee and bottle of water and a tip came to £42 and i waddled off home happy and content. A great local restaurant that makes me very happy to live in W11.

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Your lucky indeed, its now on my "to visit list" on one of my fairly frequent trips"down the shmoke"

After a multitude of tasting menus, we just want a bit of "gutsy" eating

[Peter H]

Your lucky indeed, its now on my "to visit list" on one of my fairly frequent trips"down the shmoke"

After a multitude of tasting menus, we just want a bit of "gutsy" eating

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I had a lovely meal at Hereford Road back in February. Because the menu changes daily, I didn't see all the dishes I'd seen in reviews, but there were plenty of choices that appealed!

Some photos here

[Oliver Thring]

I had a good but not great meal here a few days ago. Quite a few things seemed underseasoned, and technique comes across at times as rather hurried. But still an excellent menu and a great neighbourhood place.

Review here: http://oliverthring.blogspot.com/2009/04/h...ill-london.html

[PhilD]

Sad news about the co-owner: Alexander Mosely

[olicollett]

Had a nice lunch here on Saturday, although it was eerily quiet. We only spotted about 10 diners in the restaurant during the whole time we were there and the waitress said it was very unusual.

I started with some deep fried sand eels with tartare sauce. The sand eels were coated in some kind of mustard/flour combination that worked well to make a simple yet tasty dish to start things off. My friend had the salt beef with pickled cucumber which seemed to go down very well.

Next I had lamb rump with celeriac. The celeriac was well done but sadly the lamb was a little on the tough side. My friend had guinea foul with lentils which he thought was excellent, certainly seemed like the better of the two mains.

To finish, some elderflower jelly with ice cream. Simple and delicious, as you would expect.

All in all, a pretty good meal at a reasonable price. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed there, it's just a shame it was so quiet. The menu is very much along the same lines as St John, which is hardly surprising given the chef's past, and that's no bad thing. I'll definitely consider going again if I'm in the area.

[david goodfellow]

Don't go to Hereford Road expecting, foams, purees, sous vide, or dainty little offerings.

This is caveman territory, in the best possible way of course.

If you like big simple food, thats not been "mucked about with", you have arrived.

We were some of the first to arrive, on a pretty hot Sunday lunchtime, and I was concerned that the food may be a bit heavy on such a day.

It was not.

The place itself is a bit like the food, stripped back, what you see, is what you get, nothing wrong with that of course, it appeals to me.

The best seats in the house for foodies (of course) are the booths for two, directly opposite the white tiled open kitchen, where Tom Pemberton and his chef Luigi? not only cook but greet regular and much welcome new customers to this popular eatery.

Open every day of the week, Tom's last day off was seven weeks ago, using that time to catch up with his long supported Arsenal.

He's not short of a social life however,it all arrives in the restaurant.

Smoked Trout, New Potatoes and horseradish.

Lambs Sweetbreads, parsley and pearl barley.

Cold loin of Blythburgh Pork, watercress and mustard.

Poached Sea Trout, Cucumber and Kohlrabi salad

Duck breast, lentils, and New season Leeks

Eton Mess.

Buttermilk pudding and Tayberries.

Sometimes we only "do" starters and skip mains completely, and with a choice of eight to go at, this was appealing, however the choice of mains (eight) dictated we go traditional.

All the starters were decent, we enjoyed the sweetbreads most, and surprisingly enough Mrs G ate the pearl barley that she has refused to eat, in any recipe that I have suggested over the decades.

The smoked Trout was our next favourite, served amidst a crisp green, and tasty salad.

The largest tranche of Sea Trout I have ever witnessed on a plate , arrived with an inviting mixed salad to break up the flavours a bit.

The duck breast was thoroughly enjoyed by Mrs G, had a taste myself and it was spot on, I really like the earthyness of lentils, and the leeks were flavoursome.

Ever so simple Eton Mess, and Buttermilk Pud rounded off the meal, and what for us was a very pleasant way of spending a Sunday afternoon.

We were of course Mr & Mrs Piggy the Sea Trout dish (£13.40) alone would feed five skinny models, the point that I'm trying to make here is this.

Our bill with all of the above, plus a glass of Fino, one Manzanilla, two red, a couple of whites, jug of Thames water and a generous tip was £90. Work it out for yourself, mains are about £13, starters £6, puds £5.50, you can dine here for a pretty reasonable amount if you watch what you drink.

The food itself is hearty, full flavoured, honest to goodness simplicity.

I had a right good natter with Tom over the pleasant two hours, as he and Luigi plated up the various dishes.

As we bid our farewells, the heat coming from the kitchen on this very hot day was quite overwhelming, and we were standing on the other side of the pass.

Tom explained that it was not so bad today, especially as the grill had broken down, a bit of a blessing in disguise?

So spare a thought to all that hard work that goes into putting a decent piece of nosh on your plate.

Go give it a try

Edited July 10, 2009 by david goodfellow (log)

[genuineness]

david i Loved your comment 'this is cavemen territory'. made me LOL

[nikkib]

Yum Yum Yum Yum!! I wish i could be more eloquent when writing here but there you go! I'm sure i've said it before and i'll say it again - if there is a better deal than the 9.50 express lunch deal i'd like to see it.... Of course 6 days into my new year "diet" I wasn't going to settle for one course, coffee and wine for 9.50 so I chose to start with the potted crab at 7.50 and a glass of the house wine at around 3.70. A generous portion of potted white and brown meat with delicious home made bread. My main was from the set menu - Roast Quail with squash and lentils and it was absolutely delicious. I added another glass of wine, a scoop of homemade rum and raisen ice cream and the set menu inclusive coffee which all came to 33.50. Hereford Road is truly a great restaurant, if you haven't been - GO!