Hereford Road
Notting Hill, London
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The years roll by, but this renovated former butcher's shop still attracts the local crowd with its inviting banquettes opposite an open kitchen (perfect for couples) and soft red leather booths under a circular skylight. Tom Pemberton, an alumnus of St John, continues to offer high-impact, no-nonsense British cooking that achieves its aims. Grilled new season's asparagus comes with hazelnuts or there might be gutsy lamb's sweetbreads with green beans and mint. Simple vegetable accompaniments (sprouting broccoli with hake; carrots with slow-cooked ox cheeks) emphasise their main ingredients, while earthiness is the chief appeal of roast guinea fowl with lentils, wild garlic and mushrooms. Homely desserts such as warm rice pudding with jam or buttermilk pudding with strawberries bring things to a triumphant conclusion. Pemberton's Sunday roasts, including crackled pork belly, are worth signing up for: 'even the French family next to me had booked in advance,' observed one diner. Biodynamic and organic wines feature strongly on an all-European list that starts at £27.50.
