Roger Hickman’s
Norwich, Norfolk
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There is an unruffled serenity about Roger Hickman’s restaurant that hits the mark winter or summer, lunch or dinner. Its white-clothed elegance is low-key, the food is deliciously unfussy, and knowledgeable service is the sort you wish every establishment could deliver. It’s a place at ease with itself. A little bowl of gazpacho sets the pace for a summertime lunch; it’s perky, palate-awakening and freckled with olive crumb. Asparagus could follow, poached, roasted and moussed, with Parmesan and pickled mushrooms for that umami win. Elsewhere, venison is cooked low and slow, with pickled ginger and pickled cauliflower balancing the rich sweetness of the meat, and more of the veg roasted and puréed for nutty savouriness; a crumble of dukkah adds companionable Middle Eastern flavours. By contrast, chicken breast is as tender as its accompanying croquette of confit leg meat is crisp, with several iterations of celeriac adding texture and layers of earthy flavour. Fishy preferences might lead you to summery Cromer crab with quail's egg and samphire, while a dish of giant couscous packed with sunny flavours of red pepper, courgette, tomato and olive will satisfy non meat-eaters. Finish with a spirited raspberry sorbet served alongside a properly delicious raspberry frangipane tart, or try the delicate vanilla parfait with lime crumb. The wine list (from £30) opens with a Chilean Pinot Noir before scooping out gems including a rosé from Provence's storied Domaine Tempier, and powerful classics from Bordeaux’s Left Bank, California’s Napa Valley, and acclaimed winemaker Kevin Judd’s Greywacke vineyards in New Zealand.
