Coming from LA; a city blessed without weather and the access to seasonal foods year round, I have to say eating at The Harwood Arms was an amazingly refreshing, and very tasty experience.
The Harwood Arms enlightens your palette despite the accessibility of ingredients due to actual winter weather, something I had never thought would limit a typical chef or restaurant's menu here in LA. Located in Walham Grove, my boyfriend Craig and I jumped on the tube from Regent's Park where we where staying and took a 5-8 minute walk from the station through West Brompton, a quiet neighborhood to reach Harwood. We where meeting Craig's parents, Colette and Daniel respectable chefs from LA.
The service there was amazingly fast and friendly, considering they only had two lovely servers who not only ran the whole floor, running up the stairs to the kitchen on the second floor, but also busing the tables. Now getting to the food and drink, Harwood Arms is actually a refurbished home turned gastropub with a good selection of wine, ciders and beers. The highlight however, was the local game and wild venison they had on the menu, caught locally in Berkshire.
^ Westons Premium Organic Cider\
To start off I had the cider, which was by far the best cider I had ever had. For 125 years of cider work, it was deliciously fruity and light without being overloaded with a sugary aftertaste many American ciders leave behind.
^ Berkshire Hare Faggots with carrot puree,
horn of plenty mushrooms and black pepper
I then continued with the Berkshire Hare, which Craig and Daniel had ordered as well. The hare was caught fresh, and made into a savory meatball, complemented with the sweet winter carrot puree. I never knew cute animals where so tasty! Colette decided to settle with something less fuzzy:
^ Warm salad of roasted parsnip and stilton
with toasted and pickled walnuts.
^ Grilled fallow deer chops with crispy garlic potatoes,
black cabbage and mushroom ketchup.
Then the main dish arrived, and a brave one for me at that. Deer is one of my favorite animals, and I had ordered the Grilled fallow deer. The chops came with a thin slab of fat rimming the bone, and the meat was soft, dark and savory without the heavy char taste. To level out the richness of the deer, on the side was a slightly vinegary dip and juicy mushrooms with a hint of tomatoes. Craig and Daniel ordered the same with Colette ordering this delicately crispy yet juicy dish:
^ Berkshire phesant kiev with marjoram butter,
spiced red cabbage and champ
^ The wine with dinner was a 2008 Pinot Noir: Ten Minutes by Tractor
a wine imported from Australia.
^ Three British cheeses with oat biscuits, Welsh cakes and celery.
The cheddar was the highlight of the plate, not too creamy, sharp and crumbled in your mouth.
Moving on to desserts:
^ The Eton mess with caramelized apples, mincemeat and sherry jelly
Despite the overwhelming name, the dessert was deliciously contained. Every scoop got me to dig for the crunchy pieces of the caramelized apple. Craig then got this:
^ Warm spiced marmalade cakes with sour cream,
fresh orange and whiskey jelly
Then at the end of dinner we where humbled by the appearance of the chef himself
after Daniel sent this note up to the kitchen:
^ "Sous Vide? Yes or No?
Why/how come everything is perfect?
Would you like to go to the dance with me?"
^ Chef Stephen Williams with Daniel
^ Craig and the whiskey,
downed so fast I never caught a taste or name!
^ How sugar cubes should be with your tea.
^ Way to end the night.
Delicious!
Ultimately, one of the best places for dinner with a pub-like setting. Great service, excellent food, fresh, refreshingly new and an amazing place for a true English country taste. I don't think I've ever had such amazing food and dinning experience.
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The Harwood Arms
27 Walham Grove
London SW6 1QP
tel: 0207.386.1847
1 comments:
As a slightly insteresting aside, until about 4 years ago, Cider in the UK was considered a drink fit only for tramps, hillbillies and teenagers who couldn't get served in pubs. Then in about 2007 it was rebranded as a refreshing drink suitable for a warm summer's day; it is now considered OK for less marginal members of society to drink.
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