#foodporn Sunday #breakfast is #sloppyjoe (hot #Bolognese style sauce #sandwich yum) (Taken with instagram)
Dinner at The Hepworth
I can’t decide if I’d genuinely never heard of The Hepworth before or if I simply couldn’t remember. Either way, the prospect of a visit was enough for me to download the menu and see what the crack was.
And what an interesting menu it was. Enough to make me actually salivate whilst reading it out loud at work. The kind of menu where the name of the dish lists half the ingredients. Most things will come with a jus, cream or puree. Chips are “chipped potatoes” and gravy will be a “reduction”. Such menus make Mr W’s head hurt and my stomach rumble.
Perhaps it should have sent alarm bells ringing. It might be like The Milestone again - teeny portions of overwrought, underwhelming food - but I remained optimistic.
The restaurant itself appears to be hidden away behind trees, the windy path to the door adorned with wooden sculptures and water features. Inside, everything is “low” - ceilings, lighting, seating - except for the beautiful, extravagant floral table centrepieces which obscure the view of your companions. The rooms feel intimate, without feeling cramped, with a touch of luxurious elegance: plush reserved booths near the bar, plenty of white linen and candles in the main dining area and “gilt” framed mirrors everywhere.
The menu was slightly different to the one I’d found online: changing with the seasons is always a good sign. As we were half an hour early, we were given menus to peruse whilst we had a drink in the bar. I was pleasantly surprised to find real ale on offer and went for a pint from Holmfirth’s Nook Brewhouse - “Yorks” (3.8%) was a subtly sweet and malty bitter, very easy to drink - but perhaps a little filling. (When will I learn to order halves?!)
Once seated we were presented with long, knarled home-made breadsticks and the creamiest hummus I’ve ever had, which made a nice change from the standard rolls and unsalted butter.
After much deliberation, I had decided to start with the pigeon. The dish was nicely presented and not disappointingly small. The bird was juicy and flavoursome, served on a bed of earthy, savoury lentils which were cooked till tender whilst still keeping their shape. A few minutes either way and they could have been pellets or mush. Short strips of bacon added a nice salty sweetness to the lentils but the crunchy walnut bar thing on top seemed unnecessary. I imagine it was added for texture, but any flavour it might have had was masked by the tastiness of the rest of the ingredients.
Mr W had a dinky ham croquette, which he seemed to enjoy, despite having to de-pea it. He generously offered me half the cute quail’s egg which decorated the plate, a wonderfully squidgy mouthful with a nice rich yolk.
Not content with one bird, I chose duck for my main. Or, to be more precise, seared duck breast (beautifully cooked, just like the pigeon) with a little pie confit of leg and plum (meltingingly tender and sweet shredded meat in a light puff pastry case) served on top of woodland mushrooms (a rich, earthy well-cooked bed for the breast meat, like the lentils were for the pigeon) and spinach. In fact, my first two courses were quite similar, my fault really, but they were both so tasty I don’t really care.
The other main I’d considered was the belly pork, and I was fortunate enough to sample the chorizo sausage roll that came with it - decadently buttery pastry wrapped around soft, spiced sausage (reckon it would make a great bar snack.) The crackling looked amazing too.
I ordered mashed potato to provide some starch, which was a great vehicle for all those meaty juices on the plate. A side of purple and white (!) beetroot was a delight, not only because I love the vegetable but I haven’t had un-pickled beetroot since my beloved Grandma (RIP) stopped cooking a few years ago.
Not so great was the chipped potato I sampled. How can a place get so many things right but fail at making a decent chip? Undercooked and a little pale, I doubt it was twice fried and only bothered to eat one.
The dessert menu was too exciting to ignore, with everything sounding scrumptiously fussy. The one sweet that I had my heart set on (I forget what the exact description was, but I translated it as Reece’s peanut butter arctic roll) was all gone, so I turned to a (particular) dining companion and asked if anyone cared to share a cheeseboard. I knew he’d say yes - his love of stinky cheeses is at least on par with my own.
Like every other place that describes itself as “contemporary British”, the cheeseboard arrived on a slate tile. We were allowed to choose 4 cheeses from the list, which came with a homemade apple chutney (chunky and not too sweet) and two types of biscuit (one seeded and crisp, the other suitably bland with a soft crunch.) We plumped for Calvados soaked Camembert, which had been de-rinded and rolled in breadcrumbs, a creamy Cornish Yarg, a salty blue Valdeon and I forget the last one…we also drank a fair bit of wine that night.
Nevertheless, all the cheeses were lovely and a good temperature (I don’t like straight-from-fridge chilly fromage) and the portions were just right to share if you only have a little room for dessert.
Overall, I was really impressed. They obviously know what they’re doing in the kitchen. The staff are polite and happy to give their opinion, without steering you to the most expensive option. The dining area is comfortably elegant and the quality of the food justifies the prices, even if they do convince you this is for special occasions only.
Those with a “limited palate” might struggle to find a dish they are a 100% comfortable with, but if you’re not too fussy you’ll struggle to choose from the wonderful, hunger-inducing menu. And it’s nothing like The Milestone.
#foodporn tonights tea was water #buffalo #burgers with blue #cheese and a carrot and red onion #salad … It was #delicious (Taken with instagram)
#foodporn tomorrow’s lunch! Med veg #tart dinky lamb #pie #buffalo #mozzarella stuffed pasta and carrot #salad with #blackberry vinegarette and crushed #walnuts (Taken with instagram)
