Hereford Road

Hereford Road deserves a prize for seating. They have created the most optimal type of seats for a given space that I think I have ever seen. You enter along a corridor of romantic two-seater banquettes where couples can eat in an almost side-by-side format. Then most of the restaurant is given over to generous six-seater booths which encourage conviviality and a good night out. The rest of the decor is modern, cool, but quite plain.

Service, wine and pricing were all excellent. We were amazed to get out at £45 a head after a three course meal with plenty of wine and bottled water.

My only disappointment was the food, which is the St John, grisly carnivore style. I’m sure it’s great for those who love it but I prefer my food to be refined and elegant and struggled to find anything I really wanted to eat. My razor clams and brill were well-executed and fine, but I longed for more dishes to choose from. My friends spent most of the night dismembering half a lamb in a soup with carrots which they loved, but left me cold and looked like something people ate in medieval times. A dessert of profiteroles was also quite hard.

Overall – a lovely space, great for couples or groups. Many will love the food, and I will be back, but wish I could have true modern continental sophisticated fare.

We were pleasantly surprised by this new neighbour of ours, popping in for an unplanned dinner just after it opened. The food was excellent – honest, traditional, perfectly cooked – simply delicious. The open-plan kitchen made the whole experience a lot more personal and added buzz. The value for money is outstanding, given the high quality of food and wine and very reasonable prices. The only slight criticism, which may have been a teething problem, is that the floor staff seemed rushed, not entirely in control and not always that attentive. However, service was very friendly, which mostly made up for the occasional wait. I have tried to return to this little gem of a restaurant ever since, but its become so popular I have not been able to get a table!