By day, Hearth is a bakery and café in Hull’s Old Town; by night, it becomes one of the city’s most compelling neighbourhood restaurants. Set across two floors in Trinity Square, Hearth manages to feel both accomplished and approachable.
Downstairs, the bakery is open Thursday to Sunday, filling the space with the smell of fresh bread and pastries from morning onwards. The daytime menu is curated with a mix of crowd-pleasers (like the bacon baps) and unique spins on old favourites, such as winter spiced porridge topped with poached pear and crystallised hazelnuts. While, toasted crumpets are given a savoury edge with umami butter, poached eggs and chives. It’s an easy, welcoming spot to linger over brunch, helped along by good coffee and a calm, unhurried atmosphere.
Evenings shift things up a gear. Guests enter through the bar, where cocktails and snacks set the tone before heading upstairs to the dining room. The menu focuses on confident, fire-led cooking: large plates cooked hot and fast over a custom hearth, or low and slow in the smoker, supported by smaller plates designed for sharing. Dishes change with the seasons, but a plate like roasted cod with barbecued hispi cabbage and roast chicken emulsion gives a clear sense of the style - ingredient-led, technically assured, and grounded in flavour.
Behind Hearth are owners Ryan Telford and Caitlin Ogden, whose combined experience shapes the restaurant’s balance of polish and ease. Telford has worked in Michelin-level kitchens including Chez Bruce in London and Henne in Denmark, while Ogden trained in classical French patisserie at The Ritz and Elystan Street. That pedigree shows, but it’s worn lightly.
The drinks list reflects the same approach. Cocktails include the Beetlejuice mixing Beefeater gin with beetroot, verjus and walnut bitters and the Bergamot Tea, blending vodka, Earl Grey, Italicus and honey. Alongside interesting wines and attentive service, it’s easy to see why Hearth appears in The Good Food Guide, the Michelin Guide and Top 100 Local Restaurants.