Damien Hirst’s long-closed Notting Hill restaurant Pharmacy has been resurrected in Vauxhall as Pharmacy 2, coming into partnership with Mark Hix (the man behind the HIX restaurant brand) – whose influence on the modern British menu is evident. Have they triumphed, or was this one restaurant memory best kept in the past? Find out here…
The dining room is located within Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, tucked down an anonymous street by railway tracks. As bright and crisp as an early noughties David LaChapelle photograph, the interior is stuffed with Hirst's work, including his striking butterfly Kaleidoscope paintings. There's medication everywhere: bar stools have been transformed into giant tablets, pills are embroidered onto the bright blue banquettes and medicine cabinets line the walls. Staff are friendly, but service can be leisurely – we waited ages for main courses.
Hix’s menu highlights top-quality ingredients, simply served: Glenarm Estate beef; Hix-cure smoked salmon; and snacks including delectable cuttlefish croquettes with inky-black centres, served with wild-garlic mayonnaise. Hix’s classic ‘heaven and earth’ starter also appears, comprising softly spiced black pudding atop a contrasting pile of sweet mashed apple and potato. The short mains list focuses on marine life; our smoked haddock with poached egg and colcannon was comforting, if slightly over-salted. Mini puddings (reasonable at £4) are designed to share; don’t miss the fruity, refreshing poached Yorkshire rhubarb with saffron ice cream.
With a well-edited wine choice and concise cocktail list to round off the package, it’s a gallery restaurant artfully done. Pharmacy 2 might well be a prescription for success – if it overcomes the isolated location.
Find out more and book a table at Pharmacy 2 here. Exhausted by all this reading malarkey? Well then you’re in luck, because we filmed our SquareReel News video at Pharmacy 2 with Mr Hix himself this month. Watch SquareReel News at Pharmacy 2 here.
This article was published 16 March 2016