Harwood Arms

The Harwood Arms remains the only Michelin starred pub in London. Josh Cutress has been the head chef here since March 2023, taking over from Jake Leach. Josh was formerly sous chef here and previously worked at The Ledbury and The Square. Three courses were priced at £79. The menu is quite short these days, but there is a full vegetarian alternative to the main menu. I have written previously about the wine list, and corkage was available at £40 a bottle.  

Soda bread was served warm and was good. I started with the signature vension Scotch egg, served with Oxford sauce. This is a recipe that goes back to at least Victorian times, and has tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, mustard, pepper, garlic and a touch of chilli, and optionally things like tamarind and cumin. The Scotch egg itself is a joy here, the venison meat richer than the conventional pork used in Scotch eggs, the egg here cooked to order and liquid when you cut open the casing of the Scotch egg. The seasoning was spot on, and the flavour of the venison was superb. The tangy Oxford sauce is just what is needed to balance the richness (16/20). There is even a vegetarian Scotch egg offered as an alternative, and this went down well with my companion.

Chicken liver parfait came with endive, pickled onion and grapes inside endive leaf, with hazelnuts and a brioche with chicken skin on the side. The liver parfait could have had slightly more liver flavour intensity for me, but the bitter endive was a good match for its richness, and the hazelnuts brought an extra texture (14/20). 

Fallow deer came with bone marrow jus, smoked beetroot and puree deer faggot with Australian black truffle. There was also a deer faggot with endive leaves and a smoked potato emulsion. On the side was deer tongue with black berry, which was interesting, but the star for me was the intensely flavoured deer faggot (16/20).

A vegetarian alternative was a courgette dish, with a ratatouille of chopped tomatoes and courgettes and basil leaves. The main dish had courgette, basil puree and ewe's curd and courgette with olives dressed with olive leaves and basil powder. The main courses came with very enjoyable roast garlic potatoes.

Pear and almond tartlet involved stem ginger syrup and a slab of blue-veined Perl Las cheese with mustard jam. The elements were each good in themselves, though the combination of a sweet tartlet with cheese and mustard seemed a little eccentric (13/20). An alternative was a honey tart, which had an almond base with cherry puree and a buttermilk ice cream. This was pleasant enough.  

Coffee was from Difference Coffee, and I had some lovely Jamaican Blue Mountain as espresso. Our waiter, Chris, was very good, being enthusiastic and helpful. The bill came to £116.64 each, including corkage and a glass of dessert wine. The Harwood Arms continues to deliver an excellent all-round experience. The game here is high class, as shown with the fallow deer main course, but it is nice to see a full vegetarian menu as an alternative. The desserts could be improved, but people come here for the game, and to be honest, I’d be happy just to sit at the bar and eat a succession of venison Scotch eggs all evening.

Service was excellent, with our waiter (Chris) being enthusiastic and capable. The bill came to £117 per person. If you shared a modest bottle of wine, then the cost per person might come to around £115. The Harwood Arms continues to deliver very capable food with a focus on game. The menu is appealing, the technical execution in the kitchen is good, and the price is fair. I wish I could say that of more restaurants in London these days

Further reviews: 06th Mar 2023 | 08th Aug 2022 | 16th Feb 2022 | 16th Jan 2020 | 09th Jan 2020 | 19th Feb 2018 | 01st Sep 2016 | 10th Mar 2016 | 19th Oct 2015 | 07th Jun 2012