Hearth Restaurant and Bakery — Restaurant in England

Honestly, the best food we’ve eaten all year! I know that doesn’t sound too hard to achieve considering how 2020 has gone, but it’s true. We went to a couple of restaurants before lockdown and have had many takeaways since. There is not 1 takeaway that could come close to the food that Hearth create and the depth of flavours even manage to edge out some fine dining in the Mayfair district of London.

What you get is a lovingly packaged meal, ready to heat up, with minimal effort. Each dish has its own recipe card with detailed instructions (don’t panic, it involves turning the oven on, popping a dish in) on how to get the most out of your food. Both our meals took 15mins, which is just the right amount of time to get some plates out, layer up your buns with the provided salads and sauces, and pop open a bottle of something nice. After heating the cheese sauce in a pan of boiling water for 5 mins, we were ready to assemble our dinner. Now comes the fun bit, putting it all together. How much sauce, relish and garnish is up to you. How messy do I want my brisket bun? Do I want to save some cheese sauce for my potatoes? (I’ll let you into a secret, there’s more than enough cheese sauce for a messy bun and to have some left over for your spuds)

Now the food, it’s more expensive than a cheap takeaway, but it’s in a different league. It’s hot, the bread is fresh (not sweaty thanks to a polystyrene container and a trip on a moped), the salad is crisp and the meat and sauces are divine. It’s as good as any quality restaurant, if not better, but you have to put in a tiny bit of effort and no one does the washing up for you.

Our order: Glazed Lamb Kofta Oak Smoked Brisket And because I don’t like to feel hungry after a meal, Crispy Potatoes Mac ‘n’ Cheese and the Cheeky Beans

Plus there was a little treat for dessert, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if I wrote about that.

The glazed Lamb Kofta came with a parsnip purée and pickled carrots on a potato flat bread, topped with Meat Mayo and crispy onions. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! The flavours develop as you chew, meaty spiced lamb, giving way to the sweet parsnip before the pickled carrots appear. Honestly, I’ve never eaten a kebab like it.

The Oak Smoked Brisket arrived with a handmade sesame bun, burn onion relish and a chilli cheese sauce. The brisket was so tender it almost fell apart as it went into the bun, the cheese sauce had just enough chillis to let you know they were there without ever overpowering anything else and the burn onions only lacked my granny’s Yorkshire puddings to make them perfect.

I’ve gone on too long to mention the sides, but they were of the same standard and each one holding its own against the main dishes.

As for the quantity, 3 sides was too much for the 2 of us to polish off and leave room for our dessert. We felt bad at not eating it with the rest of the meal, but it was a lovely treat mid afternoon the next day.

All in all outstanding! Lovely food, carefully prepared by lovely people and hand delivered to your door. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

TLDR: Great food, good portions, salivating writing this review, go and...

I can say that some of the food my wife and I had during our first visit to Hearth was excellent. The smaller plates especially with the salmon gnocchi a particular favourite. The welcome was nice, and all the staff were very pleasant. I really wanted to love the place, but a few issues meant I have had to leave a 'lower' four-star review. Three stars seemed a little harsh, but it couldn't be five. As mentioned, most of the food was excellent, however one of our large plates was a little underwhelming, the lamb which we felt wasn't as tasty as we would have hoped. I appreciate this is personal taste and some may love it.

One issue we had was a few requests not being actioned. We asked for more water for the table when our large plates came out, the waitress was very polite and said she would sort that but never came back with the water. We asked for the bill from the same waitress as she cleared our table, this also unfortunately did not arrive, and we had to ask someone else.

The main issue we had though was just how noisy it got. It was a Saturday night, and by the time we left the restaurant was full. However, two parties of eight meant the noise levels got to the point that we struggled to hear each other in the end. There was one group in particular who really should have been asked to keep the noise down as they were basically shouting at each other.

The last problem was the floor being a little uneven with a slight slope (an old building so fair enough) but because of this our table sloped slightly sideways. Not a problem during the meal (we found it quite funny, and it caused no real issues). However, when my wife stood up and leant on the table it tipped slightly sideways and an empty bottle and cooler fell off the table which was a little embarrassing, especially as the noising group mentioned above thought it was the right place and time to cheer. They should maybe save that sort of behaviour for their, no doubt frequent visits to Wetherspoons!

We will visit Hearth again I think but probably not on a Saturday night and will ask for a level...

We enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch in this buzzing, popular restaurant. This was the first time to Hearth after hearing good things and seeing the positive reviews. It was also a nostalgia trip, being an avid diner in Studio 101/2 cafe back in the 90s when a student at the Art College in Hull in my youth. The restaurant has a simple, stylish interior and is a pleasant environment to dine. It also appears very well organised and had an abundance of service staff. We were seated in the upstairs restaurant seated opposite the open kitchen. The service was attentive from the staff for ordering and checking on drinks, but the main course food service was fairly slow. We decided on 2 courses and waited 45 minutes after ordering for our mains, which did seem too long. Desserts arrived much quicker, within 10 minutes The food quality is very good homestyle rustic comfort food (which seems to be the new bar set for Michelin guide rated food these days...as home cooked food becomes less the norm of society). Portions are generous, and Sunday lunch trimmings are plentiful. A special note for the meatloaf style sage and onion 'pudding', which was deemed 'excellent'and the roast potatoes were perfectly crisp outside and fluffy inside. The only disappointment was the over seasoning of the food, as all savoury courses and gravy did seem VERY salty. We would have preferred a less salty taste and felt thirsty for several hours after eating. Also, identifying allergies or dietary requirements was not determined upfront by staff, when ordering or any mention. For example, one fish main course arrived at the table with a gravy already poured over the (enormous) yorkshire pudding, and we had to query with the waitress if the gravy was meat free. Which was confirmed. Desserts were excellent, with interesting menu choices, and, again, generous portions. We would return, as the overall experience was enjoyable, but maybe to try the evening...