A wonderful meal, the best I've had in the UK since… well, a very long time.
We made our way out to Chiswick for lunch not knowing quite what to expect, but having heard very good things about Hedone. It turned out to be even more impressive than we had hoped.
We ordered Chef Mikael Jonsson's tasting menu and settled in at table for a leisurely three hours of great pleasure and sensory satisfaction.
All the courses were beautifully presented and intensely flavorful. The quality of the ingredients was outstanding.
The highlights? Too many to single out. But we will not forget the brilliant home-baked sourdough bread that we nibbled on throughout the meal. It's some of the very best in the land.
As our opening amuse, white crab meat topped with apricot:
A whole poached oyster, served on the half-shell atop a mound of finely grated Granny Smith apple with diced pickled shallots – all to be downed in a single mouthful:
Gazpacho — and what a gazpacho it was — with dill flower and mustard cream:
Made with lovely sun-ripened Sicilian tomatoes. So superb it deserves a close-up:
Broken duck egg with apricot, girolles, haricots and slivers of almond:
Turbot, with seaweed (nori) emulsion – and a single perfect cockle:
Belly of Tamworth pork, beautifully crisped skin, soft melting flesh; with vine peach:
Challans duck with miso-glazed aubergine:
Lemon variation, a superbly refreshing composition of meringue, cream, jelly and sorbet, all infused with gently tart lemon:
Raspberries with crispy filo pastry, cinnamon and piquant horseradish cream, a drizzle of aromatic vinegar:
And, in closing, a vanilla macaron and miniature canelé to accompany the tea.
It was a wonderful meal. Many thanks, Chef Jonsson!
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