Hedone
I braved the wilderness in search of good food. Chiswick.
I had heard many good things about Hedone from others. In particular, how great the quality of their ingredients was.
Ready to start, I arrayed my weapons for battle.
My dining companion did the same with the tree and wine glass.
We next had mushrooms on biscuits. The delightful rawness of the mushrooms shone through without distractions of, you know, cooking. Definitely something in keeping with the wilderness theme (trek and table ornament).
Savory ice cream of tuna and sour cream. A definite stand out dish! The raw tuna was meaty and gelled with the sour cream to satisfy my longing for sashimi.
Parmesan cream with cinnan seeds. A delightfully creamy taste with some texture provided by the seeds.
Sourdough and white bread with unsalted butter and salt. This was what I had been told to look out for.
Salted butter on bread. Again and again, I had heard how Hedone’s bread had no equal. To my disappointment that was not true. Although the comparator I would use is probably best not repeated in polite company. It wasn’t that it was bad. Just only a little above average. A cataclysmic event not keeping up with my expectations. I hope that solace would be found in other dishes. Moving on…
Crab with mayonnaise and apple. With my heart in my feet, I approached the next dish. I was surprised. In a good way. The crab was excellent and the mayonnaise delicate, not overwhelming the crabbiness of the meat. Obvious care had been taken to obtain only the most delicate crab meat. The apple added a delightful tartness as a welcome counterpoint to the smoothness of the crab.
Turbot with Jerusalem artichokes and a light cream foam. The turbot was beautifully cooked. Not too hot or cold, it was fish to satisfy any bear. The artichokes were a special treat. I normally am indifferent to artichokes but these were different. Firm and full of flavour, with the cream foam and petals, this was a dish to repeat.
Here’s a little interlude to remark on the cutlery. The knife was particularly unusual yet with a classy design. An elegant wooden handle for…
…a beautiful duck with miso and umami sauce, cucumber and lettuce. This dish actually reminded me heavily of Cantonese roast duck. The miso and umami sauce contained a hint of plum which brought my memories back to Goldmine and Toa’s Kitchen. The most impressive western interpretation of oriental duck I have come across. This was another dish worth noting.
A selection of cheese. Goat’s, Comte, blue cheese and two I don’t know. My excuse is this was not what I ordered. My companion tried these and waxed lyrical about the Comte.
Chocolate tart with speculaas base and cherry ice cream. Meanwhile, I had this. A carefully coated chocolate tart on a speculaas base! I love speculaas and have been known to hunt avidly and vainly on my trips to the continent for speculaas flavoured items. My joy on finding this dish was almost indescribable. Eating it was better. When I finished this dish, I sadly had to come back from heaven.
Toffee, chocolate bonbon and jelly. A pleasant little trio to end. The toffee was rich without being too sticky, the bonbon a half crescent hiding a soft chocolate centre and the jelly a little refreshing treat at the end.
The journey at Hedone was like those exciting times when you are in airplane turbulence. By turns, just cruising along calmly. At others almost touching the clouds. Although I faced some bland disappointments (bread, cough, bread) it was still something I’m glad I tried. If just to discover how you should cook a duck.
A quiet eating 7.5/10.
Lunch (3 courses) was GBP45 excluding drinks and service.
301-303 Chiswick High Road
London W44HH