Earlier in the year, I was lucky enough to be invited to the newly opened
Hampshire Hog for their bloggers evening. The Hog is the new gastro-pub from the brains behind The Engineer in Primrose Hill. Renowned for it's fantastic food, I jumped at the chance to try out their new pub with a brand new menu from Head Chef Chris Lyon. I rarely venture to West London, but the trip to Hammersmith was well worth it.
To start I had vodka & citrus cured salmon served with potato blinis and a caper berry, radish & fennel salad. The little blinis were light and fluffy and the salmon was perfectly cured, it could have done with a little creme fraiche but other than that it was a lovely, light starter. If I hadn't chosen venison for my main, I would have gone for the slow-cooked spiced lamb on toast with pomegranate seeds and spiced nuts, which looked incredible.
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| Smoked Salmon on potato blinis |
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| Slow cooked lamb |
For my main I opted for pepper-crusted venison with carrot puree, potato & sage gallette, grilled leeks & redcurrants which was every bit as delicious as it sounds. The venison was cooked perfectly, rare in the middle with caramelised edges. The sweetness of the carrot puree and the sharpness from the redcurrants worked brilliantly with the richness of the meat, a really great dish.
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| Venison on carrot puree |
And finally I tucked into a chocolate fondant with a melting middle (no picture due to my leaving my phone and camera at home, good work), served with vanilla ice cream and a slab of honeycomb, you can't go wrong with that can you?
The pub itself has been beautifully decked out, helped out by the lovely high ceilings and huge windows. All in all, it was a fantastic evening, certainly worth the long trip from Hackney. In the interest of fairness I must mention that my meal was complementary.
