Post number nineteen, 'Hedone' .....simply stunning

I am sure many of you have already heard the story behind Hedone in Chiswick. The new restaurant by chef/patron Mikael Jonsson a self taught, sourcing obsessed foodie who also writes the blog Gastroville .

I had the incredible pleasure of dining there last night and without going into too many eulogies, it blew me away.

The simple, no frills approach to each and every dish, the stunning flavours of the amazing produce on every plate, Hedone provided me with a dining experience I have rarely been lucky enough to enjoy.

It is a stylish room, minimal but tasteful and a touch quirky, I loved the freestyle drawing on the ceiling. There is a four or five course (fifty / sixty pounds respectively) pretty set menu or a tasting menu. We opted for five courses;

First a savoury jammy dodger, cheesey, tasty. Next the freshest most beautiful piece of mackerel I have ever eaten, just simply presented on a slate slab with a little green.

Then onions, with shaved pear and a little citrus/butter sauce....this sounds nothing but the gentle flavour of the onion, with the sweetness of the shaved pear then the sauce, it was sublime. This plate was also one of the prettiest I have ever seen.

Next Crab, white meat, served in a crater compartment of a huge glass bowl, with cauliflower, chive and citrus creme fraiche. Again it was so fresh, the flavour of the cauliflower engaging the crab. Stunning.

Then Turbot, served with a carrot sauce and a pretty pink flower(the name of which escapes me)......amazing visual impact with the white fish, yellow sauce and pink flower. The taste, oh my god the taste was a joy to behold. Soft, rounded, fantastic. The quality of the turbot was immense.

Then the meat course, salt marsh lamb, with ratte potatoes and a little parsley puree.......just so simple but again visually so pleasing, the flavours quite incredible. The lamb was perfectly pink, the potato perfectly 'just' cooked. Normally I feel the need for a sauce with lamb, but this just shows when you have ingredients of such high quality simplicity sings. Just a very light reduction aided the dish. 

The wine list has some excellent choices by the glass; Chablis premier cru for the fish, Barbaresco for the lamb, both superb.

A selection of perfect cheese next with complex, rich Alsace white grand cru. Finally a fine apple tart and another glass of the delightful Alsace.

What a meal.

Hedone is exciting, clever, special and brilliant. The quality of the ingredients beams out from the beautiful dishes that Mikael Jonsson produces. The simplicity is similar to that of 'St John' but this is 'fine dining'. The Sportsman' in Seasalter also came to mind as a comparable establishment food wise.

I have little doubt that Hedone will be the hottest table in town very soon, I for one cannot wait to return.

Hedone 

301-303 high road

Chiswick w4 4hh

tel 0208 747 0377

price - One hundred/one hundred thirty pounds a head with good wine