There is an awful lot that has gone on in this area for some time and it now boasts a fine range of hotels, bars and eateries. Smithfield’s is well known for its range of food and is an established location now, so North Road is not far off the beaten track. Or so we thought…..

We went in and joined 6 other people who were seated in the dining room. To be fair, it was the week after Easter and London was quieter than usual with the majority of workforce absent, although the volumes of tourists is still astonishing in London.  Anyway, we took the numbers to 8 and gladly sat down to enjoy lunch. No more customers came in.

So a little background on North Road. After completing his apprenticeship in his native Denmark, Christoffer Hruskova set out to travel the world. Hruskova opened Fig in 2006, a tiny neighbourhood restaurant in Islington where he gained a following for his unique Nordic inspired cuisine, using traditional Scandinavian techniques such as pickling, smoking and rolling in burnt hay.

Scandinavia in general is going through a culinary boost at the moment and Christoffer achieved a Michelin star in 2011 for North Road. We wanted to see what the fuss was about. We had heard about the inventive cuisine, based on ingredients sourced from entirely within the British Isles. He is known for using both producers and foragers to obtain his produce, allowing the menu to transform  with the seasons.

We started with Scottish hand caught scallops, Carrot, sea buckthorn & sea urchin and a portion of Galloway ox cheeks & Jerusalem artichokes, pear, verbena & wild watercress.

Both dishes were stunning in presentation, lightness of touch and taste. There wasn’t a lot, and that suited fine, as we had enjoyed the beautiful fresh bread that had been served in a tied fabric pouch at the table, still hot. The scallops, I am told, were amazing and so were my ox cheeks, soft, full of flavour but not cloying.

We then settled into Veal three ways which was truly special, accompanied by some fresh greens and jersey potatoes. I was beginning to get slightly confused around my countries, but gave up, as what was on the plate was what mattered. The favourite veal was like a little croquet, crispy on the outside and soft and beautifully flavoured on the inside. Along with the other veal produced in a more traditional way, the balance was perfect.

We washed the veal down with an Austrian Red that had been recommended. I am often bothered by people who recommend wine to me without first finding out what I like and don’t like, but the “sell” was subtle, easy and well informed.

The wine went very well with the veal which was stunning, in both its flavour and its simplicity. No heavy sauces, no alternative flavours or sub notes, just great tasting, well prepared food. We both commented on the deep and fresh flavours in the dish for both of us.

Finally, I ended with Yoghurt and Honey while my colleagues had Salted caramel & øllebrød, with apple and malt. Both of these descriptions do not do the food justice, but the desserts were delicious. Not bursting, but pleasantly satisfied, we contemplated coffee.

Now I have to say, at this point, there were two “city gents” sitting at the next table to us. Very traditional, to the point where you wondered where the bowler hats might be hidden. They had gone through the meal and were now starting coffee, when a tree was put on their table. Now I have seen many things, but I had to stare, mostly because they stopped talking and just gazed at it. On closer inspection it was a small tree, bonsai sized, and the foliage was in fact candy floss! Well that did it, we ordered coffee, just to get our own tree!

The coffee was great, carefully brewed, carried in a glass vessel and served as we needed it. Very nice. The candyfloss was stunning and I found myself offering some to the lady and gentleman on our other side – they were from “out of the UK” so it seemed like a nice thing to do.

So, what did we think? Well the colleague I was with works for the Lindley Group and as a business, they have really made massive steps forward in food, just in the last 12 months. They were always known for Stadia and did that well, but they have so much depth and breadth to the business as well. Their Heritage division is out there winning a lot at the moment and they are the caterers at the Harry Potter experience in Leavesden. He knows food and we both remarked how pleasantly surprised we were.

Inevitably, Hruskova’s cooking is being compared to that of Rene Redzepi’s, but there are obvious, and telling differences. You can get into North Road, whilst you will have a long wait for a table at Noma, and a trip to Copenhagen. The food options are not the same, sourcing from the UK rather than the Nordic areas, but the balance and simplicity of the food is still there.

The flavours are great, the methods intriguing and results very pleasing indeed. Take the North Road, it is well worth it.