Menuwatch: Harwood Arms, London, SW6

Jake Leach, the 25-year-old head chef of this London gastropub, is determined to keep the pub grub heritage of the Michelin-starred joint.

Taking over the kitchen of London’s only Michelin-starred gastropub would be a challenge at the best of times. But taking it over in the middle of a lockdown would test the mettle of the most resourceful of chefs. Jake Leach, however, is not short on ambition.

He spent 2020 travelling in Australia, where he picked up an accent that sounds more Gold Coast than his native Guildford. Prior to that he spent five years at the Ledbury in Notting Hill, which like the Harwood Arms is co-owned by Brett Graham. Leach progressed from chef de partie to junior sous chef and, for his final two years, head chef. When Sally Abé left the Harwood Arms in April 2021 to open the Pem, the move from the Ledbury, which Graham had closed the previous June, was natural for Leach.

Despite his two-Michelin-starred background, however, Leach is determined to keep the Harwood Arms as a gastropub. “People come here because they want a pub meal,” the 25-year-old says. “I don’t want to take away from that and turn it into a fine-dining restaurant. But there are things that we've tried to refine where we can, especially with the ingredients.”

The most notable producer on the menu is Graham himself, who supplies the pub with venison and pork from the 22 Iberian pigs he imported from Spain last June. Leach serves the pork as a loin to share, with secondary cuts such as jowl, shank and cheek, and cromesquis – deep-fried, breadcrumbed cubes of pig head mix.

Bestsellers on the menu, which costs £55 for three courses, include a starter of Berkswell cheese tart with celeriac and Wiltshire truffle – the kitchen makes four tarts a night which are divided into eight portions – and the venison Scotch eggs that made the Harwood Arms famous when it opened in 2009, 30 of which are prepped by the kitchen porters every day.

Venison, however, is shown to best effect in a starter of muntjac pâté en croûte, Leach says. “There are only three things on the plate: a pot of pickles, a slice of pâté and some prune and raisin jam, all of which goes down a treat.”

The trim from sika deer and Ibérico pork is minced up and mixed with chicken liver, walnuts, shallots and spices before being added to a shortcrust pastry made with Wildfarmed flour and baked for 80 minutes. The jam is prepared from prunes and raisins cooked in sherry, while the pickles are made from leftover veg such as the beetroot in a starter of grilled mackerel with sour cream and shisho. “The pickles are really tasty and it cuts down on waste,” Leach says. “We use any sort of nice little vegetable we can get our hands on.”

The best-selling main course is the Red Ruby beef short rib, which some nights is ordered by a third of customers. Leach buys short ribs on the bone from Philip Warren in Cornwall and removes the fat and sinew before curing the meat for 12 hours in a mixture of thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. The rib is then steamed overnight in a sous vide bag at 85 degrees, roasted in a pan until golden brown then glazed in sherry vinegar. Wilted spinach dressed with garlic oil is served on top and, on the side, there is a garlic and parsley emulsion, roast mushrooms and, according to the season, Jerusalem artichoke or celeriac confit’d overnight in aged beef fat.

“This is where the pubby feel comes in,” Leach says. “We wouldn't serve something like that at the Ledbury. It’s a big short-rib bone with a big wedge of meat on top. There’s not much finesse but it’s perfect for here and people love it.”

For dessert, Leach thinks the milk flan with raisins and bay leaf ice-cream is the standout. “It’s basically a massive crème caramel with a really nice wobble to it that we cut it into eight big slices. It’s very simple but super-tasty. We’re all about big flavours and big portions while keeping the presentation sharp.”

Leach designs the dishes alongside Graham with the aim of changing one dish per week so that the menu evolves throughout the year. Although Leach would like to introduce a tasting menu, he doesn’t want it to simply reproduce the dishes from the à la carte. “I think it would probably be something we’d start on pre-order to see whether there was a demand for it,” he says.

“We’re trying to up the quality as high as we can, while still being that neighbourhood restaurant that’s friendly, inviting and not ridiculously overpriced.”

From the menu

Starter

Muntjac pâté en croûte, pickles and walnut wine

Warm chestnut soup with wild boar sausage roll and toasted chestnuts

Mains Ruby Red beef short rib, garlic and Jerusalem artichoke confit in beef fat

Sladesdown Farm duck for two with baked carrots, chanterelles and oats

Raveningham Estate Chinese water deer with faggot, red leaves and elderberries

Desserts Malted treacle slice with stout and crème fraîche ice-cream

Pear trifle with hazelnuts, butterscotch and whisky ice-cream

Two courses for £42/ three for £55

Walham Grove, London SW6 1QP

020 7386 1847

harwoodarms.com