Many years ago – when I was fresh-faced and a lot slimmer – I used to actually live in north London, in a village called Pinner. I lived in this pretty little village for around three years and over that time its food offerings were a little mixed. Prezzo was a regular haunt back then and Pizza Express (I like to refer to it as Pizza Depress) was our Friday night treat. A short drive away however, there lays the gorgeous area of Harrow on the Hill. If I only I knew about this place back then – I’d have no doubt been changing those Friday night pizza trips for something much more exciting – Incanto.
Incanto restaurant opened back in 2005 and is housed in a gorgeous 19th century converted post office, right at the top of Harrow on the Hill’s, Hill. I believe back in its days, this restaurant was serving up simple Italian fare but now it’s a whole lot different – plating up an exquisite fine dining experience to a middle class clientele. Incanto also got itself a shiny new (very talented) head chef by the name of Peter Howarth. Peter came with a stellar CV having worked at some very well-known restaurants such as The Latymer, Pennyhill Park and Midsummer House. Fluffy bread arrived to the table shortly after we sat down and a fragrant amuse bouche – it was from that moment on we knew we were in very safe hands.
The one thing you really notice when stepping out from the centre of London, is a drastic change in prices. The set menu here which can be had at lunch, will set you back a mere £23.95 for three courses and there is no sign of cutting back on quality. A starter of hay smoked trout with salt baked beets and buffalo mozzarella was a thing of beauty. Incredibly fresh, a little sweetness from those juicy beets and mouth-salivating chunks of trout with a delicate flavour and salty tang – the dish packs so much flavour that each and every bite seems different to the last.
Even better was another starter we chose for the table and indeed a favourite all round. Slow roasted Grelot onion with a caramelised onion puree, char-grilled spring onion, parmesan custard and bhaji. It sounds like a lot of onion but trust me, it works very well. There were so many different textures on the plate, different levels of onion intensity and that beautiful parmesan custard marrying everything so perfectly. If I had one criticism it would only be I didn’t quite like the sound of the parmesan sauce being called a custard – it’s not a very appetising descriptor in a savoury dish, although I’m sure the idea of it was simply to sound a little creative. This is certainly a must-order dish if you make it over to Incanto.
Mostly everything here at Incanto was faultless, but like most places perfection is a hard one to grasp, so It didn’t come without surprise that at least one dish wasn’t overly enjoyed by the table. Slices of roe deer, sweet and sour tofu, sweetbreads, shiitake mushrooms in Marsala and soy – with a broccoli and ponzu puree. For me personally deer is one of those meats that’s a tricky one when it comes to pairing with flavours, it’s surprisingly quite delicate. The meat was well cooked, yes – but this fishy and earthy flavoured ponzu puree on the plate simply detracted and became the centre flavour on the plate – I really couldn’t taste much else. If this was replaced with a nice jus, parsnip puree of something a little more balanced than this dish could have been great.
On the flip side of things, other main courses were spectacular plates of finesse, richness and utter indulgence. Moist slices of succulent chicken were married with some smokey charred hispi cabbage, a chorizo porridge which again its descriptors doesn’t do it any favours – but flavour wise it was giving loads, especially with a dollop of that sweet swede. As far as dishes go here it really doesn’t get much better than this.
Desserts and all things sweet here at Incanto is where they really excel in my opinion. They’re not just creative but they also taste just as good as they look. An imaginative take on apple pie was absolutely stunning, but the toasted meringue with mandarin curd, sorbet and ‘lemon cloud’ was quite literally as delicate and fluffy as a cloud (as its name rightly suggests). It was by far the best meringue I’ve had in some while. Desserts here alone are a reason to visit and should not be missed.
By this point we were well and truly ready for an afternoon nap – especially after consuming our weight in petit fours (OK I’m exaggerating). Incanto restaurant, on its sunny peak of Harrow on the Hill is truly a magnificent thing of beauty. Front of house is very attentive, a talented brigade of chefs (there is a lot) and food to die for makes this restaurant the best in its area. I’ve no doubt this place will only improve with time and the only thing they could do right now is spruce a few areas up in the restaurant to match the exacting standards of the food. Would I come back to Incanto? Of course – it’s just a matter of forcing myself to leave inner London.
8/10
