Tucked away behind a curtain of tousled ivy, The Shed serves up small, resourceful dishes built with foraged and locally-grown ingredients from the countryside. Led by the Gladwin Brother trio, who have their own farm and vineyard in Nutbourne, West Sussex, as well as two additional London restaurants, their flagship Shed was quick to become a local neighbourhood favourite when it first opened in 2012.
Though the menu changes seasonally, the original plates are still the best bet. (Note: everything is served tapas-style and 2-3 dishes per person is the recommendation.) The Nutbourne Cures – with generous piles of crumbly, aged chorizo and a swell of tangy labneh yogurt, plus kale and caraway crisp bread – held all the comforts of home, if you grew up in a bucolic farmhouse with a master chef for a parent. Plates like sharp pan-fried goat’s cheese – which sits under a pile of almonds, licked with local honey and thyme confetti – tasted of the wild, fresh farmland and dewy meadows from which it sprung. Sophisticated with a burnt butteriness, the Honeycomb Crunchie, served with whipped mascarpone and a faint sifting of tarragon sugar, was everything you want in a farmhouse dessert: nostalgic-but-novel, and damned delicious.