.We used to come to Hispi fairly often for dinner but, truth be told, prices crept up and it no longer felt good value for money in comparison with a couple of other similar local places. But, the other day, we spotted they now had a short “bistro menu” at lunch and very early evening. Two courses for £20 or £23 for three. Sounded like a bargain and well worth a try. There’s only two choices at each course, so those who might be quite selective about what they eat may struggle. Not a problem for us.
There was roasted baby leeks, sat on a puddle of whipped goats cheese, and drizzled with a hazelnut pesto, the chopped nuts giving a little bit of crunch. And a very flavoursome ham hock terrine, which was nicely chunky. That came with a tangy chutney and sourdough toast.
For mains a pork steak came in classic “cordon bleu” style – slit horizontally and filled with ham and herb butter, breadcrumbed and pan fried to give a crisp coating. That came with griddled Little Gem and chips. It’s a perfect lunch dish – tasty but not so heavy that you have to give up the rest of your afternoon to get over it. And there was a vegetarian version (which I suppose made three choices, along with sea bream) – thick slice of celeriac , breaded and fried with the butter sauce poured over. Chips and lettuce as the other dish.
And so, for three quid more, we were always going to be having dessert. A crispy beignet was OK, albeit somewhat dense, vanilla ice cream and some cubes of very seasonal forced Yorkshire rhubarb. Espresso was an excellent end to a very nice lunch.
