How lovely it was, towards the end of a miserable week, to have the opportunity to enjoy some exquisite food with my daughter at Harvey Nics.
It was always going to be a gamble to sit my teen in front of the menu in The 4th Floor Brasserie. She’s insanely picky and would happily eat pepperoni pizza every day for the rest of her life. Of course the menu at Harvey Nichols is somewhat more sophisticated than that.
The waitress was super helpful and extremely patient with my daughter, who was throughout pulling all kinds of faces at the choices on the menu. ‘’Where’re the chips?’’ was her immediate reaction. I sank down into my chair with a huge sigh. But when it was my turn to choose I sat up immediately, beyond excited to choose my three courses from the Prix Fixe menu.
Our starters came looking too pretty to eat. I ordered whipped goats cheese, beetroot, apple and hazelnuts. It was as good as a dessert; very sweet with a combination of creamy and crunchy textures. (Kissing the air and hand gestures as I’m thinking about it.) My daughter ordered the ham hock tart with piccalilli and celeriac salad. She decided only to eat the pieces of ham and tart while I enjoyed the rest.
My main was a beautiful wild mushroom fettuccine dish full of flavour – and to my surprise my daughter also tried and enjoyed it. It worked out in my favour as I had the pleasure of eating the rest of her braised ox cheek with mashed potato and bourguignon sauce. Seriously, the meat was just falling off my fork; it really was mouth watering.
The lovely waitress took away our plates and asked if we would like to wait a while for our desserts. Surprise surprise! My daughter could actually squeeze her dessert in right away, but she just couldn’t manage to finish her main. We both enjoyed the best sticky toffee pudding with vanilla icecream and a caramel sauce. I have never seen my daughter eat so fast, even eating the candied pecans on top after telling me for years she doesn’t like nuts of any kind.
To finish our three courses I ordered a refreshing appleberry fizz, while my daughter enjoyed an exotic fruits passion fruit and lychee cooler.
Any eatery that can satisfy the tastes of a mother and a choosy daughter has five stars, in my view. Harvey Nichols 4th Floor Brasserie impresses in both food and service and is well worth a visit.
Photography by Aniya Wilson.
