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This review was undertaken on
Saturday 26th April 2008.
If you find yourself meeting
some friends in Bedford for a meal, you could do a lot worse
than give Harpurs on Tavistock Street a try. Situated on a
corner, it’s difficult to miss this restaurant. Their modern,
attractive looking frontage does, it has to be said, stand out
from the other local shops and pubs in the area. If you want to
eat here at the weekend, we strongly recommend you book. The
restaurant was packed.
Décor
My guest and I were very much impressed with the modern décor.
If you imagine cream walls, real wood floors and beech tables
and chairs you might not gain a picture of warmth. At Harpurs
though, they have pulled it off and the interior design only
helps to add to the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere that is
extended by their helpful staff.
Atmosphere
There is a wine bar situated downstairs from the restaurant and
the buzz from this area of the venue, plus a packed restaurant,
blended well to create both a ‘feel good’ and ‘relaxed’
atmosphere.
Food
For starters I chose the Chicken Liver Pate with toast and
cranberry relish (£5.45) and my guest the Prawn Cocktail
described on the menu as ‘The way it should be’ (£5.95). If you
like pate, I strongly suggest you order this as your starter.
Soft, and verging on creamy, this was a delightful start to my
meal, full of taste, it left me itching for my next course. The
Prawn Cocktail was served in quite a large glass bowl and was a
substantial starter by any standards. Two king sized prawns
decorated the top of the attractive looking cocktail and there
were prawns aplenty underneath waiting to be eaten.
My only reservation, and a
slight one at that, was that despite this being an enjoyable
start to my meal, the speed in which the starters were served
after they were ordered meant they had been prepared earlier
that day. I prefer my food prepared to order.
The same scenario does not
apply to main courses however which are most definitely cooked
to order. If like my guest, you’re a real fish lover, try
Harpurs! The main menu states simply ‘Fresh Fish’ and you can
ask what the specials are from the helpful waiting staff. My
guest ordered the Whole Gilt-head bream with chilli and ginger,
sauté potatoes and julienne of vegetables. Wow! This looked
particularly appealing, so much so I tried a bite and it tasted
fantastic. The fish was as white as snow and flaked beautifully.
The chilli and ginger were clearly evident, yet not
overpowering. Any fish in any restaurant is not easy to cook,
but the Chef at Harpurs certainly knows what he is doing.
My main course of Beef
Wellington (Fillet Steak wrapped in puff pastry with a touch of
pate, mushroom and onion, served with Madeira gravy, crispy herb
potatoes and vegetables £14.95) did unfortunately leave me
wishing that I too had ordered the bream. It was still an
enjoyable dish but I felt there was too much pastry. There was
not actually anything wrong with the pastry, which was tasty in
its own right, but whilst the fillet steak was tender, for some
reason, it was lacking in flavour. The herb potatoes made up for
this though as they were bursting with flavour and were quite
simply delightful.
So once again, for you the
reader, it was on to dessert. These also appear not to be
prepared to order as the Profiteroles (£5.25) were ever so
slightly dry. My guest ordered the Crème Brule (£5.25) and
finished every bit!
Service
The team at Harpurs are particularly friendly, efficient,
helpful and knowledgeable. They simply added to what was an
enjoyable evening. Mention should also be given to the funky,
stylish menus which are long, and book like in appearance. The
menus added to the sense of trying something different and you
get the feeling that this depicts Harpurs well. They may be
established in Bedford, but (at the time of writing) a new menu
will shortly be introduced, and you that in their own subtle
way, they will remain a little different from other restaurants
you may be tempted to try. We will be back! |
