Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Open-fire dining worth leaving London for.
Hearth at Heckfield Place is the most practical case for a Hampshire food excursion: open-fire Italian-British cooking in a vaulted 18th-century stable yard, at ££ pricing that undercuts its London peers by a full tier. Michelin Plate recognition (2024) confirms the kitchen's consistency. Book Saturday or Sunday lunch — the roast format and natural light make it the strongest version of the visit.
If you are driving out to Hampshire for a weekend stay or a day trip, Hearth at Heckfield Place earns its place on the itinerary. Set within the former stable yard of an 18th-century manor house across 438 acres of countryside, this is open-fire cooking done with genuine thought — sharing plates built around seasonal produce, a wood-burning hearth at the centre of the kitchen, and a room warm enough that you will want to linger well past dessert. At ££ price range, it sits in a different bracket from the ££££ London restaurants competing for the same food-enthusiast audience, and that gap in the bill makes a real difference to how the meal feels. Book it for Saturday lunch or Sunday roast — both formats are where the kitchen delivers its most confident work.
The visual case for Hearth is strong before you have ordered anything. The vaulted stable yard architecture gives the dining room a scale and texture that most city restaurants cannot replicate , sheepskin-draped chairs, an open fire large enough to anchor the room, and the kind of light that comes from genuine countryside rather than a dimmer switch. Culinary director Skye Gyngell established the produce-first framework here, and executive chef Michael Chapman runs the kitchen with that brief clearly in mind. Everything moves around the hearth: flatbreads slide on and off the fire, larger cuts are finished over open flame, and the kitchen's Italian accent , visible in dishes that reference pancetta, cime di rapa, affogato, and polenta , sits alongside the Modern British backbone without feeling forced.
For food and travel enthusiasts who make the effort to visit destination restaurants outside the capital , places like The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, or Moor Hall in Aughton , Hearth slots into a similar category of country-house dining where the setting is part of the proposition. Unlike those venues, it holds a Michelin Plate (2024) rather than stars, which means expectations are calibrated correctly: the cooking is considered and ingredient-led, not technically theatrical.
The Saturday and Sunday service is where most visitors will find Hearth at its leading. Saturday lunch runs from 11 am, and Sunday brings full roast service , beef, fish, and vegetarian options , followed by seasonal fruit crumbles, chocolate fudge cake, or sticky toffee pudding with bourbon toffee sauce. The Sunday roast format here is worth the drive on its own terms: the sourcing is estate-led, the fire-cooking gives the meat a character you do not get from a conventional oven, and the room fills with a conviviality that feels earned rather than manufactured.
The sharing menu format runs across services: small plates lead into larger dishes, and the kitchen recommends at least two dishes per person as you move through the list. Wood-fired flatbread anchors the opening , topped with combinations like smoked tomatoes and feta, or roasted squash with brown butter and Spenwood cheese from Berkshire. Mid-menu, dishes like stuffed mammole artichoke with pork and green olive, or grilled purple sprouting broccoli with almond, anchovy and apple, show the Italian-British fusion working at its most coherent. Centrepiece dishes have included subtly smoked brill with Swiss chard and maltaise sauce, and beef sirloin on the bone with chimichurri and rosemary-roasted potatoes.
Hearth Bakery adjoins the restaurant and opens Thursday to Sunday , useful context if you are planning a daytime visit without a full sit-down meal. Sourdough and pastries from the bakery also feed into the restaurant's bread course, which gives the meal a grounded, estate-rooted quality that rewards guests who pay attention to sourcing.
Wine list opens with what the list calls local heroes and includes the estate's own sparkling wine before moving through a globally organised selection with notes on soil characteristics. Bespoke pairings are available and receive strong endorsement from regular guests. For those who want a drink before ascending to the restaurant, the bar on the ground floor offers a starting point , an orange espresso Martini is a documented favourite among returning visitors.
Hearth occupies a different tier from the London dining rooms that dominate the destination-restaurant conversation , CORE by Clare Smyth, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, The Ledbury , all of which operate at ££££ and carry Michelin stars. At ££, Hearth is not trying to compete on technical finesse or tasting-menu precision. It competes on setting, sourcing, and the specific pleasure of open-fire cooking in a country-house context. For that combination at this price point, there is very little in the south of England that matches it. Gidleigh Park in Chagford and Hand and Flowers in Marlow offer comparable country-destination appeal, but at higher price points and with different formats. hide and fox in Saltwood offers a smaller, more intimate rural alternative further east.
For the full picture on eating and staying in the capital, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide. If you are building a destination-dining itinerary further afield, Le Bernardin in New York City and Atomix in New York City represent the kind of focused, ingredient-led cooking that shares a sensibility with Hearth's leading work.
Hearth is a sharing-format restaurant inside Heckfield Place, a country-house hotel in Hampshire , not a standalone city restaurant. Budget for the drive or a stay at the hotel. The format moves from lighter small plates through to centrepiece dishes, and the kitchen recommends at least two dishes per person. At ££, it is accessible by London standards, but the real proposition is the setting and the open-fire cooking, not price alone. The Michelin Plate (2024) signals consistent quality without the formality of a starred room.
Weekend lunch is the stronger booking. Saturday service opens at 11 am and Sunday brings the full roast menu , fire-cooked meats, fish, and vegetarian options, followed by classic British puddings. The natural light in the vaulted stable yard works in your favour at lunch, and the room has a different energy than the dinner service. If you can only go once, Saturday or Sunday lunch is the version to prioritise.
Booking is rated easy relative to comparable destination restaurants, but weekend lunch and Sunday roast slots fill faster than weekday dinner. A week's notice is usually sufficient for midweek; for Saturday or Sunday, two to three weeks ahead is a safer target, particularly if you are coordinating a visit with a hotel stay at Heckfield Place. Given the Michelin Plate recognition and its OAD ranking, availability is notably more open than at starred comparators like CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury.
The ground floor houses a bar as well as the Hearth Bakery. Bar seating gives you access to drinks and, during bakery hours (Thursday to Sunday), daytime food without a full restaurant reservation. It is a reasonable option for solo visitors or anyone who wants a lighter visit rather than the full sharing-menu experience upstairs.
Yes, particularly at the bar. The sharing format in the restaurant is designed for two or more, but the ground-floor bar and bakery provide a solo-friendly entry point. Solo diners who want the full restaurant experience will find the counter and bar seating more comfortable than a table for one mid-service. The relaxed, convivial tone of the room , noted consistently in editorial reviews , means solo visits do not feel awkward.
Smart casual is the right call. The vaulted stable-yard setting is informal by country-house standards , sheepskin chairs, open fire, sharing plates , but the Heckfield Place context means overly casual dress would feel out of place. Think the kind of outfit you would wear to a well-regarded gastropub with ambitions, or a relaxed countryside lunch with friends who care about food.
The sharing menu includes vegetarian roast options on Sundays and plant-based dishes within the regular format , grilled purple sprouting broccoli, wood-fired flatbreads, and seasonal vegetable dishes feature consistently. The Italian-British framework means there is usually genuine choice across the menu rather than a single token alternative. For specific dietary needs , allergies, intolerances , contact the restaurant directly ahead of your visit to confirm current menu options.
The wood-fired flatbread is the right place to start , it changes with the season but consistently anchors the meal. On Sundays, the roast is the main event: fire-cooked meat or fish with the estate's sourcing behind it. Mid-menu, the Italian-accented dishes (saddle of rabbit with pancetta and cime di rapa, stuffed artichoke) show the kitchen's range. For dessert, the sticky toffee pudding with bourbon toffee sauce and custard has featured repeatedly in editorial accounts of the restaurant and is worth keeping space for. Check the daily specials board , seasonal produce like Yorkshire grouse has appeared there when in season.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearth | Italian, Modern British | ££ | Run by a trio of friends and located among some fine buildings in the old part of town, this buzzy spot operates over two levels. The ground floor houses a bar and bakery, while the upstairs is home to the rustic two-room restaurant. The menu fuses small plates with larger dishes, often coming from the grill – or ‘hearth’ – that takes centre stage in the open kitchen. Start with sourdough from the bakery, then make sure you check the boards for daily specials, as you might get to enjoy delicious seasonal produce like Yorkshire grouse.; An enterprising local resource par excellence , this ‘really cool’ spot spreads itself like proved dough over two floors of a Grade II-listed building on thriving Trinity Square. The adjoining Hearth Bakery (open Thu-Sun) is great for daytime sustenance (as well as bread), while the first-floor restaurant is in the hands of Ryan Telford, who has stints with big-name chefs including Bruce Poole and Phil Howard under his belt. Each area of the place has its own allurements: perhaps partake of an orange espresso Martini before beginning your ascent. The format of small plates preceding larger ones may be par for the course, although the smaller items are quite substantial in themselves. Roasted bone marrow with sourdough, parsley and shallot salad has a familiar nose-to-tail ring about it, while Szechuan honey-fried chicken with roasted sesame seeds and smacked cucumber takes its cue from the global larder. If you've paced yourself sufficiently, move on to BBQ salmon with dashi, sea herbs and pickled apple, grilled pork pluma with fennel, choucroute, chanterelles and mustard velouté or a mixed grill for two (open-fire cooking is high on the agenda here). On Sundays, there are roasts to beat the band (including fish and veggie options), prior to seasonal fruit crumbles, chocolate fudge cake or sticky toffee pudding with bourbon-laced toffee sauce and custard. The good-hearted friendliness of the impressively knowledgeable staff is commended by one and all (‘some of the waitresses are pure sunshine,’ noted one regular). Slates of tangy whites and savoury reds by the glass lead off a wine list that inspires confidence, and bespoke pairings also receive a big thumbs-up.; Set within 438 acres of Hampshire countryside, Heckfield Place (a renovated 18th-century manor house and farm) is home to two restaurants, Marle and Hearth. Here, culinary director Skye Gyngell has established the hotel’s produce-first culinary framework, which executive chef Michael Chapman and his team put it into practice. Located in the vaulted former stable yard, Hearth is the more relaxed place to eat, centred on a huge open fire over which everything is prepared. Despite the elemental cooking method, the food is always thoughtful and delicate, but with the fire comes warmth, conviviality and fun. Settle on the sheepskin-draped chairs and choose from a sharing menu, allowing at least two dishes per person – bear in mind they become more substantial as you progress through the list. Wood-fired flatbread is an exquisite platform for an ever-changing cast of seasonal ingredients – maybe smoked tomatoes, feta and oregano, or roasted squash with brown butter and Spenwood (a firm, raw sheep’s milk cheese from Berkshire). After that, a punchy, umami-rich assembly of stuffed mammole artichoke with pork, green olive and jus vies with grilled purple sprouting broccoli topped with almond, anchovy and apple. Then come the centrepiece dishes, perhaps subtly smoked brill with Swiss chard and maltaise sauce or showstopping beef sirloin on the bone with chimichurri, and maybe a side of rosemary- and garlic-roasted potatoes. The cooking also has a distinct Italian accent, which runs from saddle of rabbit encased in pancetta with cime di rapa to desserts such as affogato with ricciarelli biscuits or a polenta cake with olive-oil ice cream. The wine list kicks off with ‘local heroes’ and the estate's own superlative sparkling wine, before cruising through a prestigious global line-up organised by region (with notes on soil characteristics throughout).; Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #847 (2025); Run by a trio of friends and located among some fine buildings in the old part of town, this buzzy spot operates over two levels. The ground floor houses a bar and bakery, while the upstairs is home to the rustic two-room restaurant. The menu fuses small plates with larger dishes, often coming from the grill – or ‘hearth’ – that takes centre stage in the open kitchen. Start with sourdough from the bakery, then make sure you check the boards for daily specials, as you might get to enjoy delicious seasonal produce like Yorkshire grouse.; Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #712 (2024); Michelin Plate (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Recommended (2023) | Easy | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The sharing menu at Hearth draws heavily on seasonal produce and includes vegetarian options alongside meat and fish dishes, so there is flexibility built into the format. The kitchen's Italian-leaning, produce-first approach means plant-based and pescatarian guests have real choices rather than afterthoughts. check the venue's official channels before your visit to confirm specific allergen or dietary requirements, as the menu changes with the seasons.
Hearth is set within the stable yard of Heckfield Place, a converted 18th-century Hampshire manor on 438 acres, so this is a destination visit rather than a drop-in. The format is a sharing menu: dishes arrive in a progression from lighter to more substantial, and the kitchen recommends at least two dishes per person. The open fire is the centrepiece of the kitchen and the room, which means cooking is elemental and the atmosphere is warm rather than formal. Budget time to explore the estate before or after your meal.
The venue data confirms a bar operates as part of the Hearth setup at Heckfield Place, though it does not specify whether full dining is available at the bar counter itself. For the full sharing-menu experience, booking a table in the restaurant is the safer call. If bar seating for drinks or lighter options is important to your visit, confirm availability when you book.
Lunch on Saturday or Sunday is the stronger case for most visitors: Saturday opens at 11 am, and Sunday service includes full roast options with fish and vegetarian alternatives alongside the standard menu. The open-fire setting reads differently in daylight, and the Hampshire countryside context makes a daytime visit more worthwhile if you are driving from London. Dinner runs later on Fridays and Saturdays (until 10:30 pm), which suits those staying at Heckfield Place rather than day-tripping.
Heckfield Place draws a mix of hotel guests and destination diners, which means weekend lunch slots fill faster than a ££ price point might suggest. Book at least two to three weeks ahead for a Saturday or Sunday lunch; midweek dinner is more forgiving. The estate's profile has grown since Michelin awarded a Plate in 2024, so last-minute availability at peak times is not reliable.
The sharing-menu format is designed around groups, and the kitchen recommends at least two dishes per person, so solo dining works best if you are comfortable ordering two to three dishes for yourself and pacing accordingly. The bar area offers a more practical perch for a solo visitor than a full table booking. If solo dining is your plan, call ahead to confirm the best seating option rather than assuming a standard table reservation suits.
Hearth is the more relaxed of the two restaurants at Heckfield Place, set in the vaulted former stable yard with sheepskin-draped chairs and an open fire. The atmosphere is convivial rather than formal, so smart-casual clothing fits the setting: think a well-put-together outfit you would wear to a good neighbourhood restaurant, not a jacket-required dining room. Arriving from a walk on the 438-acre estate is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the place.
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