Noble
27A Church Road,
Holywood,
Co Down
028 9042 5655
www.nobleholywood.com
UNTIL then, there was no fault to be found. Then it happened. A glance to the left and the sight of what the next table was getting.
A pristine piece of chicken, lined with golden pearl barley, next to the deepest, greenest cavolo nero you’ve ever seen. Then, deposited from a side dish, more cabbage – this time a thick, charred wedge dripping with butter.
Why couldn’t you have ordered that? Idiot. You had to make do with some flawless lamb. And you’re about to start dessert so it would be bad form to order another main course.
Wouldn’t it?
So, there you have it. The biggest problem with Noble in Holywood is you might suffer an attack of order envy. There’s also the chance you might struggle for a table, because the small upstairs room overlooking Church Road in the Co Down seaside town is riding a wave of high praise from the great and the good (and whatever category you want to file this under), including a glowing review from Jay Rayner in the Observer and the Michelin Guide tweeting that a dessert there was “the best £6.50 I have spent all year”.
It was jammed the Saturday afternoon we visited, but the staff out front, led by manger Saul McConnell, bob and weave around the tables helpfully but unobtrusively, keeping everything moving forward at just the right pace.
McConnell’s other half in the venture, chef Pearson Morris, oversees the delivery of plate after plate of on-the-nose dishes from the small, well thought-out menu.
If I had ordered the chicken, there’s every chance seeing the lamb appear for someone else would have inspired the same envious pangs because the strips of loin, blushing pink, with nearly raw peas and broccoli both as earthy puree and fresh, crisp sprouts, was superb, only made better by the crispy, fatty, melty piece of belly that came with it.
Sweet roast beetroot of various shapes, sizes and hues came with cold, sharp goats curd, fried courgettes, griddled peach and pumpkin seeds. We were offered chips on the side because, you know, here, but instead opted for the Jersey Royal potato salad.
Apologies accompanied the news from the kitchen that the potatoes weren’t in salad form but that wasn’t going to stop us having a side of spuds. We’re not animals. So they arrived au natural, save a deep golden backside from being caught on the bottom of the pan. They didn’t need anything else.
As good as the mains were, the starters were spectacular. The Parmesan and truffle risotto appeared a hefty portion but was so good they could serve it in buckets and nobody would complain.
Just enough truffle sat in the background to support the best combination of rice, stock, butter and cheese I’ve had. While it soothed, the gazpacho provided a tickle at the back of the throat, with sharpened dots of avocado and sweet mounds of crab. Pure summer.
The dessert that so enamoured Monsieur Michelin, a chocolate delice with salted caramel, and peanut butter ice cream, is back on the menu due to (unsurprising) public demand and doesn’t disappoint, delivering a hat-trick of cocoa hits with its mousse, sponge and shimmering glaze.
The Michelin reaction was noteworthy enough for another newspaper to devote an entire article to the sweet. Well, if that’s where the bar is being set then, with all due respect to the delice, the cherry Bakewell should have epic poems written about it. Crisp biscuit pastry with a deep, damp almond sponge full of sweet fruit with more on top didn’t need the rich, smooth milk ice cream it came with but that’s no reason for it not to be there.
The Bakewell, along with the beetroot and risotto, was part of the £20 three-course menu available at lunch and in the early evening. There’s also a two-course £15 option, and both set choices lift dishes from the a la carte offering where the lamb was the priciest plate at £18. Well worth it for produce and cooking of this quality, while those set prices are as good a bargain as you’ll find eating out anywhere here.
It’s a good thing too, because Noble’s the sort of place that has you wanting to come back just to tick off as much of the menu as possible before it changes.
Starting with that chicken.
THE BILL
Crab gazpacho £8
Lamb, peas, broccoli £18
Chocolate delice £6.50
Three-course menu £20
Jersey Royal potatoes £3.50
American pale ale £6.50
Americano x2 £4.50
Total £67
