Sitting 5 minutes outside of Harpenden on the Luton Road, getting to The Fox is strictly a car-only affair, although in our case that car was a minibus, 2 minibuses infact and sleek black ones at that ensuring an arrival more reminiscent of an episode of The Apprentice than for the celebration of a birthday… ‘Sir Alan would like you all to meet him at The Fox in Harpenden.’
Step inside and it’s immediately apparent that The Fox has managed to succeed where so many other gastro venues have failed, in perfectly combining the warmth of a traditional English pub with the coolness of a top Mayfair restaurant in one hugely appealing and open plan package.
A quick look at the oversized menu and it’s the seared pigeon breast with black pudding and roast cherry tomatoes to start and despite a diverse and exciting menu, I felt strangely compelled to go for the Classic Burger, choosing also to take the £0.95 hit and add bacon and cheese into the mix, something that I would later be suitably rewarded for.
Tap water was ordered without any resistance and brought out with a bottle of the Cotes du Rhone Villages, a ‘hauntingly good wine’ according to the menu, a verdict with which upon drinking, I’m inclined to agree! 2 hearty plates of complimentary rustic bread with balsamic and olive oil were offered, accepted and quickly devoured by the group before the starters arrived.
Quietly pleased with my joke that my pigeon must have had a cracking pair of breasts, I was even more pleased with the starter itself, delictely arranged and expertly cooked, with the yellow tomatoes doing their bit to make the dish look enticingly delicious.
Another bottle of hauntingly good wine arrived just in time for the main course, which was accompanied by some of the most exceptional chips that I have ever been lucky enough to eat, sadly I was robbed of what looked like the fattest and therefore the best of these chips by Emily as my back was momentarily turned. In an establishment like The Fox I didn’t feel compelled to ask for ketchup!
A freshly toasted bun, fresh salad leaves and dressing, red onion and thinly sliced gherkin combined with a melt-in-the-mouth medium rare burger, cheese and bacon to become what I shall call perfection on a plate, shaming the likes of Gourmet Burger Kitchen and leaving me to boast that I could ‘eat the same again’ when infact I already had my eye on the dessert menu.
Service throughout was friendly and professional, with the restaurant staff again taking away a series of spotlessly clean plates, suggesting that it was not only I who had enjoyed my main. A postcard-sized dessert menu was put into my hands and what could I do but order the warm chocolate fudge cake with double chocolate ice-cream, with a richness and warmth that only rounded off what was a truly memorable and altogether enjoyable evening.
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