Pharmacy2 is the second coming of Damien Hirst’s restaurant, the Notting Hill original having closed way back in 2003. The new one is in Hirst’s very own Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall and this time he’s bought his pal Mark Hix on board to be in charge of the food. The restaurant is really an extension of the gallery itself, featuring many of Hirst’s famous ‘pills’ neatly arranged in clear cabinets, and Kaleidoscope Butterfly artworks on the walls. In contrast to the faux surgery look, the food is all simple, comforting classics, with a few twists here and there, very much in line with what you’d expect from Mark Hix.
We kicked off with a cocktail and some snacks: crispy prawn kale crisps; pork crackling with apple sauce; and cuttlefish croquettes with watercress mayonnaise. We then went for the Chinese spiced pork in a fragrant ginger and celery broth and another starter called Heaven and Earth – a rich ball of black pudding and wild boar. For mains, we had Dublin Bay prawns with Arak, wild garlic and fennel pilau but our favourite was the pie, which had a beautiful golden crust and a meaty filling of lamb, kidneys and sweetbreads. Desserts are ‘mini’ sized so you can try a few: we had blood orange and white chocolate cheesecake; chocolate mousse with honeycomb; and poached Yorkshire rhubarb with saffron ice cream.
[URIS id=63110]Combine Pharmacy2 with a walk around the gallery (and even the Tate Britain over the river too) and you’ve got yourself an excellent day out in London.
Newport Street, London, SE11 6AJ
www.pharmacyrestaurant.com