This very likeable neighbourhood restaurant, tapas bar and deli serves up a range of exciting and enticing dishes made for sharing. Owners Sam Pryor and Paul Morgan created the menu by taking inspiration from all over the world, with an end result that feels like a British version of a Spanish tapas bar, with an equal emphasis placed on eating and drinking.
Originally centred on the deli side of things, Fourth & Church’s main focus now lies with its restaurant. There’s still more than a hint of the delicatessen in the likes of cold sharing plates such as charcuterie, home-cured duck pastrami, aubergine caponata, labne with pomegranate and quince and chicken liver parfait.
It’s with the hot dishes, however, that the creative kitchen really hits its stride. Confit duck breast comes with smoked pecans, PX raisins and harissa sweet potatoes; lamb shoulder is braised in tamarind and served with spinach, feta and mustard seed oil; while vegetarian options are particularly good: try the celeriac dumplings with beetroot kvass, Neal’s Yard Dairy goat’s curd and cep and shallot purée for a gourmet twist on classic cheese and onion flavours.
There’s a snappy selection of three desserts – chocolate marquise, lavender-poached pear, crème caramel, perhaps – though cheese is really the thing to order here, especially the selection of whichever four artisan cheeses are on offer that day, served with pickles and crackers.
Drinks get top billing alongside the food, which is to be expected given that Fourth and Church is a wine merchant as well. Seven sherries fit into the tapas vibe of the place, there are eight sparklers for celebrations and two dozen thoughtfully curated whites and reds, most of them available by the glass; book the private dining room for 12 and the team can come up with bespoke wine pairings to match your meal.