Number 22 Bar & Restaurant

Number 22 is the local restaurant that we go to when we feel like a really nice night out close to home. We have been 4 times in the last few months and the service has always been great. The staff have helped us navigate the wine menu on each occassion we ended up with a lovely bottle. The food is very tasty. However given that the menu is not that long it doesn’t take many visits until you have sampled most of the dishes. Some change in the menu would be good.
Number 22 also hold regular wine tastings on tuesday evenings for £5 which are fun and informative.

Going to a restaurant a second time is always instructive as the first occasion might have been an aberration — good or bad. Number 22 was already high on my return list, but as I am rarely in the Herne Hill area the need to entertain an old friend who lives on Half Moon Lane gave me the opportunity I needed. Booking on-​line elicits an e-​mail from the owner and the cheery open fire which greets you on a dark winter lunchtime raises one’s expectations still more. The menu is tapas-​orientated with a few more substantial plates. We nibbled on perfect breads and olive oil and had manchego and quince toasts (which were a little light on the quince), succulent pan-​fried bass with mediterranean vegetables, clams in saffron sauce and a most delicious paprika and oregano pork dish. The only disappointment is that they only serve rather ordinary Serrano ham and not the beautiful — but admittedly very expensive — Gran Reserva ibérico ham — which would be worth coming to Herne Hill alone for. Number 22 has a pretty garden /​terrace which would be a delight in the warmer months. There is a short but impressive wine and cocktail list from which we chose a beautiful Finca Valpiedra Reserva from the friendly and knowledgeable waitress and which kept out the chill wind on the walk