After what the Smiths call ‘my weekly chat with God’, I am often quite famished. There’s nothing quite so invigorating to a food critic as being able to pick a new place to eat. Once I had completed the relevant due diligence, I chose the Button Factory as the place to eat.
I spend a lot of time in Hockley, for my sins, and I have wondered about this place for some time. Usually, I avoid places where middle aged women drink prosecco at 3pm and talk about things which don’t matter. Thankfully, this Sunday lunch was notably bereft of such utterly forgive-able behaviour.
To kick things off, my roast beef was a thing of beauty. Everything made from scratch and cooked beautifully. Observe how the skin of the carrots is crinkling slightly. This is the sign of slow cooking, which achieves the best results for carrots in the circumstance of a roast dinner. The Yorkshire pudding is clearly homemade. One cannot imagine Mr Sainsbury allowing such a monstrous pud on his shelves. But I am a fan of a deformed pudding and this one was just crunchy enough to pair with the wonderfully braised beef. This was an unquestionably wining dish.
Louise’s roast pork was also extraordinary. Slow cooking pork makes the fat delightfully soft, almost melting into the meat it is attached to. Equally, if you’re on a diet, it is most easy to remove. The neighbouring vegetables were as gorgeous as the ones on my plate. Let it be known that I love both cabbage and parsnips.
Dessert, too, was something to behold. Louise had the special, which was a caramel cheesecake topped with homemade meringue. Sampling this delightful dessert was a privilege. It came together and melted apart like one of Beethoven’s less salacious symphonies.
I recall the lemon curd parfait wasn’t perfect. I thought it a little too acrid for my easily upset palette. Having said that the combination of oats, frozen crumbled raspberries, raspberry jus and lemon curd proved to make a potent cocktail. Many would adore it, this review is too prissy.
Overall, I was astonished most by the waiting in this restaurant. The waitress was so attentive, she’d change our napkins without our even noticing. Every possible whim was catered for. The food was amazing and the location is central with free parking on Sundays. I highly recommend the Button Factory.