Neil Littman visits the new Hadley Wood branch of a Winchmore Hill institution

If the name sounds familiar it’s because there is a family connection between this new restaurant in Hadley Wood and the café of the same name in Winchmore Hill.

The story of how Limes Hadley Wood was launched (covered in the latest edition of Hadley Wood News) is about ambition, commitment, 18-hour days, and a vision to offer a great dining experience. The bistro serves hearty breakfasts, all-day brunch and more.

Leading this enterprise is Anthony Leonida, who ran the kitchen at the café in Winchmore Hill for several years, where he came up with a unique idea of offering a revolving range of international cuisines on a weekly basis, including Thai, French, American, Mexican and Italian, in addition to the regular menu. It was an ambitious idea and a great showcase for Anthony’s talents and a sign of what was to follow.

Fast-forward to October this year and Limes Hadley Wood had only been open five weeks when I visited one Sunday lunchtime. Located in Crescent West, near the station, the front-of-house is managed by Anthony’s partner Daniella. The dining area is an attractive light-filled space with comfortable seating and extra tables outdoors. In total, there is room for nearly 70 diners. Almost every table was filled on the day I visited, and it didn’t take long to find out why.

The goal is to make Limes a community hub, and that was exactly what it felt like. Much of this has been achieved by word of mouth in a very short time.

As it was after 1pm on a Sunday, the menu was offering a choice of five different roasts ranging from 28-day aged sirloin to cauliflower ‘steak’ (a description that baffles me!) plus sides including confit garlic, caramelised shallots and creamed spinach.

I ordered the roast chicken with ‘all the trimmings’ which was accompanied by Yorkshire pudding, great roast potatoes, roasted baby carrots that were very sweet, broccoli stems and a sauce-boat of jus – posh gravy by another name.

Dessert was an homemade sticky toffee pudding accompanied by homemade ice cream. Limes has its own herb garden and make almost everything from scratch, including cakes and desserts.

I enjoyed it so much I paid a second visit for brunch a few days later and ordered poached eggs on muffins with truffled wild mushrooms and hollandaise, a great riff on a brunch classic. The service was good on both visits.

Sunday lunch was £36 including service, and brunch was £16 including coffee. Both were good value. Booking for Sunday lunch is essential!

For more information about Limes Hadley Wood including opening times:
Visit instagram.com/limescafelondon

Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Enfield to review or feedback on the places Neil has already reviewed? He would love to hear from Dispatch readers:
Email [email protected]

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