Dinner only · Tuesday to Saturday

A small kitchen in the old print quarter

Thirty-two seats, one short menu, and whatever the market gave us that morning. We cook over fire and write the list the same afternoon.

Reserve a table See tonight’s table

Seasonal & market-led
Open fire kitchen
Walk-ins at the counter

The Hollow Room dining room set for service, with small tables, bentwood chairs and low warm lighting.

The room

A narrow space that used to smell of ink

We took on a disused press floor, kept the brick and the long window, and put a fire at the far end so the whole room can watch dinner being cooked.

Hollow Room began as a weekly supper for whoever was still working late on the street. It grew into a dinner service, but the shape never changed: a handful of tables, a counter facing the embers, and a menu short enough to read in one breath.

There is no long list of specials and no second kitchen hiding out of sight. Everything leaves the same bench, which is why we cook only what we can do properly on the night.

Come early if you want the counter and the noise of the fire. Come late if you want the quiet end of the room and the last of the dessert wine.

“We would rather serve six things we believe in than twenty we can defend.”

Warm interior detail of the restaurant showing brick walls, pendant lights and laid tables. — The long window, early service

A plated course of vegetables and herbs being finished on a dark ceramic plate. — A course from last week’s list

Tonight’s table

Written this afternoon, cooked this evening

A preview of the kind of list we serve. Dishes move with the market, so expect two or three changes by the time you sit down.

To begin

Charred leeks, hazelnut

Leeks taken straight off the embers, cold-pressed oil, toasted nuts and a little sheep’s curd.

Bread and cultured butter

Baked on the bench each afternoon from a slow starter. Butter churned in-house, heavily salted.

Chicory, pear, aged cheese

Bitter leaves, poached pear and shavings of something hard and nutty from the cellar.

From the fire

Whole plaice, brown butter

Grilled on the bone, basted in butter and capers, finished with lemon and parsley stalks.

Shortrib, smoked onion

Cooked overnight, pressed, then returned to the fire to glaze. Onions burnt and puréed.

Autumn squash, lentils

Roasted in its skin over coals with brown lentils, preserved lemon and a herb oil.

To finish

Burnt honey custard

Set soft, scorched on top, served barely cold with a spoon of thick cream.

Quince and almond tart

Slow-poached fruit on an almond base, baked to order in a single tin and cut at the pass.

Cheese from the cellar

Three pieces, chosen on the night, with oat crackers and a spoonful of grape must.

How we cook

Three rules the kitchen keeps

Fire first

Almost everything passes over coals or embers at some point. The grill is lit before the lights go on and it sets the menu’s limits.

Bought that morning

We shop daily rather than order weekly, so the list is written after the boxes arrive and not before.

Nothing wasted

Trim becomes stock, stock becomes sauce, and the bones go back on the fire. Whole ingredients, used end to end.

In the room

Bench, counter, plate

Loaves of bread resting on a floured wooden bench in the kitchen.

The counter at the end of the room with stools, glassware and bottles behind it.

A finished main course of grilled meat and greens plated on a dark table.

Service

When the fire is lit

The kitchen takes its last order forty-five minutes before close. The counter keeps a few seats back each night for anyone who arrives without a booking.

Tuesday – Wednesday: Dinner 18:00 – 22:00
Thursday – Friday: Dinner 17:30 – 23:00
Saturday: Dinner 17:00 – 23:00
Sunday: Long lunch 13:00 – 17:00
Monday: Closed — the kitchen rests

Reserve

Ask us for a table

Send the details below and we will write back to confirm the evening. Tables are held for fifteen minutes past the booked time.

Good to know

Before you come

Can we walk in without a table booked?

Yes. A few counter seats are kept unreserved every evening and go to whoever is there first. The rest of the room is held for requests.

How do you handle dietary needs?

Write them in your request and the kitchen will plan a version of the night’s menu around them. There is always a dish from the fire without meat or fish.

Are children welcome?

Very. The earlier sittings and the Sunday lunch suit them best, and the kitchen will cook something simple off-menu on request.

Can you seat a larger group?

The long table at the back takes up to ten. Note the number in your request and we will tell you which evenings it is free.