Fore restaurant review

Hertford has long had a reputation for independent and small chain restaurants in the town, and one of the most recent to open is the Fore Restaurant, facing Parliament Square. 

Following the acquisition of Hertford House by Tewinbury Farm, the hotel bar has been transformed into an eatery with 48 covers.

We recently visited the restaurant to find out what the food, service and ambience were like.

Our table was booked for 6:30pm on a Friday evening and we arrived on time. We were promptly greeted and shown to our seats in the middle of the restaurant. Three other tables were occupied, and there were also customers at the bar and in the back room. We were offered drinks but chose to place our orders once we had decided what to eat.

The restaurant is lit by focused downlights and table lamps. We found the lighting to be a little dim but found we could adjust the brightness of the table lamps, which were initially set to a medium level. Tables were generously spaced so that we had plenty of room around us. Acoustics is often a problem in restaurants but there was little evidence of that here, although I imagine this very much depends on the day of the week, time of day, and nature of clientele. During our stay, diners came and went. Overall the atmosphere was good.

And so to the food. My colleague decided to forego a starter (listed as "Smalls" on the menu). I opted for the Rarebit. Waiting time for the starter was 10-15 minutes. I have to confess that I've never had Rarebit before so I'm not really in a position to judge Fore's version of the dish, but it was satisfying as an introduction to the meal.

The main course (listed as "Large" on the menu), followed shortly after. I had the Chicken Milanese whilst my colleague went for the steak and chips. Our little one chose fish and chips from the Kids Menu. All three were commendable. The Chicken Milanese were very enjoyable and the steak was perfectly cooked (medium requested). The fish met with approval from all. However, we were a little disappointed by the apparent use of catering chips. To drink we had the house white - Bodegas De Alberto, Verdejo 2023 (Spain) whilst the little one had an apple juice. The wine was recommended and typical of what you might expect for the price. My colleague  followed this up with an Aperol Spritz.

For dessert we chose the sticky toffee pudding, whilst the little one had the chocolate brownie, both of which came with ice cream. Both of these appeared to be standard catering puds and again what one might expect for the price.

Overall we had a pleasant evening and would rate Fore Restaurant 7/10. 

Our visit to Fore Restaurant was complimentary but our review is objective.

Rarebit £8
Chicken Milanese £17
Ribeye £25
Sticky toffee pudding £7
Kids main and dessert £10
House white wine (bottle) £26

Full menu available from the Fore Restaurant website.