About
We took the lease in 2019 and did most of the work ourselves.
It was a corn merchant’s office, then a carpet showroom, then empty for nine years. The floor still slopes.
The plan was a wine bar with a hot plate. That lasted about four months, until it became obvious that people were coming for the food and drinking whatever we suggested, so we put in a proper kitchen and took the sofas out.
What we do now is narrow on purpose. One menu, changed when the deliveries make it necessary rather than on a schedule. No separate vegetarian menu, because there is always something on the main one. No tasting menu, because we would rather you ordered what you actually wanted.
We buy from about a dozen people. Two farms, a fish merchant on the coast, a grower who brings whatever is ready on Tuesdays, and a mill four miles away that has been grinding flour since before any of us were born. None of them are exclusive to us and we do not pretend otherwise.
The room seats forty. It is loud when it is full, which we are not going to apologise for, and quiet at the front if you ask.
The short version
Opened
March 2019
Covers
Forty, plus eighteen below
The building
1878, Grade II
In the kitchen
Six
On the floor
Four
Who is here
Ten people, most of whom have been here more than two years.
Iris Calloway
Chef and owner
Cooked in other people’s kitchens for eleven years and did not enjoy most of them. Writes the menu on Tuesday afternoons.
Martin Bly
Head chef
Runs the pass four nights a week. Responsible for the bread, which he will talk about at length if you let him.
Sena Okonkwo
General manager
Answers the booking requests, which is why they get answered. Knows who does not eat what.
Roddy Vance
Wine
Buys the list. Will not sell you the expensive bottle if the cheap one is better, which is occasionally bad for business.
How we buy
Twelve suppliers, and none of them exclusive.
Meat
Two farms, both within twenty miles. Whole animals, butchered here, which is why the menu sometimes has an odd cut on it.
Fish
Landed on the coast and driven in the same morning. If the boats do not go out, the fish comes off the menu.
Everything else
A grower who arrives on Tuesdays with whatever is ready, and a mill four miles away for the flour.
Come and eat
Wednesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner. The last booking is at nine.
Book a table
A dining room of forty covers. One kitchen, one list, and a table that runs down the middle of the room.
Hours
Wednesday to Saturday
Lunch 12 to 2.30
Dinner 6 to 10
© 2026 Pennyfold
Allergen information is available on request.