From Across the Pond in Colleyville undergoes Gordon Ramsay-esque transformation

Now making fish & chips and shepherd's pie.

COLLEYVILLE — From Across the Pond started out as a regular old Joe's Pizza & Pasta. Owners Lee and Emma Herdman, who were originally from London, felt like the concept was reliable and do-able, and so it was for six years. But Lee also felt that he had something he could share from his London roots. Like Gordon Ramsay says on Kitchen Nightmares, you should cook what you know, cook from your heart.

And so when 2012 arrived, Lee and Emma transformed Joe's into From Across the Pond, ramping up their selection of British-style food. We're talking fish and chips, shepherd's pie, beef stew (available in half-order sizes at lunch, too). We're also talking English beers like Boddington's and Newcastle Brown ale.

"I just felt like we knew how to do these dishes," Lee says. "And there wasn't anything else like it here."

For those who still view the location as a place to get pizza, the Herdmans still have that on the menu. And since many customers come in to see games on their four big-screen TVs, they have your standard sports-bar appetizers like chicken wings and cheese and gravy fries. And while they may updated the menu, they haven't transformed the place into ye olde English pub. Don't go looking for cozy wood booths or photos of the queen.

But From Across the Pond can serve those who seek a change of pace, a plate of "bangers & mash" where the mashed potatoes come topped with sauteed onions and brown gravy, made by someone who knows the food first-hand.