Putney Bridge

[Ai Leen]

It was pleasant to sit overlooking Putney River

That'll be the Thames then

So I think you liked it from your report. Would you return?

Hee. Yes yes. The Thames.

Yes yes, will be back. One of your fav places, I heard.

I should not write before lunch. I should not write before lunch...

[Matthew Grant]

Our expectations had been tweaked up by the recent award of one Michelin Star, not to mention the provenance of its chef, Anthony Demetre.

Not a recent acquisition - it was awarded in 2000 I believe.

[Matthew Grant]

Recently London restaurants have bored me. Instead of eating out so much I have spent more and more time spending my hard earned money at Borough Market instead of restaurant X. Until recently I’ve never been a person who eats multiple times in a restaurant in a short(ish) period of time – too many restaurants, not enough money. That was until I went to Putney Bridge late last year and had a meal that had myself and Rachel kicking each other under the table while we tried to keep up polite conversation with our friends.

We returned again on Saturday’s for the fourth time on Saturday for another excellent meal. Once again we were dining with another couple, this time from Australia, which distracted me slightly from taking full note of all the components of the meal but one thing I’m certain of is that it is still stretching all the points of its one star and reaching out for a second.

“Jabugo ham pannacotta, girolles, figs, fresh almonds and manchego” came with a girolle and coffee ice cream. I was distinctly wary of this dish at first, it was very busy and individually the pannacotta didn’t work for me but after a couple of mouthfuls the dish balanced itself perfectly and I was sad to see the last mouthful disappear. I wasn’t too sure about the ice cream, not detecting enough of the girolle it tasted overwhelmingly of coffee, I’m not sure it was necessary to the dish, not unpleasant, just unnecessary but I would need to taste the dish again without the ice cream to confirm that.

Two plates of “Dorset crab and pink grapefruit cannelloni, pea and pistachio cream” disappeared before I had a chance to grab a bite while the “Slow cooked pork belly with young squid, chorizo and white coco beans was superb”. By the time I reached it there was only beans and squid left. This was baby squid, proper baby squid like the Spanish eat, the miniature body beautifully tender and the tentacles adding a nice crispy contrast. The beans had taken on a great smokey flavour from some smoked paprika, they would have made a great bowl of comfort food.

A gift from the chef followed, for two of us two roast “Scottish scallops, coral puree, carrot and ginger milk”, good quality, large scallops with a bright orange puree around the outside and the carrot and ginger milk providing a naturally sweet accompaniment – excellent. For the rest of the table a “warm tart of Scottish cepes, fried quails egg and a herb cream”. A lovely thin pastry with thinly sliced cepes, the quails egg lightly fried on the side. I would have happily eaten this as a starter despite it being vegetarian.

Two of our party then had the “Fillet of seabass, wild mushrooms and crushed potatoes with camomile cream”, the sea bass served slightly translucent (and advised of this when the order was taken) with girolles, I only got to taste the fish which was good. The same can be said of the “Line caught river Tay wild salmon ‘lightly smoked’, sweet and sour caramel, salad of young shoots”. An excellent piece of fish, I stopped eating Salmon some time ago after encountering a particularly unpleasant fatty farmed specimen for the local supermarket that was enough to put me off for good but tasting proper wild Salmon this made me change my mind.

I had gone to the restaurant hoping to order the Rabbit Cottage pie, a star dish from an earlier visit which is now both off the menu (if anybody is interested in starting a petition to get this and the salt crust chicken back on please contact me). In the event I satisfied my craving for meat and potatoes with “Roast loin of lamb, ‘boulangère’ potatoes, stuffed tomato ‘Provençale style’". A simple dish, the lamb (from the Elwy Valley in Wales) served medium rare with a rectangle of the layered potatoes well flavoured from the lamb juices, the braised shoulder stuffed into the tomato – A very good dish well executed and exactly what I fancied at the time although in hindsight I wish I had ordered something a little more challenging to the kitchen (cue chef to tell me exactly how much unseen work went into this dish)

A pre dessert of cherries with a fir foam (the foam made from actually pine cones instead of drops) acted as a nice cleanser. Cheese from the trolley finished my meal, good Epoisses, the Montgomery Cheddar and Colston Basset Stilton were slightly past their best. It’s no exaggeration to say that I didn’t get to see Rachels “Warm ‘Amedei’ Tuscan chocolate fondant, barley milk cream”. it was finished, with presumably great enthusiasm, while I chose my cheese. “Wild and cultivated English strawberries, yoghurt cream, vanilla and cinnamon doughnuts” smelt great but were also too precious to share.

Overall another great meal, its not the trendiest restaurant name for foodies to drop but it should be. Anthony Demetre is an enthusiastic chef (I finally got to talk to him after our meal this time) with both a strong hand (witness his game menu) and light touch in equal measure. Is it the best restaurant in London at the moment? Possibly. It’s definitely the only London restaurant that has given me a buzz for a good few years.

[Scott]

Matthew you're relationship with this restaurant is surely an illicit love that dare not speak it's name

in case you want to consumate it, I have it on very good authority that this restaurant is up for sale, either freehold or taking up the lease.

[Matthew Grant]

I must confess that I've talked my way into spending a day in the kitchen - My second visit to a professional kitchen, I only do Michelin stars you know

However, whilst willing to engage in some foreplay consumation is off the agenda until the restaurant agrees to make an honest man of me.

[Andy Lynes]

Caterer claims Putney Bridge is for sale. I spoke to chef Anthony Demetre on Thursday after a spectacular lunch and he hinted that he might be staying put. He also said he might go to France. On previous occasions he has told me he has been looking at alternative properties in London to do something inspired by a visit last year to New York's WD50 (in style of room and service rather than food).

If you follow the London scene, you'll be used to chefs catagorically stating one thing is true and then doing another (recent example: Gordon Ramsay says no way is Fleur closing, two days later, Fleur is closed). Maybe its a game they play with the likes of Caterer and eGullet, maybe its driven by paranoia or its just clever business practice. In this instance, I've no idea.

Perhaps Demetre has his eye on a certain property in London and doesn't want it snatched away from under his nose, but whatever the truth of the matter, I'll await the result with interest.

[Matthew Grant]

Wow Scott! what a scoop

Edited July 25, 2004 by Matthew Grant (log)

[Biene]

There's a deal on Toptable going till Aug21: 3 courses plus a glass of Prosecco for £25. Might be worth a try

[MobyP]

Biene - welcome to eGullet.

[Matthew Grant]

Where's Andys latest review?

[MobyP]

He sold it to a one armed man for ten thousand pounds - and was last seen heading to Heathrow airpoirt.

[Romaney O'Malley]

Have booked in for a last minute dinner tonight on toptable. We are booked for the £25 dinner which sounded like a great deal but I bet we weaken and go for the ALC...

really looking forward to it.

[Matthew Grant]

He sold it to a one armed man for ten thousand pounds - and was last seen heading to Heathrow airpoirt.

Deleted - Bad taste. PM me if your desperate to know

Edited July 30, 2004 by Matthew Grant (log)

[Marlyn4k]

Review as promised...well extracts from those published under Two Views on the website. Unfortunately was not the best of experiences.

"...The Degustation Menu made no mention of wines by the glass to match. Upon enquiring, we communicated with the Sommelier by messenger and were offered the option for an additional £38 per head. Some ninety minutes into the evening we finally met the Sommelier, but rather than discuss his wine choices, he cleared our plates: Perhaps wisely so as most of the selections proved a disappointment, especially an over chilled Macon, which displayed the finesse of a sledgehammer wrapped in oak...."

"....Anthony Demetre’s cooking is better than the service or the wine. Roast scallops with coral puree, carrot and ginger milk was an imaginative dish, making the most of the freshest ingredients. The terrine of foie gras, not on the menu, was served without any explanation. We insisted on the seared foie gras, roast apricot, black treacle and brioche cream as advertised, and received it with an appropriate apology from the kitchen....but (it) had a strange texture; similar to food that's been defrosted in a microwave for a little too long; the seared outside offered resistance giving way to an unctuous first taste, however the inside became increasingly firm, and ultimately almost rubbery. Two sloppily executed dishes followed - slightly dry, overcooked Sea Bass and close to raw Aylesbury Duck - sadly both rendered their respective arrangements of sauces and vegetables irrelevant....Artisan cheeses were extensive in their range and impressive in their quality. The last course was the least successful: the warm strawberry soufflé was too solid in texture and its accompanying confit of strawberry was, unfortunately, reminiscent of the tinned variety. Coffee came without the advertised petits fours, and, when asked for, were delivered in a messy heap....To compound matters, this proved better than the apparently rudderless service, which was at best semi-professional, at worst, student like.. "

Edited August 5, 2004 by Marlyn4k (log)

[MobyP]

There's something comforting about a really, really harsh review. Thanks for that. I now fear your tongue.

[Bapi]

But the service, in particular from the Maitre' d, we actually found to be exemplary and the table- the large one above the entrance- was excellent too.

Maryln,

Ouch- as you can read - we had a very good service there last year. Could have been a tip off from Mr Lynes though.

Sorry to hear that your experience was not up too par.

[Matthew Grant]

The service is a mystery - I've always found this to be a strong point of the restaurant. The sea bass is alos a little strange, on my last visit we were advised that it would be served translucent and having seen the cooking method I'm very surprised that it was dry

[Romaney O'Malley]

My husband and I were at PB Friday night. The food was superb. Amongst other things I had sea bream which was cooked to perfection so it's a shame about the bass you had Marlyn.

Have to agree on the service though. It was ropey and just lacked any kind of direction. At one stage a waiter was hovering with my husband's entree as he was still finishing his amuse. The waiter practically took the spoon from my husband's hand so he could place the next course in front of us and then proceeded to blame the chef for the timing. They seemed to have loads of staff just none of them were particularly polished and they didn't seem very experienced. It felt like the service strategy was just to throw more people in.

I don't think the front of house does justice to Demetre's cooking. But I'll definitely be back despite this as I thought his food really was sublime.

[Marlyn4k]

This is only an extract from the total review, there were extenuating circumstances, such as the party of 40 tourists that arrived shortly after us, however both the kitchen and the front house coped poorly.

[Andy Lynes]

Where's Andys latest review?

With all the other stuff I should have written - still in my head. I will try and get it down soon.

[Scott]

The service is a mystery - I've always found this to be a strong point of the restaurant. The sea bass is alos a little strange, on my last visit we were advised that it would be served translucent and having seen the cooking method I'm very surprised that it was dry

I however have found the service on a par with mcdonald's.

[Matthew Grant]

Review as promised...well extracts from those published under Two Views on the website. Unfortunately was not the best of experiences.

"...The Degustation Menu made no mention of wines by the glass to match. Upon enquiring, we communicated with the Sommelier by messenger and were offered the option for an additional £38 per head. Some ninety minutes into the evening we finally met the Sommelier, but rather than discuss his wine choices, he cleared our plates: Perhaps wisely so as most of the selections proved a disappointment, especially an over chilled Macon, which displayed the finesse of a sledgehammer wrapped in oak...."

"....Anthony Demetre’s cooking is better than the service or the wine. Roast scallops with coral puree, carrot and ginger milk was an imaginative dish, making the most of the freshest ingredients. The terrine of foie gras, not on the menu, was served without any explanation. We insisted on the seared foie gras, roast apricot, black treacle and brioche cream as advertised, and received it with an appropriate apology from the kitchen....but (it) had a strange texture; similar to food that's been defrosted in a microwave for a little too long; the seared outside offered resistance giving way to an unctuous first taste, however the inside became increasingly firm, and ultimately almost rubbery. Two sloppily executed dishes followed - slightly dry, overcooked Sea Bass and close to raw Aylesbury Duck - sadly both rendered their respective arrangements of sauces and vegetables irrelevant....Artisan cheeses were extensive in their range and impressive in their quality. The last course was the least successful: the warm strawberry soufflé was too solid in texture and its accompanying confit of strawberry was, unfortunately, reminiscent of the tinned variety. Coffee came without the advertised petits fours, and, when asked for, were delivered in a messy heap....To compound matters, this proved better than the apparently rudderless service, which was at best semi-professional, at worst, student like.. "

Marlyn, I don't mean to pick holes but on your site you have two people reviewing the same meal.

The first (you?) says

"Two sloppily executed dishes followed - slightly dry, overcooked Sea Bass and close to raw Aylesbury Duck - sadly both rendered their respective arrangements of sauces and vegetables irrelevant."

the second

"...The sea bass fillet was tiny but tasty, with a wild mushrooms and a camomile cream. ........The hybrid Pekin-Aylesbury lacquered duck, with szechuan pepper and blossom honey, came medium rare and full of flavour...."

Quite a disparity wouldn't you agree?

[Marlyn4k]

Matthew, that is the whole point of the section.

On my night off from the lovely wife, I've been eating out once a week (at better restaurants) with an old friend who I've known for twenty odd years.

We found that we sometimes agreed on the meals and sometimes differed but always had a lively debate, so I thought it would be interesting to start a site that had a section where we eat, go home, write 500 words each and publish them without looking at each others views. For example, Tom Aikens - he was in awe and I was not; last night we tried The Admiralty (on the toptable deal), I liked it and he hated it. The week before last was Roussillon, I loved it, he wasn't so sure...and so on.

Sometimes we eat separate dishes from the carte and sometimes we both go for the tasting menu. Daniel really liked the Sea Bass (but found it a little small), I found it dry and overcooked. Daniel's duck was executed precisely medium rare, mine was almost raw and struggled to be cut with a sharp knife. The bill was £130 per head. There would be a number of places on the list to visit before returning to Putney Bridge.

A review is only an opinion based on a snapshot in time, associated with one meal for one person. For many restaurants our reviews are based on five or six visits, where we each have a genuine opportunity to assess consistency and develop more depth to our opinions - La Trompette would be one example, The Waterside another. However, where we have strong opinions based on a single visit we will publish because we'd be unlikely to return.

[Matthew Grant]

OK, sorry for the late reply on this but I was waiting until I had seen Anthony Demetre again to confirm a couple of points. I was in the kitchen the day that Marlyn was there so may have taken his comments a little too personally , I know this as it is the only night that Putney Bridge have entertained 30 odd covers on a coach tour!

The restaurant was very busy for midweek and it was fantastic to watch the kitchen team in full flow. If I remember correctly 110 covers went out that night. I still struggle to understand why Marlyn and his colleague would have such differing views of the duck and the sea bass. The duck was cooked on the carcass and removed for serving, tables for two obviously get the same carcass, hence the meat has had the same cooking time, same goes for the sea bass which is cooked in a low oven covered in clarified butter. The care and attention going into the food is amazing. They agreed to the coach party provided they all ate the same menu and they were sat in groups of 8 and 1 table of 10 so that there wasn’t too much hassle trying to get all the courses out in quick succession. They had the sea bass for main course because it was easier to get right due to its cooking method. From my view in the kitchen that party had no effect on the rest of the food. No less care and attention went into the food going out once that party arrived.

A day in the kitchen is a fantastic experience (I returned for a half day yesterday) even if I only get to do the “tourist” work. My fingers are killing me today after cracking fresh walnuts, trying to extract them as whole as possible and then peel them without blanching them! But it is great to see whole ducks/fish/slabs of meat coming in and being prepared by the crew. Its good to see them rejecting fruit and veg for not being of a good enough quality

Its no secret that I love this restaurant and have built up a rapport with them but I do truly believe that this is a restaurant not getting the credit it deserves (I’m sure its not alone in this). Anthony Demetre is in the kitchen everyday except one (I’m not going to mention which one although its not too difficult to guess). Traditional touches with a nod to modern techniques, “We like to dabble occasionally” as Anthony puts it. I hope that Marlyn returns sooner rather than later for a happier experience than his last one.

Incidentally, in light of a couple of other threads the restaurant is serving Grouse at under £20 and yesterday they started serving a squash soup as an amuse.

Keep an eye out for the game menu, yesterday saw the first wild mallards in the restaurant, they arrived complete with heads and intestines, nothing wasted as the legs were confited and terrines were made. Apparently my one of my favourite dishes will be reappearing in the winter, Rabbit cottage pie. Turbot in a salt crust will be replacing the chicken in a salt crust from last year (a shame as that chicken dish was outstanding.

Did that last paragraph sound too much like a shameless advert?

Edited September 23, 2004 by Matthew Grant (log)

[Marlyn4k]

I've no grudges against the place...will go back some time and with an open mind...would definately ask for a window table in advance...

Would you mind if I published the above as a counter balance on Thymusgland alongside our review of Putney Bridge?

We all have our favourites and I know I react personally to some restaurant criticism (Foliage or Waterside in particular!)