Putney Bridge

[Gary Marshall]

well the contrasting views haven't put me off, i'm heading there in late november.

Obviously i shall mention my great mate matt and expect nothing but the best that they have to offer

cheers

gary

[Gary Marshall]

well i am indeed heading there on saturday night,

the wine list is not on line, any thoughts good /bad value, recommendations?

Going with a group of wifey's friends (if if have to go london, i get to choose the restaurant, seems fair ) I have no idea what they will want to spend.

did i read there is a glass to match the tasting menu option? as that is what we are going for.

thanks

gary

[endless autumn]

I seem to remember there was a fairly priced Roche Aux Moines with a bit of age to it (£30ish?) and a very reasonable Priorat (£24ish) which tasted of Harpic but was surprisingly pleasant.

The list does have some good deals but there is a lot to sift through. Oh, and I seem to remember that the whites were more than a little overchilled, but there's not much you can do about that, I suppose.

[Matthew Grant]

I always drink Château de l'Isolette Cotes du Luberon. 1995. Very nice and only around £25 a bottle.

[Gary Marshall]

an excellent dinner here last night, 12 of us all fed and watered brilliantly and fussy non-seafood/chocolate eaters very ably catered for with some really nice dishes, frogs legs with parlsley cromesquis for example.

it came hard on the heels of a wenlock/angel mangal kebab session at lunch time so i'm not quite up to writing it up in full just yet, vegging out in front of the simpsons with a pizza is the limit of my ambitions for tonight!

cheers

gary

[Andy Lynes]

Glad it went well, look forward to your report.

Pizza and Simpsons? Don't all eGulleters spend Sunday evening sipping sherry and listening to Radio 3 then?

[Gary Marshall]

post the mangal, a few pints, the apple shop opening and a tube back to putney i very quickly found myself changed and on my way to Putney Bridge. Mrs M chose the company, her university friends and i chose the restaurant.

Her friends are not regular diners at this level but i was pleased to see everyone getting into the spirit, almost literally given the pre-dinner cocktail consumption!

They had decided to go for the tasting menu which suited me fine! After drinks we were shown to our table, by the window.

Plates of several pre-amuses swiftly followed and were swiftly devoured, so quickly in fact that i can’t remember them! then the amuse proper, a veloute of pumkin with a cube of parmesan jelly in the bottom, very interesting and i meant to ask how it was made but forgot.

I discussed with the sommelier the possibility of wine to match each course by the glass but he recommended a bottle with each, given there were 10 of us we’d get a small pour each. Although i agreed with his choices in the end i thought it safer to stick with a red and a white and let the individual decide what they wanted, also the sommelier recs were about £40 + a bottle and i didn’t want the wifes friends to have coronaries when they got the bill.

At our price range of £30-ish there wasn’t much of any age in my usual burgundy hunting ground torn between a lafon macon-milly and a rully truffiere the somm recommended the latter so we went with that, after a few bottles i did change to a gruner veltliner as the rully was just a bit too young being only a 2002 from memory. i did go with his choice of red a lacoste borie 90-something a 2 ieme cru classe which was extremely good with the meat and cheese courses.

Anyway back to the food!

First up off the menu proper was dorset crab and pink grapefruit cannelloni a tanslucent pink jelly tube with the crab inside, inventive but tasty!

next a saute of foie gras, clementine confit, black treacle, brioche cream. This was the four elements on a plate with a streaks of the ‘sauces’ i scoffed mine and sarah’s friends too who hasn’t yet got into the joy of force fed liver just yet!

third was a carpaccio of oysters, goats cheese salad burnet. This was an unusual combination. The oysters covered the plate, in thin slices and tastes and smelt very fresh and, well , oystery. The goats cheese was in a small quenelle. It cut through and was intersting but didn’t go down too well on the table, as far as i am aware i’ve never seen oysters/goats cheese in combination before.

the fish course was sea bass, saute of young squid and sea purslane. According to the mrs this was a nicely cooked filet of bass with little piles of squid around the edges of the plate, i seem to think with a reduction underneath, but i could have made that up!.

There was a choice of meats, either roast wild duck, chervil root puree, quince and armagnac or fillet of pure breed wlesh black beef, fat chips red wine reduction. Mathew Grant had told me about the beef and how good it was so i went for that, as did most of the table, matt also said when he spent a night there lots of people ordered the steak well done which was a crying shame, i made sure there were no well-done embarassments on our table! They managed to cook i think 8 beef and 2 ducks as requested which is no mean feat, the beef was excellent and went down very well with the bordeaux.

The selection of artisan cheese was 3 different french cheeses, the only suprise being the tiny almost thumbnail size portion. I have to say i was quite full by this point but the portions did look a bit stingy.

deserts came in the form of chocolate and orange croquette, creamed rice, rhubarb sorbet. and to finish a caramel panna cotta, roast pear, brioche perdu. I don’t remember much of these but am assured they were good by the mrs. Coffee and p4’s followed and i then left the table for a ‘quick’ chat with anthony demetre in the kitchen.

Apparently i’d been there an hour when mrs marshall navigated the rabbit warren that leads to the basement kitchen to come and find me, and then she got talking, then another search party was sent to find us as everyone was waiting to go home! Anthony demetre was a thoroughly decent bloke and i thought we had a interesting conversation, although i hope he could understand my somewhat ‘tired and emotional’ state by that point!

it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, i suspect the large lunch wasn’t ideal preparation for such delicate and thoughtful food but i would certainly recommend it and i’ll head back, next time for a la carte i think.

cheers

gary

[endless autumn]

third was a carpaccio of oysters, goats cheese salad burnet. This was an unusual combination. The oysters covered the plate, in thin slices and tastes and smelt very fresh and, well , oystery. The goats cheese was in a small quenelle. It cut through and was intersting but didn’t go down too well on the table, as far as i am aware i’ve never seen oysters/goats cheese in combination before.

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I seem to remember having something combining oyster and goats cheese in Tragabuches in Spain. (Almost all of the twenty-odd courses seemed to have either foie gras or goats chees in them.) It was not a success: the oysters just seemed lost under the rather emetic cheese.

[Matthew Grant]

Every year we splurge on Restaurants in December, lots of eating out, lots of weight gain, lots of feeling sorry for ourselves because we are so over indulged. This year the honours went to Yauatcha (twice), Mirch Masala (several times, actually a bit of a cheat as we go regularly the rest of the year as well), Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Thyme, The Greenhouse, J Sheekey, Rhodes 24 and I think there are a couple pf more in there that I’ve possibly forgotten about. The final meal of the month tends to be a bit of a blow-out and this year the honour went to Putney Bridge. This is a restaurant I haven’t visited before but after this meal I’ll be sure to come back.

I’ve spent far too much of my eating budget (a loose term) here and have been lucky enough to be able to play “Chef” in the kitchen on my days off . A quick chat with Chef Anthony Demetre during the week and I arranged to have a tasting menu with some of the newer dishes and other dishes I hadn’t tried. Chef Demetre said this was no problem. He would run the menu past me when we arrived to check that it was OK.

Upon arrival we were shown to our table overlooking the Thames and champagne came as a gift. Then we were asked to look at the menu that had been written for us to see if there was anything we would like to change. Me and Rachel scanned quickly, wondering at which point we were meant to decide “either or”. After a few seconds we realised this was it, we were getting the whole thing.

Veloute of Autumn Squash with Parmesan Pastels

****

Roast Scottish Scallops, coral puree, carrot and ginger milk

****

Frogs Legs, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic and parsley cromesquis

****

Saute of Cepes on toast, Jabugo ham, young leaves

****

Lasagne of Hare

****

Roast Turbot, daube of beef, caramelised Celeriac, anchovy ravioli

****

Loin of venison, gratin of turnip and prune, crosnes, chorizo

****

Selection of Artisan Cheese

****

Lightly scented vanilla cheesecake, confit of rhubarb, rhubarb sorbet

****

Tatin of English Cox apple, vanilla ice cream

This was a menu of mammoth proportions, probably not the best balanced tasting menu but offering a good selection of the current menu. William Smith wished us luck, hoped that we had been in training for the nights meal and we were off! Started with the Veloute of Squash with the Parmesan jelly staying in one piece. I’ve tasted the jelly before but it’s one of those things that if you don’t know about confuses your brain. It’s soft and on the whole pretty clear but the taste is familiar but not in this guise. 10/10 for the soup

The Scottish scallops were as previously described – a very good quality scallop, with a nice hint of ginger in the carrot milk that has been whisked to give a frothy finish.

I seem to vaguely remember the frogs legs from a previous visit. Neatly trimmed all in a line with a crispy cromesquis which, if your not careful explodes, when you cut into it, this definitely has the ability to smother you in the bright green liquid! Initially the parsley dominates but the garlic comes through nicely and the dish reminded me of a sort of deconstructed Haute cuisine version of a mini chicken kiev.

The cepes on toast is a dish that I have admired in the kitchen but in all honesty I was slightly disappointed, it all worked individually but as a whole I found it very slightly oily. I think this would probably be better as a full size portion with more leaves to balance out the fat from the ham. The dish consists of the cepes on a small piece of toast, a couple of slices of Jabugo ham, Jabugo ham pannacotta and a cepes ice cream. I think the cepes are fried in some oil from the ham.

The Hare was a HUGE flavour to have in the middle of a tasting menu, the sauce thickened with blood and pomegranate seeds providing a textural contrast and also cutting through the deep flavour slightly. I was thinking that this is one of those dishes that could served as a single tablespoon providing a massive slap in the face flavour wise.

The Turbot was served without the anchovy ravioli, which was definitely in our best interests. Good firm fish, tender beef (cheek?) daube alongside.

We were really starting to struggle at this point but managed to squeeze down the venison loin which was really good quality, farmed, from Ireland. Our garnish with this was slightly amended and I’ve forgotten what it was!

I didn’t want to disappoint the restaurant so managed to get through a small but wonderful portion of Epoisses, a nibble of Montgomery Cheddar and a couple of lighter cheeses.

A cup of Chocolate Mousse with some popping candy (always amusing) came as a pre dessert, just as well as there was a small gap in my stomach that was a perfect chocolate mousse shape.

We really couldn’t manage both desserts so I took the Tatin, Rachel the Cheesecake. Great Tatin, the buttery pastry crisp with the caramel that had been drizzled over the bottom. Embarrassed to say that try as I might I had to leave a slice of apple. The cheesecake must have been good as it converted Rachel to rhubarb.

Petit Fours, coffee and a chat with Anthony Demetre finished off a great evening.

As always, I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. I’d especially recommend it at the moment if you are a game fan. Aside from two different preparations of hare they have woodcock complete with the brains and I think they still have wild duck on the menu as well. Great Food, excellent service, great views – what more could you want?

[Suzi Edwards]

Sounds fab and as ever I salute your commitment to eating delicious meals so we can share in them.

We tossed up between Putney Bridge and Chez Bruce for our Christmas meal and Chez Bruce won. Went last night and with hindsight and from reading this post I think we chose the wrong place!

[Gary Marshall]

This is a restaurant I haven’t visited before but after this meal I’ll be sure to come back.

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[Matthew Grant]

It is with great sadness that I have to announce the forthcoming closure of Putney Bridge restaurant. It is estimated that the restaurant will be closing in early April so I can only encourage people to go before then to experience great food in a great location. Anthony Demetre has plans for the future in London which he will announce at a later date. He is currently offering a shortened menu with a choice of 4 dishes at each stage of the menu.

I for one will be very sad to see it go.

[Andy Lynes]

First The Merchant House now this. Its not turning out to be a good year for my favourite restaurants. I have to say that this has been in the air for quite some time so its not a total surprise. I would pretty much guarantee that whatever the site is used for in the future, it won't be a fine dining restaurant.

[Matthew Grant]

I think that is pretty much guranteed - a shame as it is one of the best locations in London. I think it is safe to say that Anthony's new venture will be a smaller more less formal affair but still with the emphasis on good cooking. I know that he was particularly impressed with the set up at WD50 restaurant in New York.

[Bapi]

I agree- a real shame that this place is to close.

Andy - just in case- can you stay away from any of the other restaurants I like.

[Gary Marshall]

sad news matt :sad

from my chat with anthony d i gathered the overheads were, quite frankly, astronomical so unfortunately not a suprise.

he be very welcome in yorkshire

cheers

gary

[Matthew Grant]

sad news matt  :sad

from my chat with anthony d i gathered the overheads were, quite frankly, astronomical so unfortunately not a suprise.

he be very welcome in yorkshire 

cheers

gary

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Stay away Marshall, we're keeping him 'ere down Sarf!

I won't go into any details but nobody should ever complain about food prices in London until they know how much rent some of these premises are paying. The figures are quite staggering.

[Andy Lynes]

Andy - just in case- can you stay away from any of the other restaurants I like.

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What's that place by the river that's meant to be quite nice? I might go there for lunch next week.

[Charlie O]

Oh no

I ate there for the first time last month and was very impressed by the food, the service and the building.

I notice from the Putney Bridge website that they claim they spent £3million on a refurbishment - no wonder they are suffering. It's a shame - I remember the building being built and still think it is one of the more notable in SW London.

I think it is safe to say that Anthony's new venture will be a smaller more less formal affair but still with the emphasis on good cooking.

I'll look forward to where he goes.

And as for bad luck, I'm beginning to wonder whether I (or more likely. my girlfriend ) is the jinx. The only restaurants at that level we went to in the last year have been

McClements (lost its Michelin star)

Anthony's (didn't get one this year)

Putney Bridge (closing)

[Matthew Grant]

The end is coming a week sooner than first thought. Putney Bridge will close it doors for the final time this Sunday!!!!! I hate to say it but if you haven't been I think it may be too late.

[Scottf]

I would pretty much guarantee that whatever the site is used for in the future, it won't be a fine dining restaurant.

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Spot on. We were told on Saturday night it's been bought by a Thai restaurant chain that includes the likes of Sri Thai.

[Gary Marshall]

oriental restaurant group.

keeps the city in thai food!

cheers

gary