Old-School Dining

The Petersham Restaurant is located inside the Petersham Hotel in Richmond. The hotel is housed in a stunning period building which dates back to 1865. The restaurant has an "old-school" sophistication about it, with plenty of soft furnishings to ensure that although the ceilings are low, when the dining room is full there is a good level of buzz, but you can still have a conversation with your dining companion/s. There are large windows that offer great views over Petersham Meadow and the river. We went to the Petersham for Sunday lunch to celebrate our anniversary. Lunch is the perfect time to visit (during winter anyway) to enjoy the view - even though we didn't end up with a window seat, we could see the view from the rear of the room. Service was very good throughout our meal, though it proved difficult to get someone's attention when we wanted our bill.Lunch was a set price for 3 courses at £31.50 (Sunday), though is cheaper the rest of the week. We thought the price was reasonable though, considering the quality of the food, and the generous portion sizes. I was also pleasantly surprised by the wine list - plenty of affordable options.To start, we had the Pigeon, chorizo & cep risotto, and the Hand rolled lasagne with goats cheese, asparagus, dried tomato & pesto. The presentation was excellent, and the flavours just as good. The pigeon was perfectly pink and a great companion to the rich risotto. And how can you go wrong with any dish that has goats cheese and asparagus?!Main courses were the Baked fillet of sea bass with seaweed and crushed root vegetables with saffron, and the Honey roasted Guinea fowl with braised leeks, smoked bacon & roast potato. Again, presentation was excellent and both meals were full of flavour.Dessert was the Madagascan vanilla rice pudding with plum compote, and some very creamy Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream. We didn't order coffee, but we were still presented with two tasty chocolates when we received our bill.There is nothing trendy about the Petersham, but if you feel like taking a step back in time, and enjoying good food and service in comfortable surroundings, then this may be the place for you. And take your parents/grandparents with you, they will love it.

A User - 10/11/2007 | report this review