Behind a grey façade
The exterior of a restaurant is not always a reliable guide to quality. In fact, experience often points the other way. I can think of at least twenty great restaurants that hide behind dull, sometimes even shabby, façades. So, when my wife and I walked past Emile’s Restaurant in Putney, I mentally discounted the smart grey conservatory which protrudes into Felsham Road. Nonetheless, having stopped and scrutinised the menu, we were tempted to eat there a few days later.
The dining room is small and intimate. Formerly the sitting room of a terraced house, it has been extended by a modern conservatory. Emile tells me there are larger rooms next door for functions and busy evenings.
For my starter I chose black pudding topped with smoked haddock and poached egg, and served with sautéed mushrooms. It is always difficult to combine fish and meat successfully, but when it works the results can be wonderful (paella, jambalaya etc.). Such strong flavours need careful blending, but this dish worked perfectly, the smoky haddock did not conceal the rich, sweet black pudding and the dish achieved what a good hors d’oeuvre always should, i.e. sharpened my appetite for the following dish.
For my main course I had twice cooked belly of pork, with sage and apple potatoes. The pork was succulent and perfectly cooked, and the potatoes were served as a Dauphinoise which complemented the dish faultlessly.
Sue chose a feta cheese and tomato soufflé, followed by grilled fillet of Pollock on Grilled polenta with halloumi and black olives. She confirmed they were both delicious.
We ordered a bottle of 2011 La Serre Cabernet Sauvignon from the South of France. It cost £17.50 and could easily have passed for a good Bordeaux.
Emile joined us and chatted for a while, talking of the restaurant’s early days in Wandsworth Bridge Road. He is an amiable host and even managed to remember my name on a first visit.
This is as good a restaurant as I know in South West London. I would only rate Chez Bruce above it, and that is nearly twice the price. We look forward to becoming regulars; we already feel that we are.
