Chez Bruce
Having heard so much about Chez Bruce in wandsworth I finally made the trip this week. It’s a nice dining room, elegant yet without the stuffiness of a lot of starred restaurants. With food envy firmly in mind everyone went for the same starter of Crêpe parmentier with home cured gravadlax, dressed crab, peashoots and herbs which was delicious. The combination of the ingredients was divine. While it was elegantly put together it wasn’t fussy, which I liked. I tried the cote de boeuf with crispy fat chips afterwards and this was also superb. Dishes that appear ‘simple’ like this are a true test of a top restaurant, because there is no room for compromise, you need to start with fantastic raw ingredient, cook them expertly. The chips were fantastic – probably edging ahead of Heston Blumethal’s pub in Bray (which uptill now were the best I’d had). Deserts were nothing special, but then I’m not a huge desert fan. My only complaint, given the status of the restaurant was the lack of amuse bouche. It’s usually a nice opportunity for the kitchen to be a bit flash and flamboyant and it’s a shame they don’t do that. If I lived locally, I’d probably come here quite often – it combines great food with a non stuffy environment.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:47 am
The reason for CB’s status is all about good food cooked properly. Unnecessary frills like amuse are best left to those with something to prove (or hide) and if you think that the finest creme brulee in London is ‘nothing special’ then you are better off sticking to the West End with the Americans where somebody ‘a bit flash and flamboyant’ can give you all the amuse you want and let you finish with a special dessert topped with a dozen layers of spun sugar ‘art’.
Pesonally I don’t think it matters where I lived, the unpretentious, honest cooking at Bruce’s is worth crossing town for as often as you can.