The Dysart Petersham

We had a delicious long lunch yesterday. The food was mouthwatering and beautifully presented. The service was friendly and efficient. A birthday was an excellent excuse to have the tasting menu with a flight of wines but we'll need no excuse to return.

Richmond is a very posh part of London. It is for this reason I was worried about accepting an invitation to eat there, because as you may have noticed, posh parts of the country and good restaurants do not often mix. When was the last time you had a decent meal in Hampstead, for example, or Chelsea? Or further afield in Beaconsfield or Weybridge? Henley or Harpenden? With very few exceptions (there is Bray, I suppose, though that's largely the work of one man), high property prices and good dinners out don't go together, whilst conversely the parts of town that show up blue on the house price heat maps boast some smashing value restaurants - Camberwell, Peckham, etc. The only other time I'd been tempted on the 65 bus out to Richmond was when Petersham Nurseries (still the most famous restaurant in these parts) took on a new head chef and invited a bunch of bloggers/journalists to try it out. It wasn't bad , if you don't mind eating a lot of artfully arranged vegetables in a greenhouse

A tasting menu today was priced at £60 and began with two nibbles: a chive and piment d’espelette palmier, which was a touch dry (14/20) and a piece of hand-dived scallop with tomato jam presented on squid ink bread, the scallop sweet and the jam working well with it (16.20). In addition to the trademark Irish soda bread (16/20) there was caper, feta and violet potato bread, made from scratch in the kicthen (15/20). A further nibble was a pair of Indian twelve-spiced mussels, the spice balance quite subtle (easily 14/20).

Charred mackerel with kombu braised daikon, ginger and champagne was as enjoyable as ever, the mackerel fresh and carefully cooked, the flavour combinations harmonious (17/20); my dining companion felt that the sauce could dial down the acidity a touch, but this is a quibble rather than a criticism.

A star dish was foie gras terrine with eel, pain d’epices and applestroop (Dutch apple syrup). The foie gras was silky smooth and had deep flavour, the apple providing some balance of acidity, the eel adding an extra dimension to the dish; this was seriously good food (17/20).

Wild turbot with a Viennese crust and vin jaune sauce had excellent fish that was precisely cooked, though the sauce seemed just a touch sweet to me (14/20, more for the fish alone).

Between three of us we were able to try a trio of different main courses. Longhorn beef aged for 60 days came with miso mustard sauce and confit of heritage carrots, two different cuts of tender beef (15/20). Roast mallard came with an excellent celeriac croustillant and bigarade sauce (15/20) and woodcock was served with Perigueux sauce (a sauce flavoured with truffles and madeira) and a gratin of Cevenne onion and 32 month aged Comte cheese. This was the most impressive of the main courses, the cooking accurate, the sauce rich and the gratin full of flavour (16/20). 

Cheeses were supplied from the main Paris market and in excellent condition. A pre-dessert of verjus granite with rosehip from the garden was light and refreshing, the rosehip flavour nicely controlled (15/20). I preferred this to the Valrhona Jivara chocolate and praline bar with miso salted caramel ice cream and cocoa nibs. The ice cream was excellent but the texture of the bar seemed a little softer than I recall it at a previous visit (14/20).

 Petit fours comprised a Passe Crassane pear financier, sea salt caramel, passion fruit jelly and raspberry taffy tuile (14/20). The bill with accompanying wines and coffee came to £93 a head before tip. Service was excellent as ever. I continue to be very impressed by the cooking at Dysart. There are little tweaks that could improve things in places, but the best dishes are very impressive indeed, and here is clearly a genuinely talented chef. 

---Previous Experience---
The Dysart (formerly The Dysart Arms) is a pub in the smart Petersham area of Richmond, which in recent years has gradually transitioned from “pub that does food” to “restaurant with a bar”. This has much to do with the current head chef, Kenneth Culhane, who won the Roux Scholarship in 2010, and who had previously worked at Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin. The chef has his own garden to grow many of the vegetables and herbs used on the menu.

The dining room is fairly rustic, with stone floor and well-spaced tables without tablecloths. Lighting is limited, hence the murky photos. There is a set menu available in the evening at £19.95 for three courses in addition to the a la carte. There is also a tasting menu at £49.50, with a full vegetarian tasting menu also available; we tried the tasting menu on our first visit, and a la carte in the second. The carefully composed wine list had choices such as Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2012 at £42 for a wine that you can find in the high street for £15, Chateau Musar 1998 at £69 for a wine that retails at £36, and a relative bargain in the form of Guigal Chateau d’Ampuis 2001 at £125 for a wine that will set you back £100 to buy in a shop.

An August 2013 meal began with a few nibbles served on a board. Scottish salmon sashimi topped a little ball of crisp sushi rice with smoked lime and vanilla and Vietnamese coriander. Cumin polenta came with fresh herbs and confit lemon. A delicate Parmesan shortbread was topped with Bloody Mary jelly and Pork head Kromesky came with a Mejdool date, pickled chilli and hyssop. This was all a far cry from a pub Scotch egg, the nibbles being of a high standard; in particular the salmon worked well, and the Parmesan biscuit was excellent (15/20).

Two breads were offered, both made from scratch in the kitchen. A Roscoff onion and courgette flower pain de mie was one, the other an Irish soda bread and fennel pollen butter. The pain de mie was rich and enjoyable, but the soda bread was particularly impressive, remarkably light; apparently this is due to a two stage baking process, but the effect is a world away from the dense soda breads that I have often eaten (16/20 bread). On the second visit the breads changed, but maintained the standard. Guiness sourdough had excellent crust, the soda bread was as good as before and there was an unusual Hungarian kalacs bread with pear and paprika.

Foraged chicken-of-the-woods mushroom was an amuse-bouche, topped with new season garlic, radish leaves and Chateau d’Estoublon olive oil. This was very pleasant rather than thrilling (14/20). I was quite taken aback by the next dish, charred mackerel with kombu, braised daikon, ginger and champagne. This was superb, the mackerel beautifully cooked, the Japanese-influenced sauce light and refreshing, the ginger going really well with the fish. This was serious cooking (17/20).

Veal sweetbreads had good texture, served with black truffle vinaigrette and fresh almonds (15/20). Wild stone bass was another star dish, served with a little block of celeriac, spiced herbal kaffir lime and green chilli sauce. The fish was timed beautifully, having enough strength of flavour to cope with the lively spicy sauce (16/20). Beef was served in two forms, a fillet and also a slow-cooked feather blade, served with heritage carrots, sumac and miso mustard sauce. The fillet was fine but the feather blade was impressive, with deep flavour and surprisingly tender, the hint of mustard going nicely with the meat (15/20). On a second visit grouse was very good, the bird not too gamey, tender and paired with girolles and little spheres of apple to provide acidity (15/20).

Blood orange sorbet, jasmine and Alphonso mango was a refreshing pre-dessert (14/20). The Valrhona Jivara chocolate and praline bar with miso salted caramel ice cream with grue de caco was excellent, the rich chocolate nicely accentuated by the slight saltiness of the caramel (15/20). Burnt honey custard with Chablis apple had good texture (15/20), whilst greengage and figs with nastrurtium flower sorbet came with a superb sesame tuile (15/20). The petit fours were also of a high standard. Cornish sea salt caramel and passion fruit and roasted coffee pate de fruits were very good (15/20), but the greengage and brown butter financier was remarkable, delicate and with just enough sharpness from the fruit (17/20).

The bill came to £104 a head, but that was with the tasting menu, plenty of good wine and pre-dinner drinks. On a second visit the bill was £86 a head, including pre-dinner drinks and coffee. If you ordered modest wine and went a la carte then a realistic bill might be around the £70 a head level all in. My third and fourth meal here confirmed the standard of cooking.

Service throughout the evening was excellent, with wine carefully topped up, the staff friendly. This meal was quite a revelation to me, as I had no real expectations of it. I based the visit on just a solitary tip from someone I know, and indeed at this point there is very little in the way of reviews to be found for it. Despite the lack of fanfare, the standard of the cooking is extremely high, and there are certainly worse restaurants than this with Michelin stars. In these days of over-hyped central London openings, it is great to find a place quietly turning out lovely food. Dysart is a hidden gem to which I will most certainly be returning regularly.

I cannot recommend here enough! We had the tasting menu, which was delicious. I was pregnant at the time and they adapted the menu around the foods I couldn't eat. The staff were lovely and the atmosphere was relaxed. Can't wait to visit again!

Beautiful venue with a non-pretentious but elegant atmosphere, which I loved! The food was delicious and creative. We particularly liked being able to order the wines in 500ml, which allowed us to choose pairings to the courses together as a group, rather than going by the glass. Looking forward to returning soon!

What a wonderful unique experience! The tasting menu and wine, pairings, or especially delicious and well presented and prepared. The unique location was beautiful and well appointed .the service was first class, and the owner could not have been more gracious or welcoming. We very much enjoyed the evening and look forward to a return visit on the next trip across the pond.

Entering The Dysart Petersham, we were met by Barny who is was of the best waiters and front of house staff you could possibly imagine. He was very welcoming, enthusiastic and explained every single individual meal with precise detail. He made us feel warm and extremely comfortable for the whole duration of our dining experience. The interior of the restaurant was beyond beautiful with some of the finest decor and wood carved tables. Everything was so clean it almost felt like it was a mini art gallery with their showpiece being the piano at the back of the restaurant. It is such a picture perfect modern design but with a tranquil feeling and atmosphere. The food was phenomenal, elegant and very well thought out by the chefs. Each course was a journey for the taste buds with simple yet sophisticated flavours that worked well together. The plating was done was everything you look for in a fine dining restaurant and flavour combinations were of the highest standard. Everything from the canapés, to the focaccia bread to the main meals left you wanting more even if you were so full by the end. That’s how good the food and service was. For nonalcoholic drinkers you will not be let down by the vast options of drinks they have on their menus from soft drinks to classic mocktails. The Dyasrt Petersham is a classic example of simplicity done right from the service, to the interior and then the food. Done correctly it leaves no room for error, you can tell that they care about their own standards and the consumer’s experience. I highly recommend this place for a romantic night out or a stunning friends or family lunch or dinner.

A wonderful lunch in stunning surroundings warmly delivered by a great team! Such beautiful presentation of all the dishes. Stunning flavours with wonderful fresh ideas. For me the pea soup( cold) with apple ice and smoked eel was just beyond brilliant!! AWSOME wine list that marries with the food to perfection