We cycled past The Fish Place when we were exploring Greater Battersea. We weren't dressed for a proper restaurant, we don't like to cycle after a big meal (and wine), and we had food at home. We liked the look of the menu, though, so took a business card.
The weather was forecast to be dull when we booked Sunday Lunch, but we didn't know it would be quite so dreary, grey, wet and depressing. The maitre d' said they had had a couple of weather-related cancellations. The restaurant was almost empty when we dined at 2pm. Consequently, of course, there was no atmosphere. I was surprised it was so empty for Sunday lunchtime; perhaps it's busier in the evening. It's a lovely riverside location, with an outside terrace, which, obviously, wasn't open in the dreich. I hope it is busy when the sun shines, because such a good restaurant deserves to prosper, but couldn't, if two couples for late Sunday lunch is as busy as it gets.
So, the criticism is over and done with. There's lot to praise. I like the decor, because it's clean and crisp and reflects its riverside location. The tableware was clinical. An overall impression of sleekness and attention to detail. My slight hesitation is that it may look dated fairly quickly - it's been open a couple of years. I tend to prefer a more relaxed or quirky decor - I've been to lovely restaurants with bicycles or plastic crabbing buckets suspended from the ceilings. But it's relaxing and unfussy.
I started with a Crab tortellini in a seafood bisque. A generous portion for a starter. A good balance of flavours - the strong flavour of the bisque not too strong to bury the crab; the pasta sufficiently thin and cooked just right.
We were then presented with an elderflower sorbet. I gather from the internet that they usually present a sorbet in between courses. It seemed a quaint tradition I remember being quite widespread twenty years ago. I have subsequently been to more places offering an inter-course palette cleanser. Perhaps it is back on-trend. It was just the trick. Also, Jimmy normally hates sorbet because they are usually too acidic. This was an exception that he appreciated. We made a mental note. Elderflower sorbet - cleanses the palette.
My main course arrived. It was wild sea bass with clam risotto. It was a perfectly satisfactory dish. As you can see from the photo it was beautifully presented. Under the fish is potato and, if I recall correctly, spinach. The yellow, which doesn't photograph well, is buerre blanc, which is lovely. I'm not sure what to conclude about a dish such as this, which is a faultless preparation and presentation of good ingredients intelligently designed, but, really, not that memorable. That's actually, for me, pretty high praise, but it does seem conservative. And, ultimately, I'm pretty sure that without the photo and without Twitter I would have quite forgotten it.
Jimmy had roast beef with trimmings, including Yorkshire pudding. The Yorkshire was done perfectly; the beef was obviously a good cut, roasted perfectly (not like a boiled beef he had recently for a Sunday 'roast'). Indeed, I think he ruled it the best roast dinner he's had for a very long time!
We also liked the plates and briefly considered stealing them. We lack very large dinner plates at home and end up cramming stuff onto out-of-fashion plates I got in the 90s. Obviously, we don't steal plates from restaurants!
After a suitable pause, we both ordered chocolate fondant with Madagascan Vanilla ice cream. The ice cream met Jimmy's exacting standard, although I felt I'd had better. The chocolate fondant was exceptional, with a strong taste of - presumably - good quality chocolate, and a deliciously oozing centre, as it should be.
I think the Fish Place has a lot going for it. The process for getting us seated and settled seemed over-fussy, and I was slightly nervous that under-occupied staff would want our company in an empty restaurant to ease their boredom. But this didn't happen - they were highly professional.
Miraculously, the sun broke through the clouds, and there was an increase in activity on the river and its bank. I would imagine that, on a nicer day, a window or terrace seat would provide endless variety.
Unless you live near by, or happen to have a helicopter you can land at the heliport next door, it's not that easy to get to. A bit of a walk from Clapham Junction and across the busy York Road. York Road is well enough served by buses, but we found it a tedious trawl down through heavy traffic from Queenstown Rd, less so when returning. I guess the best way to reach is via the Thames Path. We will definite return on another occasion.
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