Rick Stein

Seafood

Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High Street, Barnes, SW14 8SN

£££

Rick Stein is an English Chef, Restauranteur, Author and Television Presenter. In 1975, he founded The Seafood Restaurant with Jill Stein, and since then has gone on to cook for The Royal Family and countless famous politicians. Awarded a CBE for his services to the Economy he is a household name and a national treasure.

This summer has made for tricky travel – navigating the concept of going abroad has been like a never-ending game of twister, not just for the colour scheme but the fact that you’re constantly on edge, waiting for the slightest movement to make it all come crashing down. That means that many Brits have headed to some of our more exotic destinations on the island: enter Cornwall, where Rick Stein is originally from, started his career and opened his first restaurant. He now has 12 Establishments all over the country, but given Cornwall was too busy – we found ourselves in Barnes. With bare brick walls, a glass-conservatory feel and beautiful riverside views, it is truly a lovely spot to have dinner and escape the hustle and bustle of the city whilst only being a short train ride away.

I was treated to dinner here by my lovely best friend, as a belated birthday present. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and attentive, so much so that when I looked a little overwhelmed by the 15-page wine list she offered some suggestions, as well as for us to have a small taste of the three we couldn’t decide on. In all honesty, any wine from this list would have been nice enough for me – but after the blind tasting it turns out the Picpoul (£36) was most to our fancy (mother, you will be proud). To start, I went for the Scallops with Chorizo sauce (£17.95) and Asta the Mussels (£9.95). The three Scallops were cooked perfectly (as expected) and swimming in a tomatoey chorizo sauce, which was flavoursome but didn’t overpower the fish. Lovely. I had a taste of Asta’s sauce which was a dreamy, creamy cider with spring onions and spinach – a nice twist on the typical white wine and shallot sauce I’m used to.

For main I went for the seared fillet of Tuna (£19.95) and Asta the Indonesian Seafood Curry (£27.95). The Tuna was served with rocket and salsa verde, but the waitress recommended I get some Chips (£3.95) as a side - so I did, would be rude not to. One of the main reasons I ordered the Tuna was because I have no idea how to cook this myself, that and the fact I can’t resist salsa verde. It’s safe to say the tuna was a dream – so, so tender and slightly pink in the middle. It was seriously meaty, as Tuna often is, but in appearance too (honestly would have mistaken this for a sirloin steak if I didn’t know). The peppery rocket and tangy salsa verde were a perfect accompaniment, although the salsa verde had more pestoey Italian flavours than typical limey Mexican, I thought. I had a little nibble of the curry too, which was a lovely subtley spicy compliment to the variety of fish swimming within it. At the end of the meal we were brought two pieces of fudge with a nice chocolate Happy Birthday on a plate – always a nice touch and kind of a right of passage at places like this if they know it’s a special occasion. We were far too full for desert, so this was a lovely end to a really nice meal.

Rick Stein is overall a really pleasant, honest and Brilliantly British place for seafood. The menu is a tad on the pricey side, compared to other seafood restaurants you can find in London, but I guess that’s what happens when you can say you’ve cooked for the Queen.

OVERALL RATING: ****

https://www.rickstein.com/restaurants/rick-stein-barnes/