Evening Standard
David Ellis was impressed, but not enraptured, by a new neighbourhood bistro in Putney from Callum Ross (ex-Forza Wine) and Ed Baillieu (founding head chef at The Hero in Maida Vale), with a “soothingly straightforward” menu of duck terrine, beef tartare, steak of the day, lemon tart and chocolate mousse. As at Corenucopia (see above), the experience was again marred by background music, in this case of the Berlin nightclub variety, so loud that “we didn’t make a single order without it being misheard.”
“Still, we ate well, at fair prices,” David reports. “You’d think this was par for the course but, well, have you been out lately?” The standout item was oysters on ice accompanied by chipolatas brushed with wholegrain mustard that felt “distinct. Playful. Unusual for London. A bottle of fruity white, a dozen oysters and a handful of sausages could make a beautiful winter lunch.”
Awarding Ruth’s a measley three stars out of five, David admitted that he would not cross town to eat there – not because of any shortfall in its quality, but because half-a-dozen places elsewhere are doing much the same thing.
David Ellis - 2026-01-18
