Richmond Restaurant Guide

“You never know what you’re going to eat” at this no-choice Italian feast in Richmond, which has built a loyal following over the last decade. “More than a restaurant, it feels like a holiday in Italy, where you’re eating at Nonna’s home”. Chef Riccardo Grigolo and his team “are so welcoming” and deliver a lengthy Venetian-style meal – “fantastic food that just keeps on coming” and where “every course is delicious”.

“Delicious” galettes (traditional buckwheat savoury pancakes) and plenty of seafood are cooked to order at this “typical” Breton bistro near Richmond Bridge. “Jolly waiters make for a great evening here”, and there’s a list of sparkling ciders as well as wine.

This ‘Food and Fuel’ gastroboozer with a Victorian bar remains a local staple for its “nice friendly ambience” and – amongst other things – “great steak, every time!” Stop Press: The Duke was acquired by Brunning & Price in August 2018, so perhaps change is afoot.

“It’s just fab eating great food in a greenhouse in summer or on a blue-sky winter’s day”, say fans of this “unique and magical” destination (part of a garden centre near Ham Common), which famously “oozes Bohemian charm” and is a top “romantic” trysting spot. Even those who feel its modern British cuisine is “very good” however, concede that it’s “probably not as good as it was a few years ago” (when Skye Gyngell was at the stoves, and pioneering the use of edible flowers) and more cynical souls ponder whether “seating you amongst the potted plants on rickety furniture lets them get away with the high prices and mediocre service”. It now has a sibling in Covent Garden (see also).

“The food is delicious, inventive and carefully sourced” at this upscale Arts & Crafts pub near Richmond Park, where “dining is so romantic with the fairy lights glittering through the leaded windows, log fire and flagstone floors”. Irish chef Kenneth Culhane’s cooking is “Asian-influenced and nuanced – it’s not flashy, but there’s a lot of thought in it”.

Nothing but good feedback this year on this “excellent” Korean-run Japanese on the fringes of Richmond town centre – a low-key, café-style place, whose sushi gets top billing.

“An excellent local Italian with gracious service” that’s “very convenient to the Orange Tree and Richmond Theatres” – that’s how fans think of this “comfortable” and well-established Richmond mainstay. Even they, however, admit “there aren’t many good places in the vicinity”, and sceptics say it’s “OK but nothing special, with food that’s presentable but expensive for what it is”.