Petersham Nurseries, Richmond, Surrey
Soon after my friend made our reservations at Petersham Nurseries Cafe (you have to call about a month in advance), I saw that New Yorker in London had popped over and enjoyed it, which was encouraging, but I still had a few weeks to wait patiently.
Last weekend, our day finally arrived, and – what a perk – the day was crisp and sunny. I was in a good mood just walking through Richmond High Street, along the Thames and through the meadows. I thought “it just couldn’t be prettier than this,” but actually, I was wrong. The Petersham Nurseries is, in fact, even prettier than the walk it takes to get there. Eggbeater said it best when she called the place “a food stylist’s dream and a museum curator’s fantasy.” This is no Home Depot Garden Center. Petersham Nurseries is so achingly charming that the high prices in the cafe are easier to swallow if you figure you’re paying partly for the ambiance.
Farinata, speck and pecorino salad
The menu changes almost daily, and there’s not a lot to choose from. Three sections: starters, mains and desserts. Only four options in each section, but what fab options they were!
I loved my starter – a salad with farinata, speck and pecorino. Farinata, I learned, is just another name for my beloved Riviera friend, socca – a crispy chickpea-flour pancake. Shards of farinata served hot with the salad added nice texture and warmth to the luscious fatty-salty speck, and creamy, dry pecorino. The only downside to my salad was its hefty pricetag: £11, but my salad was a steal compared to the *yawn* pumpkin ravioli my three dining companions ordered.
roasted guinea fowl with grilled radicchio and balsamic mayonnaise
Mains were a highlight. Our server highly recommended the guinea fowl, which she said she’d just had for lunch, and she was spot on. The skin was beautifully crisped, the meat was firm, juicy and rich. The creamy, sweet balsamic mayo blended and balanced perfectly with the radicchio’s smoky bitterness. So simple, but fresh and well-executed. Worth the £21.
monkfish curry with coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and bhatura
Jon’s monkfish curry had sounded out of place on the otherwise English-classics menu (so I was skeptical the kitchen would pull it off) but what came to the table was light and tasty. More Mediterranean than Thai. There was only the slightest hint of coconut in the sauce, and we learned the chef was on a chickpea kick, because the bhatura turned out to be more crispy chickpea flour.
baked ricotta with olive and tomato crush
My friend’s baked ricott was so simple and genius that I can’t wait to buy some good stuff from the cheese guy at next Sunday’s farmer’s market and try it myself. If you’d written off ricotta as bland, then I’d recommend trying the Petersham Nurseries version. It was so intense that it needed the greens and tapenade to tone down the salty-herby-creaminess.
gorgonzola dolce with red wine figs
And although we were stuffed after our starters and mains, we couldn’t help eyeing the desserts going to tables around us. My gorgonzola dolce was beautiful to look at it, and beautiful to taste. The sweet figs and the creamy, sharp gorgonzola should be married for life.
bread and butter pudding with fresh custard
I didn’t eat the bread pudding or the mousse pictured below, but only because my friends gobbled them down faster than I could reach their plates to steal some. I will say, though, that I could smell the vanilla and cinnamon on the bread pudding, and no wonder – there were specks of vanilla pod in there. Quality goods.
chocolate mousse with ginger caramel
Our meal, even without wine, was not cheap. Starters were £10-11; mains were £20-27; and desserts £7-8. We enjoyed a refreshing pitcher of mint-elderflower lemonade, and our tab came to £45 a person before service.
While I definitely see Andy Hayler’s point about the Cafe’s prices being high for a “garden centre cafe,” I think Petersham Nurseries is a unique place. Special enough that it’s not just a garden cafe. The high-quality ingredients in our lunch were carefully prepared and presented; the surroundings are cheerful and charming, and the service – while, as usual in London, understaffed – was helpful and friendly. I had a wonderful time and would love to bring back friends, especially those from out of town. Petersham Nurseries was, for me, quintessentially country English, so I’ll think of a trip there as something like going to the Tower of London – except a much better deal.
Petersham Nurseries Cafe, off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey; 0208 605 3627; closest tube station: Richmond (and then it’s still a 20-minute walk to Petersham Nurseries, so bring your walking shoes. Apparently you can also take a bus from Richmond station.)
Oh, man, your photos are so lovely! I’d really love to try that ricotta concoction. Glad to hear you liked it at Petersham—I thought you might.
I keep meaning to try this place. It has been on my list for some time!
Once, I had even left my house, about to grab the train and go, but I then found out it took about TWO HOURS to get to, so I quickly turned back home
Good Monday morning to you, RWApple.
Your photos are lovely.
The thought of a delightful garden, and some vanilla & cinnamon spiced bread pudding alone is enough to make me want to visit
I am so jealous! I have been to the cheaper cafe part, but not the actual restaurant. Your photos are amazing and it all sounds delicious.
Although I would not be so surprised about finding some Asian influences on the menu as Skye Gygenhall is originally Australian so will have grown up with that sort of cuisine.
Looks like a soul-cleansing oasis – the spend doesn’t seem undeserved… I haven’t read A.H.’s review, although it would seem strange to see him pictured in the scene…
New Yorker – Yes, I really enjoyed my lunch at Petersham and I, too, am still thinking about that baked ricotta.
Food Snob – Two hours (four hours roundtrip!) def is a daunting distance. (For me, it was an hour’s journey, and I thought that was pretty long). That said, lunch at Petersham Nurseries would make a great day trip. Richmond Park is a good walk nearby.
Loving Annie – Thanks for the compliment on my photos. It’s all about the lighting – it makes me (almost) want to eat out exclusively at lunchtime, but I’m definitely more at leisure to eat out at dinner than at lunch.
Gourmet Chick – That’s a great point re: Gygenhall’s Aussie roots and the Asian influence. I really have to get myself to Australia. : )
Douglas – Yes, Petersham has a great “getaway from it all” feeling, especially if you live in a neighborhood like Islington, where greenery is scarce. I’m curious what you’re thinking when you say you couldn’t picture A.H. at Petersham Nurseries?
[...] guinea fowl was juicy, but nothing too memorable, especially compared to the guinea fowl I tried at Petershan Nurseries. On the other hand, the cost of the guinea fowl alone at Petersham approximated that of our [...]
[...] probably a bias on any annual round-up list towards the meals in most recent memory, but the setting at Petersham was so charming and pretty, the service so informed, and the food so well-prepa… that I ended 2008 still thinking about who I could take back with me to eat there [...]
Wowwy the desert looks ever so tasty I really need to take my friends up there to try it, your blog is ever so nice please keep up the good work I often check your blog for new resteraunts, the food and pictures always look so good!
chillieats, thanks for reading and your kind message. I had a really lovely meal at Petersham, so if you make it to Petersham, I’d love to hear what you thought. The desserts were an outstanding end to an-already very delish meal there.
[...] 2008: I enjoyed an outstanding-value £25 lunch at Murano and a beautiful and delicious – but much pricier – lunch at Petersham Nurseries before heading back to the U.S. for the holidays. Obviously, while back in the US, I decided I [...]