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Approach The Victoria from one direction and you wonder
what a nice little pub like this is doing it what appears
to be a residential area, albeit one that is rather pricey.
Approach from the other direction though and you realise
that it’s actually just a stone’s throw from
Richmond Park and ideal for walkers, cyclists and anyone
to aim for.
A pub then, but don’t think plain old pub food. Paul
Merret is the co-owner along with restaurateur Greg Bellamy,
and Paul has an excellent track record as a Michelin starred
chef. Now running his own place he has welded his quality
cooking to a charming old-world interior and fuss-free seating
in a conservatory to the side. The dishes aren’t complicated
in description or content, but quality of ingredients and
skill in preparation means they are all well up in the premier
league. Even a wake taking place in the main bar can’t
stop us grinning happily at the menu
White onion soup with chorizo and herb oil is just the
right quantity for lunch. The onions carefully cooked down
without a hint of burn to taint the velvet flavour. Only
the herbs bobbing in an envelope of oil above the submerged
little cubes of spicy chorizo break the Dulux whiteness.
My dish of two caramelised scallops sat alongside a perfect
piece of slow-cooked pork belly, its meat falling away and
its crackling blistered and full of flavour, is equally
perfect. A puree of green peas is actually made of peas
lightly smashed so that the skins are still visible, a textural
note as well as a nice visual one. Even the twist of parsnip
crisp, which in other kitchens could merely be a cheffy
decoration, adds another sweet note to the tune.
While we’re waiting for our mains chef sends out
a little treat of another starter, a mini taster of sashimi’d
Shetland salmon cut in pound coin thick slices with a crunchy
edge of shallot and chilli and a cucumber pickle on the
side. The fish is butter smooth, and there’s some
wasabi in the mix too, I reckon.
And so to mains. Seeing my steamed fillet of bream arrive
I had a moment of panic- I’d forgotten that I don’t
normally like the look of steamed fish, but this soon reassured
me. It was so fresh that the skin was flashing silver as
if the bream was still swimming about and had flesh like
a white cloud. The delicate yet intense flavour of the fish
went superbly with the tangle of pak choi and cavolo nero
it was sat on, the vegetables wok fried to retain bite and
flavoured with a dash of coconut milk and spiked with chilli.
Best thing I’ve eaten for weeks, no contest.
My pal’s roasted Barbary duck breast was properly
pink inside, but I never doubted this chef would make an
elementary mistake. Braised cabbage, and rosti potato were
fine but what really sang out was the celeriac pureee. This
ugly veg is a real Cinderella in the kitchen and made a
superb mash to go with this quality piece of quacker.
Great desserts of a classic Jamaican Ginger cake on a poached
rhubarb compote with maramalade ice cream and some lovely
gooey dark chocolate fudge cake with a white chocolate sorbet,
made us fancy a little lie down, and as The Victoria also
happens to be a bijou hotel, we could easily have done so.
With such way above average food, a nice 'pubby' feel and
the promise of summer meals in the garden, this would be
my regular place to dine if I could afford to live in the
area. Thoroughly recommended.
Nick Harman
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