In The White Room
Riddle takes a stroll to Richmond and visits this newly opened eatery
Review by Andy Barnham
Open for just over a month now, the latest offering from Darwin & Wallace, No.1 Duke Street is just a five minute walk from Richmond train station, tucked away behind the leafy green and bustling Kew Road. When entering the site, formerly known as The Lot, one enters a welcoming courtyard that offers alfresco dining, complete with outdoor heaters and blankets to take away the winter chill. Inside No1 are two large dining and bar areas with high ceilings and a variety of seating options including high chairs, leather armchairs and more traditional furnishngs. Upstairs is a small games room with table football and an additional room, including bar, which is open during the day and can be booked for private events. The interior design is stylish and is completed with vintage finishings providing an atmosphere perfect for both diners and also more casual visitors looking to while away time with a laptop, wifi and coffee.
The all-day venue is open from 9am through to 11pm and offers breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner as well as an extensive drinks range. Arriving on a Saturday for brunch seemed like the perfect time to try this new venue and whilst leafing through the menu we opted for two Bloody Mary’s to kick off the meal. To much surprise the drinks arrived with bottles of Tabasco and homemade spice mix on the side to allow us to spruce up our cocktails to our individual tastes.
Moving on to the meal itself, we decided to start with a sharing plate of baba ganoush accompanied by pancakes and tzatziki as well as two types of crostini; smoked salmon and also olive and sundried tomato tapenade. While the baba ganoush was mild in taste the tzatziki was fantastic and tangy. And when it came to the crostini, the smoked salmon came with a horseradish garnish while the tapenade was suitable strong (not for the faint hearted).
For mains we opted for a club sandwich which although was beautifully presented was impractical to eat and had to be tackled with a knife and fork. Disappointingly the chicken was slightly overcooked and lacked the succulence that one would have expected. A leafy salad was ordered to compliment the sandwich and was a mix of iceberg lettuce, rocket and watercress. The other main was another classic, mussels in a white wine and cream sauce with sourdough bread. While the dish was pleasant an unfortunate 10 mussels remained unopened and while it is a common myth not to eat closed mussels, others may believe that you can never be too careful when it comes to shellfish. A guacamole salad was ordered as a side.
Desert was ordered to complete the meal and we chose a tasty dark chocolate mouse accompanied with a salted caramel sauce and nuts along with a cheese board including a cheddar, a blue cheese and goats cheese which came with a generous selection of bread, chutney and crackers.
No1 tries to provide a perfect atmosphere for all comers, from lone wolf freelancers looking for wifi hot spots to families looking for a somewhere friendly to bring the kids. However not all aspects of No1 will appeal to everyone. According to restaurant manager the two chef’s tables in front of the open kitchen both attract and deter clients in equal measure and many of the dishes are deliberately prepared to try and provide something different. Examples of this are the guacamole salad, which turned out to be a sliced avocado with chilli, and while dark chocolate may have been an ingredient, the mousse looked and tasted like milk chocolate.
For those in Richmond, or for those who just fancy getting away from the centre of London for something less busy and chaotic and would like to try something different yet the same, head to No1 Duke Street. 
Enquiries: No1 Duke St., 1a Duke Street, Richmond, London TW9 1HP/ 0203 8416898 / [email protected]/ www.no1dukestreet.com