A Restaurant with a View
Idle away an afternoon or evening with a view of the Thames in Richmond
Review by Christiane Bazynski
The Petersham Restaurant is part of the Petersham Hotel, overlooking the Thames River since 1865 and offers excellent service for its guests. Approximately one mile from Richmond station, the grand building impresses with a beautiful drive and well groomed gardens all around the history rich hotel. In its modern times it can count stars like Robbie Williams and Richard Branson as guests.
To get to the restaurant guests enter the main entrance and are guided to the welcoming swing doors through which the restaurant is located. Entering the restaurant, my friend and I were welcomed by the staff who walked us to our table, right beside the window with a stunning view over the Thames. On this early Saturday afternoon, from our vantage point we can see walkers taking out their dogs or going for a stroll with the family. We are immediately in love with this view and start off the lunch with a glass of delicious Italian Prosecco.
The dining room is very spacious and decorated with wooden furniture, finished with white table linen. All the tables are laid and crowned with a flower decoration. The traditional room features are lightened by the stunning view. The team of staff on duty seem to have been working together for years, as they perform a great hand in hand service starting with the girl who serves us some water to our experienced waiter who seems to read our thoughts. They are very friendly and attentive, while remaining discreet. We get the impression of a special venue good for those who wish to have a lunch celebrating a special occasion or mature families who enjoy the good food, are familiar with the location and return to the Petersham year after year.
The Petersham offers a set lunch menu for £22.95 for two and £26.95 for three courses. We decide on the set menu and choose a warm smoked haddock salad with beetroot and ricotta mousse as a starter, followed by spinach tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and flaked almonds. We also take a starter and main from the à la carte menu, a pork belly (£10) to begin and a cod fillet (£25) for the main. After placing our food order we receive some fresh crispy bread and butter.
Created by an award winning chef the starters arrive at our table and we are positively surprised to find such modern presented food in this traditional ambience. The salad looks great and is very well seasoned, the pork belly comes roasted in honey with baked apple, gorgonzola gnocchi and carrot puree and is a flavour explosion which could make a meal itself.
When the mains arrive the standards didn’t slip and we find a big piece of roasted cod accompanied by shrimps, borlotti beans and beurre nantais arranged on a modern plate. The vegetarian tagliatelle bursts with flavour and even meat lovers would appreciate the big portion of this pasta dish. After finishing our food we are still dazed by the taste and presentation, so we welcome our waiter’s suggestion of coffees and have a look at the dessert menu.
We get a strong latte in a glass mug and a small pot of filtered coffee alongside Eton mess, which again, looks absolutely beautiful, topped with its fresh berries.
Upon leaving the restaurant we noticed that during the time we had had our late lunch, a lot of guests arrived to have afternoon tea. I can imagine returning one day to enjoy a true English tradition in this beautiful, traditional setting. 
Special Champagne offer, during February, entitling diners to a complimentary glass of Champagne with lunch or dinner (Monday to Friday). Details can be found here.
Enquiries: The Petersham Restaurant, The Petersham Hotel, Nightingale Lane, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6UZ/ 020 8939 1084/ www.petershamhotel.co.uk/richmond-restaurant