Reviews and News
For authentic Breton cuisine, look no further than Lindsay Wotton's menu.
The Good Food Guide 2007
Some reporters feel “as if in Brittany”, when they visit this “cosy”
and “friendly” bistro, near Richmond Bridge; the “excellent”
seafood and crêpes are just as you’d hope, and there’s also
an interesting list of ciders. Chez Lindsay: Top rating in Surrey for food and
overall quality.
Hardens London Restaurants 2006
...The menu is extensive: tantalising fruits de mer, with oysters, whelks,
bigorneaux (periwinkles) and more followed by starters and then grands plats)
including scallops, duck, steak). And of course the signature dish of northern
France, galettes, which come savoury buckwheat or sweet (wheat flour). There are
also two very reasonable set menus and most delicious cidres de France. Soupe
de poissons was good; a galette, enclosing a layer of cheese and topped with a
pale ratatouille, was excellent. The tepid but tasty, magret de canard with honeyed
brandy sauce had the duck beautifully presented with a mound of sweet potato purée,
studded with spears of vegetables. We finished with a perfect apple and caramel
crêpe. Apparently the place is heaving at weekends, but for our midweek
visit it was peaceful; the river view is a bonus.
Time Out London Eating and Drinking 2006
Lindsay Wotton’s passion for all things Breton shows no sign of waning
in her well-established Richmond rendezvous. Top billing goes to organic galettes
(£3-£9) with fillings from cheese and onions to smoked salmon with
lemon and chive cream. Also expect plenty of seafood, for example feuilleté
of scallops, leek and cider butter sauce, (£14.75)...
The Which Good Food Guide 2006
The pedant might observe that this is more a crêperie than bistro, but there are other dishes offered, mostly fish-based, beside the buckwheat galettes and sweet white-flour crêpes, and both the cooking and the willing service come with a convincing French accent. Clams or mussels with plenty of garlic make the ideal first course. To follow there are all kinds of fillings for the galettes, but a lifetime of experience has convinced me that it is hard to beat ham, cheese and egg, the yolk still runny enough to make a sort of sauce. But you may prefer cheese, celery and walnuts or scallops and leeks. If a low-carb diet forbids pancakes, there is grilled fish or steak.
The French wine list looks to the Loire, but the classic accompaniment to crêpes
is Breton cider served in clay cups. Luckily, Calvados is traditional, too.
Fay Maschler, Evening Standard, Metro Life, Top 5 French Bistros
Francophiles love this former shop turned restaurant that sits on the banks
of the Thames. Simple, rustic, always full and very lively, it is the neighbourhood
restaurant.
Jan Moir, The Daily Telegraph
