To honour the advancing of Mrs Del Monte’s age by a year, Mrs Del monte’s folks kindly took me to The Brackenbury Restaurant (http://www.brackenburyrestaurant.co.uk/) nestled in the heart of Brackenbury Village. And Mrs Del Monte. Brackenbury Village, for those who find Chiswick too hip, Kensington too bustly and Barnes not twee enough.
The Brackenbury was closed apparently and has now reopened. How’s that for back-story? It’s quite a tale I weave, you’ll agree. I don’t know anything about its previous incarnation, however it now occupies what used to be the Port of Manila, which is a shame, but entirely logical. Port was decent but always empty so far as I could see. The Brackenbury was rammed when we went on a Saturday night and we were seated by a friendly Italian waiter who said he’d arrived in the UK the week before. The menu is excellently concise and updated daily. There’s a intriguing selection, and clearly the chef is thoughtful and inventive. Of the dishes shown below, the stand out for me was the Spiced Fish Stew and the Cod.
Nice atmos, decent wines to choose from and excellent service means that the Brackenbury is a welcome return and I hope that people search it out, tucked away as it is. I also hope that Tizer returns to our supermarkets and Nicholas Cage has one of his enjoyable and always original thrillers in the pipeline.
BRACKENBURY!
Salade Frisée. The grotesque blob is actually a poached egg.
Soused herring. Good eating, but not quite as intense a flavour as the Scandie pickled stuff.
Tagliatelle. A “starter” apparently, but a very generous portion indeed. Something I’ve often heard. Well overheard in the showers at the gym. That time I was a shower repair man. With rickets.
Spiced fish stew, which was actually spicy according to our spicy food expert. The aioli didn’t mix in smoothly with the stew so the schmucks on Masterchef would have gone ape. The schmucks on Come Dine With Me would have exclaimed something like “is aioli even a word?” neglecting to include all languages other than the meagre, disfigured version of English they manage to babble, in between gasps of precious air that I could be breathing, among the many resources they fritter away on their squalid, aimless existences. Those schmucks.
Quails. Perfectly prepared apparently, but not very flavourful. Perhaps the meat supplier needs to be more generously bribed?
Excellent cod, accompanied by spinach served with capers – an excellent idea as the capers takes the metallic flavour of the spinach away.
The Gruyére. A superior cheese. Also a description of my chat-up lines.
Iced Paris-Brest, with hot chocolate sauce. Snigger.
This blog is fast becoming a homage to my thumb, showing my thumb in a variety of settings. Where will you see my thumb next? You can’t wait to find out!
Le menu. Good no? Something for everyone I think.
The Brackenbury Restaurant
129-131 Brackenbury Rd
London
W6 0BQ
Tel: 020 8741 4928
http://www.brackenburyrestaurant.co.uk/
