The Prince of Wales

138 Upper Richmond Road
London SW15 2SP
020 8788 1552

With new a new pair of hands in the kitchen, the very talented and beguilingly relaxed Michael Goeman (from the Harwood Arms no less) is producing dishes of such quality rarely found in high-end restaurants anywhere in London let alone a converted local Pub in Putney. The space created here is also unusual in that diners have room to breathe. None of our not too near neighbors intruded at all. I do hate being packed in cheek by jowl where you have to say excuse me to the next table just to get up. There is too much on offer to describe in full here to do every dish justice, but here are some of my highlights on a tasting menu visit: Fresh Cow’s Curd on Toast with Truffled Vinaigrette, Lavender Honey and Basil Cress. The Sweet Honey perfectly balancing the Curd’s naturally sour tendency. The creamy finish of the Curd was left curiously upbeat on the tongue thanks to the Basil Cress. Bliss on toast for just £6. Another stand out dish was a tumbler of Broccoli Soup with Mustard Cream and Soda Bread. This was a revelation of the senses. As I sipped the hot soup the cold Mustard Cream resting on the top slowly melted to combine and make a kind of hot – cold – velvet – acidic experience. A simple but genius idea performed superbly for £5. The main dishes were no less enjoyable. Roast Fillet of Wild Bream with Glazed Pig’s Cheek, Crushed Curried Turnips and Coriander was a triumph of the unusual – surf ‘n’ surf with a twist of a mild curry that gave a feeling of warm satisfaction to the last mouthful – £14. There was Roast Rump Lamb with Aubergine and Miso Puree, Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette and Basil. Finest quality meat and a harvest you must not miss out on: The hay and tea Smoked Tomatoes must come from another world, maybe Heaven such was their beauty and clarity of taste. It was as if they had packed a summer barbeque into a jar and just released it before serving. At £18 it was truly wonderful. It’s worth mentioning that the cheapest dish on the menu will set you back a mere £1.50 and the most expensive only £19. There was also a Buttermilk Pudding served with Rhubarb Three ways, although I can’t think of three ways of describing it so I’ll settle on one – glorious. The delightful staff made the whole business of eating here a complete pleasure. I’m a very big fan of the ‘unobtrusive’ school of service. The Prince of Wales excels at this. This is a relaxed, confident, genuine culinary Utopia. It’s such a bargain for the quality of food on offer. Oh and did I mention that Michael as well as being very relaxed smiles a lot – I’m not surprised, he has a lot to smile about. Well just go and see for yourself! If I gave marks out of ten this would rate very highly. Incidentally if the readers of this column would like me to rate restaurants in that way then just let me know and I’ll work out a scoring system.