We went to the River Cafe last week with some friends, for lunch on a Saturday. I’d never been before, and it’s amazing to think that it’s been there for over 15 years. It was a beautiful English winter day — chilly with glaring sunshine — and we walked down along the river from Hammersmith tube, about a ten minute walk.
The atmosphere is at The River Cafe is relaxed and friendly. The restaurant is all in one big, bright room, with the kitchens towards one end and a bar running along the side. It was heartening to see Rose Gray manning the pass, dressing each dish as it arrived from the kitchen ready to go out. Her presence definitely reassured me that there is a continuity of tradition here. The blinds were pulled down against the low afternoon sun, and there was a sense of togetherness in the crammed together diners.
So, we had a round of aperitifs – campari, some sort of satsuma juice cocktail that Stuart said was a bit too sweet, and a prosecco. Starters or primi included Devon crab spaghetti and squid fried with chilli, and were perfectly portioned. I’d recommend having a starter AND a primi, as everything was so good and you’ll still have room left for the rest of the meal.
Main courses were roast partridge with lentils, roast lamb with chickpeas and polenta, and roast pork. This was hearty, seasonal grub, served at generous intervals. The partridge was mildly gamey, rich and salty with pancetta. The lamb was so pink and tender that just looking at it brought tears to you eyes. At one point a chef plonked himself down at the table next to us with a copy each of the River Cafe blue and yellow cookbooks. He leafed through, noting things down — apparently writing a menu!
We got a pudding each, but didn’t quite make it to the cheeseboard. Chocolate Nemesis was astonishingly light yet rich and the lemon tart was pleasingly acidic.
I can’t remember the wine we ordered, but it was the cheapest Chianti and was amazingly smooth.
As we lingered over coffee, the cooking staff gradually ambled over to a large table near us that was being laid with cutlery and was filling up with dishes of food. They sat down in their whites and proceeded to tuck into the fruits of their labour. A great site, and one we were happy to leave them to as we heaved ourselves out of our chairs, comprehensively sated.
What in God’s name have they done to the Walker’s packet? No doubt the agency were given a brief to “take Walkers into the 21st snackin’ century”, and with the wave of a Soho creative’s polo-necked arm, and a Mac operators liberal sprinkling of gold foil metallic effect block caps, that’s exactly what they’ve done.