Chez Bruce

Chez Bruce, Michelin starred restaurant in Wandsworth Common, London | Modern British cuisine

http://www.chezbruce.co.uk

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Chez Bruce: Restaurant Review - Decanter

Review analysis
staff   food   drinks  

A long-standing cliché used to be that you judged Chinese or Indian restaurants by the amount of Chinese or Indian people eating in them, which ignored a number of markers, including the possibility that the chef and/or owners may simply have had a large family.

A better indicator is where chefs eat, and a staple every year in such lists is Chez Bruce – an honest and moderately sophisticated brasserie, and long-time holder of a Michelin star.

The place has form, of course: Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay launched from here when it was Harvey’s, and Bruce Poole, who took over, was originally part of the legendary brigade at Bibendum that included Simon Hopkinson and half a dozen other of the UK’s best chefs.

On my visit, the venison loin with spiced carrot and sauce poivrade, and a plump and tender confit rabbit leg with coco-bean stew, ham and garlic croutons were deliciously evocative.

On another visit, côte de boeuf with béarnaise sauce and hand-cut chips, partnered with a hearty Domaine Raspail-Ay from Gigondas was robustly affirmative fare for a grey day.

review of London British restaurant Chez Bruce by Andy Hayler in ...

Review analysis
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Mr Poole opened Chez Bruce in 1995, part of the mini empire of Nigel Platts-Martin, who also owns La Trompette, the Glasshouse and set up The Ledbury; The Square, which he used to own, has since changed hands.

Chez Bruce continues the tried and tested formula of serving appealing, carefully executed dishes with good value wines in a relaxed setting.

The dish of the meal was hare loin came with game sausage, red cabbage, creamed spelt, raisins, walnut and bacon.

The hare was carefully cooked and had very good flavour, the red cabbage excellent, the walnuts bringing an extra texture and the bacon giving a smoky hint of flavour.

Chez Bruce combines an appealing menu with capable cooking and friendly service at acceptable prices.

Eating out: Chez Bruce restaurant review - Telegraph

Review analysis
food   menu   desserts  

I believe the site of Chez Bruce would be famous, whatever the restaurant, for its uninterrupted views across the mighty plains of Wandsworth Common, where the charmed south London sun beats down and the herds of yummy mummy graze.

I was immediately struck by the beauty of the plate – it was tumbled together like a model’s hair, apparently effortless, in fact desperately artful, the earthy green lentils slick with lovely, deep red-wine vinaigrette, crispy, salty lardons to set off the more refined, serious taste of the partridge.

I had the fillet of cod with olive-oil mash, ratatouille and oregano, which, again, reminded me of how French restaurants seemed when they were the only people on earth who knew how to cook – exquisite and dainty and slightly mysterious.

Chez Kristof 111 Hammersmith Grove, London W6 (020 8741 1177) The French chapter of Jan Woroniecki’s mightily popular Eastern European ventures, this smart neighbourhood brasserie serves choucroute garnie of braised sauerkraut and caraway with roasted ham hock, bratwurst and morteau sausage, and horseradish (£14.50) Chez Jules 5a Ethel Street, Birmingham (0121 633 4664) This no-frills bistro is painted a cheery red, with simple wooden tables.

The winter menu includes sirloin of beef on a bed of carrot and swede mash with wholegrain mustard jus (£16) Chez Jerome 26 Church Street, Dunstable, Bedfordshire (01582 603310) A cosy restaurant in a 16th-century building, complete with exposed beams.

Jay Rayner at Chez Bruce, 2 Bellevue Road, London SW17 | Life ...

Review analysis
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Putting aside that nice bit of seafood in Chieveley two weeks back, it really has been a dismal summer: gristly pig's ear, fat-drenched dim sum, uncooked black pudding and carrot soup that smells like dinner party dishwater.

When White left, consummate restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin (who also co-owns the Square, La Trompette, the Ledbury and the Glasshouse) installed Bruce Poole in the kitchen, where he has been for over 10 years.

A starter of an oxtail parmentier a la bourguignonne is the kind of thing I actually want to be eating when I find myself being pelted with bad Portuguese tapas.

In the centre of the plate was a dark tian of slow-cooked and unctuous oxtail, mixed through with button mushrooms and shards of crisp bacon, surrounded by caramelised shallots - the bourguignonne bit - topped with light mashed potato - the parmentier bit.

A second starter of a grilled lamb cutlet with imam bayildi - slow-cooked aubergine - with a spiced lamb pastilla and Greek yogurt showed the kitchen's mastery of a different culinary grammar.

Chez Bruce, London SW17: 'A meal that encourages you to wallow ...

Review analysis
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‘Every detail is attended to: of course the temperature is balmy; of course the tome of a winelist is bound in softest leather; of course the acoustics are perfectly judged’ In those slim restaurant guidebooks that corporate people give to other corporate people at Christmas, one name has shone above all the others in London, year after year.

I went to Chez Bruce a couple of times about 10 years ago, dismissed it as ultra-bourgeois and a little dated, and never let it trouble my consciousness since: it’s one for the Bufton-Tuftons, with their florid, claret-hoofing faces and fear of the new, I sniffed, and tootled off in search of bare brick, filament lightbulbs and kimchi.

Two little croquettes of pig’s head, studded with melting lobes of fat and crisped, with a scattering of crunchy crackling on top, feature not only cubes of candied pineapple (and, boy, does that work with fatty pig), but also the fiery brassica belch of kimchi.

I usually think supplements on prix-fixe menus are sneaky, but when an extra six quid delivers a whole pigeon, the breasts boneless, tender, uniformly ruby, the skin almost a caramelised shard, the legs confit’d into Pringle-y crispness, it’s hard to complain.

And little roseval potatoes, fondant, with more butter: to dunk these through that puree is the most hedonistic taste sensation.

Chez Bruce | Restaurants in Wandsworth, London

Review analysis
food  

In 2010 the restaurant expanded into the neighbouring site, but little changed (apart from the increased seating), and not much has altered since.

With a pale colour scheme, tasteful framed art on the walls, proper glassware and staff in crisp shirts and ties, the look is a study in classic (if slightly dated) restaurant decor.

The cooking is equally timeless, led decisively by the French school (foie gras, côte de boeuf), without much deference to culinary fads.

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