The Devonshire

sue

Ramsay arrives in Chiswick 16th December 2007

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The Devonshire is Gordon Ramsay's latest gastropub venture, located in leafy Chiswick, and we dined there one arctic evening with friends. You enter into a cosy bar area, which has comfy looking couches and two (gas) fireplaces. The dining area runs down one side of the pub, and tightly packed tables ensure you will get to 'enjoy' the stink of your neighbours cheese plate whether you want to or not.

Smelly cheese aside, the atmosphere is buzzy but not too loud for conversation, and the décor is more restaurant than gastropub - the tables and chairs all matched for example. The Devonshire is billed as a gastropub however, which I had to keep reminding myself in relation to the service, which was amateurish and uninterested for the most part. The prices however were cheaper than many of the other gastropubs in the area.

To the food. To start we had the Leek and Potato soup with poached egg, and the Soft Herring Roes on toast. The soup was nothing special, but the poached egg was an added bonus. Sarah seemed to thoroughly enjoy her Herring Roes, which was a dish I had never seen before.

Main courses were the Game Keeper’s Venison pie with baby carrots and turnips (the creamy pastry was the highlight), Braised Gloucester pig cheeks with mashed neeps (another dish I wasn't familiar with), and the Lamb Rump with roasted rosemary parsnips and spinach (delicious, but could have done with more vegetables). We couldn't resist a side order of Chips which were very moreish.

Desserts were the Lemon posset with shortbread, the Chocolate pudding, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The latter was a disappointment - we had to return the first one as it was cold, the replacement was a good temperature but very average on the Sue STP scale.

** We dined at The Devonshire again in April 2008. Happy to report that the service was much improved **

Sarah_W at 04/01/08

Very fair write-up!

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Sarah_W

Gordon's Gastropub 14th December 2007

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A night out with friends (including TrustedPlaces' own Sue) on a chilly evening in December was a great excuse to sample Gordon Ramsey’s new gastropub venture, the Devonshire in Chiswick. The warm fires and tastefully decorated Christmas tree made a good first impression, as did the spicy flavours of the Rioja I enjoyed at the bar. We carried on with the same wine when we sat down to eat, and it was a good accompaniment to the warming winter dishes we chose. These included:
~ starters of leek and potato soup (with a soft poached egg floating in it – a nice touch) and soft herring roes on toast, which were delicious and took me straight back to my childhood when they were a favourite high tea dish
~ mains of pigs’ cheeks with neeps, lamb shank with parsnip chips and spinach, and a venison pie served with baby carrots and turnips
~ desserts such as sticky toffee pudding, chocolate pudding with vanilla ice cream, and a lemon posset with dainty shortbread biscuits

We were pretty pleased with the food, although one off note was the sticky toffee pudding being served cold, with its caramel sauce slightly crunchy – but the waitress was quick to apologise and replace it. I think I was especially lucky with my choices as it was all delicious. The herring roe were soft and well-flavoured, and as I said brought back happy memories. The lamb was perfectly cooked (pink and juicy) although I'd have welcomed more of the promised spinach. And the lemon posset was sharp and refreshing while also tasting guiltily creamy ;)

The atmosphere was buzzy (not a place to come for a romantic first date perhaps) and the service on the whole reasonable but not as polished as you might expect from a restaurant associated with a well-known chef - for instance the waiter who took our order had only a minute later forgotten who was having what when he brought the cutlery.

Incidentally I thought the prices here were very reasonable. We paid just over £30 a head for 2-3 courses each, a side of chips, two bottles of water and one of the Rioja - a lot less than I've paid for worse food elsewhere in London! The pub however is a bit of a journey out of central London on the District line, so you may not think it's worth the trip unless you're living or staying on the west side of town.

HORSCHECK at 15/12/07

I can't believe that you met Trusted Places most famous restaurant reviewer. Did you ask for an autograph? *winkygrin*

Sarah_W at 15/12/07

Good idea - wish I'd thought of it! Though I'm not sure I could afford an autograph from someone so famous ;)

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ChrisHarrison

30th July 2007

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Standard gastro pub - average beer, but good sofas and decently uncrowded.

sue at 31/07/07

Rumour has it Gordon Ramsay is taking over this place soon...

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