Betjeman's

AlexWoods

I’ve just had a marvellous lunch... 30th April 2009

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I’ve just had a marvellous lunch at Betjeman’s. Tucked away in the warren to the south of Smithfield, Betjeman’s is a charming little restaurant that I’ve often admired from across the road at the Rising Sun. They have a lunch time set menu, £18.50 for two courses or £22.50 for three. Including a glass of wine, I think this was value for money indeed. While there are cheaper options for lunch in the locale, I think this was excellent and my mother, with whom I had the pleasure of lunching, and I left very full (though I did stretch the definition of lunch “hour” to almost breaking point.)

I started with a chicken and black pudding terrine, which was coarse and chunky where nature intended it to be, while deliciously creamy in between. A little salty, a little sweet and a little subtle. My mother had smoked salmon served on a small mountain of cream cheese and rye bread. Both dishes were very generous indeed. For my main course I had smoked haddock served with a poached egg, spinach and kedgeree rice. The haddock had, I think, been cooked just a little too long but that was a very minor offence in an otherwise perfect meal. It was seasoned rather than spiced, beautifully balanced and a very well constructed dish. My mother had roast duck breast served with… duck leg “shepherds pie” and braised red cabbage. Despite its unfortunate name (we decided it would much better be called “Wetlands Nature Reserve Keepers Pie”. Rolls off the tongue, don’t you think?) the shepherds pie was very nice, as was the duck breast. We had quite a conversation over the subject of braised red cabbage and that, more often than not, one has to really struggle to taste the cabbage through the flavours of that in which it is braised. Not so in this case. Well done!

I would suggest that the music was perhaps a little loud, and when we walked in there was a not insignificant smell of fish which, while not being unpleasant, was a little… prevailing. These are but minor nits at which to pick. The restaurant itself is charming. Very comfortable, very well appointed and welcoming, and the staff were quite charming and attentive. I wouldn’t describe it as an informal atmosphere by any means, but I certainly felt at ease.