Prince of Wales

Not wanting to venture too far from home for a weekend dinner with friends, we decided to try out Putney's latest gastropub, the Prince of Wales. It is located on Upper Richmond Road, close to East Putney Tube.

Arriving at 7.30pm on a Saturday night, the place was buzzing. The small bar area at the front was full, and as we squeezed our way through I was thankful that I had pre-booked a table for dinner. We made it through to the restaurant section and spotted our table for four in the corner.

Loved the look of the room, especially the fabulous antler chandeliers, though did find the giant James Bond poster a little out of place (but at least it was Connery!). Also loved the small rotisserie which was roasting crispy ducks and wafting a delicious aroma across the room. Our waitress was excellent, from Chicago, she was biding her time at the Prince of Wales while getting her recording career off the ground. She was knowledgeable and efficient and charmed our table from the start.

Time to eat. We started with the Foie Gras with Pedro Ximenez & toast, the Crispy Sprats with horseradish & lemon, and the Warm Veal Head with pickled cep, caper & shallot. The stand out was the Foie Gras, the sticky Pedro Ximenez drizzled on top really added to the rich flavour, though the accompanying gingerbread toast was a little too crunchy.

Main course was the Hare Loin with swede & watercress, the Welsh Black Rump steak, with foie gras, chips & watercress, and the Roast Half duckling, with turnips, Puy lentils & fine beans. All the dishes were really delicious, though the Roast half duck was the most impressive, both in presentation, flavour and quantity. Oh, and the Triple-cooked chips that came with steak were pretty special too.

Dessert options were a little lacking - three sweet options and also cheese. Luckily the choices were to our liking - there was a Rhubarb Crumble, with horseradish ice cream, a Chocolate fondant, and also Praline ice cream. I asked for the fondant with the praline ice cream and it was a delicious combination. The horseradish ice cream, served with the crumble, may sound unappealing but it was an intriguing taste sensation.

The food was excellent, so much more, quality wise, than we were expecting, especially for the prices. Serving sizes were pretty generous as well. As we ate we were already talking about a return visit.