http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales <b>Prince of Wales</b><br />London, 138 Upper Richmond Road, SW15 2SP, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales/1k0a28
Review by chrisp

Rating: 5.00
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Last night, while tucking into my deep fried pig's head in Putney, I found myself asking myself the question "Why do I eat at restaurants?". Not in a despairing, self-pitying way, although God knows those kind of thoughts have crossed my mind during more than a few meals in the past year. No, this turned out to be a very tasty plate of food and I enjoyed it. But more in a philosophical way - the food at the Prince of Wales makes absolutely no pretentions towards haute cuisine; it's straightforward to the point of basic, albeit comfortably seasonal and with some charmingly eccentric ingredients. But many of the dishes were so basic I could have made them myself, and believe me I am no expert cook. In these days of credit crunches, global uncertainty and looming environmental armageddon, is it wrong to pay to eat food you could have made yourself with very little effort? Should I be aiming to make my meals out more of a special occasion than just something to fill a hole of an evening?

Fortunately this weakness didn't last long. Of course it's not wrong to pay for simple food occasionally. Every mouthful consumed outside my front door doesn't have to be a life-changing gastronomic experience, and I shouldn't have to feel guilty for paying for someone else to cook for me, whether at Gordon Ramsay's or Munchies Kebab shop. And so next time I couldn't be bothered cooking of an evening I will waddle on down to the Fox and Hounds and order their brilliant broad bean risotto with my head held high.

Back to earth and back to the Prince of Wales. The aforementioned pig's head dish was neat little cubes of breaded pig meat, served with a home made tartare sauce (called Gribiche on the menu) and lovely softly picked red cabbage. Pig's head I've had served in a number of different ways and never know what to expect from one restaurant to the next, and I have to admit on being presented with deep-fried goujons I was worried they may be a bit much. However they were moist without being greasy, and the tartare sauce was a great accompaniment.

Next up was a couple of smallish fillets of nice fresh seabass on a huge mound of buttery greens. Probably slightly too many greens if I'm going to be picky, but they were good and I told myself you can never have enough of a good thing. And a friend's cheese and potato pie was as good to eat as it was attractive to look at, before she'd torn it apart with a knife and fork that is.

The room was prettily decorated and lit and service, seeming to consist of only one very attentive young lady albeit with only a loose grasp of the English language, was as good as you could have hoped for with only 3 tables taken on a quiet Tuesday evening. In fact towards the end of the meal I really had to struggle to find anything at all that wasn't good about the Prince of Wales apart from the worryingly empty room. Even the toilets were clean and new.

So, the London gastropub scene rolls on. It's very easy to get blasé about "yet another" good new place but the fact that this opened with such little fanfare shows how mature the restaurant scene is in London. I know I'm only judging from a quiet weekday evening but will even the good places struggle to get bums on seats with so much competition around? Let's hope not. The Prince of Wales deserves to do very well, and I at least will definitely be back. Credit crunch be damned.]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:32:52 +0000 /review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales/1k0a28888818441 chrisp 51.459918 -0.212869 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales/162717
Review by sue

Rating: 4.00
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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.]]> Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:04:34 +0000 /review/uk/london/bar-pub/1r8237v/prince-of-wales/162717540195605 sue 51.459918 -0.212869