Pissarro

W4 2UG

London

Chiswick

Corney Reach Way,

The only thing that goes against this restaurant is that unless you live around the corner, you’re not likely to stumble across it. Hiding in a corner on Corney Reach Way, this waterfront restaurant has a fantastically versatile menu that changes on a regular basis. With a great view of the river, looking out across Barnes, this Chiswick eatery is the kind of place that’s flexible enough in its approach to appeal to the likes of a girlie lunch out, business meetings and family gatherings all at once.

Service was swift here, and our starters arrived in a swoop of efficiency. The smoked eel with carrot, spring onion and a horseradish crème fraiche was tangy and firm and could have worked well as a main dish, whilst the hand picked crab with green mango, peanut and Nam jim salad made a real impact on the taste buds with an effective balance of Thai flavours.

Our main dishes continued to impress, with the monkfish medallions accompanied by chermoula, butterbeans, streaky bacon and yoghurt dressing sitting happily in a beautifully presented stack. Meanwhile the duck breast with broad beans, peas, roast garlic and potato gratin lived up to its expectations as a satisfyingly savoury dish.

Our glasses continued to be topped up and our plates swept away as we perused the dessert list, opting finally for the peach tartlet with basil ice-cream and the passion fruit and honeycomb parfait with coconut tuile. There’s a sizeable list of desserts on offer at Pissarro, with around eight desserts on offer with the menu. The peach tart tasted summery enough, but depending on your penchant for herb-based ices, the basil ice-cream, though creamy and refreshing, did leave a reminder of pesto on the palette – which is difficult to detach from the realms of a more savoury affair. The parfait on the other hand, offered up a dessert on the other end of the spectrum – sweet, sugary, and moreish.

If neither of these desserts whet your appetite, the other six may well have done. So, if you’re craving riverside dinning of notable quality with a pudding list as long as your arm, pull out you’re A to Z and look up Pissarro. Just be prepared to choose between the strawberry and cream mille fuille, raspberry and elderflower jelly, cherry compote with kirsch sabayon or the red wine poached plums. Where’s that A to Z…..?

Pissarro: Corney Reach Way, Chiswick, W4 2UG

Reviewer: Helenka Bednar