Brouge, 5 Hill Street,
Richmond Restaurant Review
Brouge
5 Hill Street
Richmond
TW9 1SX
Tel: 020 8332-0055
London in the heat can be an unpleasant
experience, so on one very warm
evening recently I was more than
relieved to descend the stairs
and enter into the cool and airy
atmosphere that is Brouge. Situated
in the heart of Richmond’s
town centre, Brouge is a cavernous
basement with an atmospheric cellar
environment that is the perfect
setting for its themed menu. Large
gilt mirrors, oak tables and comfy
chairs added to our feeling of
well-being whilst the service given
throughout the evening was friendly
and attentive.
Brouge is essentially a Belgium
influenced restaurant so there
are a wealth of different beers
to try with over 50 from across
its country on offer. Of course,
the other influence is mussels
which feature on the menu when
in season (October to April). However,
there were plenty of other tempting
choices at reasonable prices, making
it a great place to take a group
for a birthday party or office
jolly up.
The menu is divided into several
headings with plenty of added daily
specials to please even the fussiest
of friends. From terrific sounding
salads to sausages and ‘Stoemp’ (a
kind of Belgium bubble & squeak).
to summer fish pots (that are served
when the mussel season finishes),
as well as a whole host of other
main courses from meat to fish.
We began with one of the specials,
a tasty and piquant smoked salmon
terrine. This came served with
prawns in a lemon mayonnaise on
a bed of cucumber with a dill and
balsamic dressing. A goats cheese
mousse with a soft and creamy texture
mingled well with its accompanying
fresh beetroot and picked walnut
dressing.
For our main course we tried the
catch of the day. A perfectly beer
battered piece of cod served with
excellent crispy chips, tartare
sauce and salad which we both pronounced
superb. We also tried one of the
summer fish pots from a choice
of three. A scallop stew came with
smoked haddock in a spicy red pepper
and tomato sauce and garnished
with shredded chorizo. This was
beautifully cooked, the scallops
having a soft and succulent interior,
the pungent chorizo adding a good
kick to the back of the throat.
This came with new potatoes and
peppers and excellent green beans.
Our only disappointment was our
serving of stoemp which we found
rather bland.
Sadly we couldn’t manage
a pudding but I noted there was
a choice of either traditional
Belgium waffles or a whole host
of calorific temptations on offer
such as sticky toffee pudding served
with double cream.
Wines are keenly priced and throughout
the evening in keeping with the
heat outside we drank a very chilled
easy drinking French Grenache rose
Petit Papillion - £15.00
a bottle.
Our bill came in at just over £70.00
which I considered good value as
it also included an optional service
charge.
Next time you’re in Richmond
taking in some retail therapy,
pop into to Brouge and try some
genuine Belgium hospitality.
Louise Elgin. June 2009.
