The Salisbury, Sherbrooke
Road, London Restaurant Review
The Salisbury
21 Sherbrooke Road
London SW6
Tel: 020 7381 4005
I have to confess I had never heard
of British Tapas, until my visit
to The Salisbury, a newly refurbished
gastro pub in the heart of Fulham,
south-west London. However, it
is very much part of the menu
here, with around 18 very reasonably
priced different dishes to try.
The great thing being
it’s
possible to pop in and share
a bottle of wine or a couple
of pints whilst tucking into
several different dishes, all
at very modest prices.
Once inside, there is a huge feeling
of space and airiness with just
a hint of the original pub origins.
Bold coloured banquette seating
runs around one wall of the room
with plenty of space between tables,
(Table 2 being my favourite), and
there is a general air of low key,
relaxed, anything goes, vibe about
the place which I found very appealing.
The team behind The Salisbury
have years of experience on their
hands and it showed. I met the
owner, Jamie Sherriff at the end
of our meal and it was obvious
straight away that this is a labour
of love for him. This is his second
venture (the other being The Spencer
Arms on Putney Common) after spending
many years working in the restaurant
world. His Head Chef, Adrian Jones,
has worked with many noteworthy
chef’s including Nico Ladenis
and Gary Rhodes.
We were certainly spoilt for choice
when it came to what to eat and
as I already mentioned it is possible
to just dine on the choice of tapas.
This is apparently a great hit
with newly dating couples as it
certainly can act as an ice breaker
with having so many different dishes
to sample and chat about together.
To begin we tried a selection
of four tapas dishes. Including ‘Pete’s
curry’, (which changes daily,
we tried a spicy chicken one).
A very fresh salad of pea shoots
and creamy feta cheese, some tasty
smoked trout croquettes served
in a crispy batter with some tangy
picked cucumber and chipolatas
served with a zesty chutney dip.
With this we drank white wine by
the glass, a nicely chilled crisp
glass of South African Chenin Blanc
for me and a easy drinking Chilean
Sauvignon Blanc for my guest.
To follow there was a concise
but appetising selection of main
courses which included a ‘pie
of the day’ (which can be
ordered as take out). A selection
of meat and fish dishes as well
as a choice of pasta and some hearty
sounding salads. My roasted breast
of chicken and chorizo and chicken
wings arrived in its own attractive
casserole dish straight from the
oven. It was a plate of heavenly
flavours, cooked with plenty of
seasoning, herbs and a touch of
jus, the chicken having a rich
and meaty taste. With this we shared
a whole host of veg, including
some light as air thin and crispy
chips, a rich and comforting cauliflower
cheese, crunchy hispi cabbage and
some al dente runner beans. My
guest thoroughly enjoyed his slow
cooked roast shoulder of lamb,
(served with an accompanying dish
of minty peas and bacon) saying
it was a plate of well thought
out satisfying flavours. An accompanying
glass of spiced oaked and bramble
fruit Bodegas Navajas 2007 Spanish
Rioja went down a treat.
For pudding there were five choices,
we finished with a plate of very
designer looking deconstructed
strawberry cheesecake which was
light in consistency but big on
flavour.
We came away thinking it was hard
to fault our evening on either
the food or service, making The
Salisbury the sort of local we
could all do with round the corner.
Louise Elgin. June 2009.
A meal for two with wine and water
is around £80.00 including
service.
