144 On The Hill
★★★★, 📍144-150 Richmond Hill, Richmond TW10 6RW
Making the walk up to the Richmond Hill Hotel is no hardship when cocktails and a three-course dinner await, says Fiona Adams...
There is something quite joyous about watching a craftsman – or woman – at work. To witness creativity combined with care and attention is inspiring and so it was when we visited the 144 bar and restaurant at the Richmond Hill Hotel last month.
Booked in for dinner, we idled at the bar with a drink and could have happily continued sitting there all evening as we watched the bartenders do their magic. Pisco sours, martinis, spritzes and bellinis were carefully shaken, stirred and frothed into existence and speedily devoured by guests and hotel residents as the sun slowly sank over Turner’s famous view.
The restaurant awaited, however, so we shimmied off our tasselled stools and dragged ourselves away to take our table. Having been refurbished earlier this year, the restaurant has a very elegant feel and clearly appeals to the hotel’s guests as the room buzzed with a happy thrum.
To start with we tried cured rainbow trout with pickled cucumber, celery and beetroot crisps Abigail’s Party with its 70s vibe. Neither the promised celery or beetroot crisps made an appearance with my trout, but the fish, bedecked in cucumber ribbons, was soft and delicate.
I stuck with fish for my main course – a fillet of cod swimming in a rich, luscious beurre noisette and served with samphire and courgettes. Everything was present and correct here and I happily wolfed it down. My husband chose seared Gressingham duck breast, nestled in a summer bean and lentil cassoulet; the duck, served pink, was perfectly cooked and the cassoulet was satisfying yet light.
We washed it all down with a bottle of Chateau de Bellevue Fleurie and just about saved some room for dessert; a relief – I am always tremendously disappointed if I’m too full for pudding. We indulged in ginger pannacotta with pink grapefruit and a strawberry mille-feuille with a cucumber and basil sorbet, which – vibrant and refreshing – was the star of the show.
With no room for coffee, we eschewed a taxi and strolled back down the hill. With lights twinkling all around and the river glowing in the dusk, there are worse ways of walking off your dinner.
Richmondhill-hotel.co.uk/dining
