Chez Bruce

Chez Bruce, overlooking Wandsworth Common, is on the original site of Harveys, where Marco Pierre White cooked up a storm from 1987 to 1993, after which he moved to the Hyde Park Hotel and then to The Oak Room. The kitchen in Wandsworth was taken over by Bruce Poole, who once cooked at Max Renzland’s late lamented restaurant Chez Max, which was originally located in Kew before moving to Ifield Road. Mr Poole opened Chez Bruce in 1995, part of the mini empire of Nigel Platts-Martin, who also owns La Trompette, the Glasshouse and set up The Ledbury. Since 2000 the Chez Bruce kitchen has been headed up by Matt Christmas. The restaurant offers a three-course lunch menu for £47.50, and a dinner menu that is a la carte, with three courses priced at £95. In 2022 Chez Bruce was the London Restaurant of the Year at the 2022 AA Hospitality awards. It has held a Michelin star since 1999. I find the menu here very appealing, with lots of dishes that I actually want to eat rather than ones that show how clever the chef is. We went on a Sunday night, when corkage is free, though the wine list here is good and fairly priced.

The meal began with a little canape of Parmesan biscuits, which were suitably crumbly and had lots of Parmesan flavour (16/20). Bread was made in-house, a choice of sourdough or focaccia. Both were good, the focaccia in particular being light and airy in texture. However, the butter with the sourdough was from Somerset, and this, though decent, did not compare well with top French butter such as Bordier.

My starter was cavatelli pasta with confit rabbit, fried crumbs, Morteau sausage and Parmesan. The small pasta shells had a very good texture and the rabbit had an enjoyable flavour. The Parmesan richness and the French pork sausage added flavour depth, while seasoning was accurate (15/20). My dining companion had miso-glazed aubergine with ginger, puffed rice, sesame, shiso and soy, prettily presented with a topping of micro leaves. This was very nicely done; I am not a big aubergine fan, but the miso glaze was very well judged (15/20). 

Chicken breast was roasted with herbs and came with sage and onion stuffing, spinach gratin, mushrooms and potatoes that had been roasted in duck fat. There was also a sauce made from the chicken juices. The accompaniments were very impressive. For example, the roast potatoes, which in restaurants are often soggy since they need to be partly cooked in advance, here were crisp on the outside yet fluffy inside. The spinach gratin was excellent and balanced the cooking juices, the mushrooms adding a woodland flavour. The stuffing was also classy. The chicken was from Soanes Poultry in Driffield in Yorkshire. This had good flavour, though it does not compare to the depth of flavour to be found in top French chicken, such as that from Bresse or the Landes region. Even so, this was a lovely dish (16/20). My companion had nicely roasted cod with olive oil mash, roast tomato and gremolata, which was all nicely made (15/20).

Chez Bruce has an unusually large cheese board a and I was unable to resist this. The wide range included cheeses from France and the British Isles, but also from Belgium, Italy, and even Sweden. The cheeses were n good condition and served with a  choice of crackers or bread, as well as quince jelly. For dessert, I had lemon posset, which was topped with raspberries, crème fraiche and crisp almond nougat. Posset is a very simple yet excellent dessert when well made, as it was here. Dating back to mediaeval England, posset has just three ingredients: sugar, cream and lemon juice. The key to is how well balanced the sweetness is with the acidity, and the version here was spot on. The raspberries were of high quality, and the little almond crisps were excellent (15/20). My companion had a very good cherry frangipane tart (15/20). 

Coffee and chocolates were priced at £5.50. They use Caffe Molinari, an industrial coffee supplier based in Modena. It would be good to see them move to a speciality roaster, given that there are so many in London. This would cost them slightly more but would substantially improve the coffee quality. The bill came to £123 per person, including a supplement for the cheese course of £27.50 and also service (nothing for wine as we brought our own on this corkage-free evening). If you ordered wine from the list, then a typical bill per person for three courses, water, coffee and a modest bottle of wine between two might come to around £140. Chez Bruce is a delightful place at which to eat. The menu is very appealing, they have a proper cheese board, friendly service and fair prices. It is the complete package, which explains why it so popular.

Further reviews: 10th Nov 2017 | 23rd Apr 2011 | 03rd Jan 2008 | 02nd Apr 2007