The Dysart

The Dysart in Petersham is located one and a half miles from Richmond station. It is in a leafy setting that used to be a pub, but has been a fine dining restaurant since 2011. The dining room has a stone floor and very generous spaced, large tables. It is a rustic, relaxed space to eat. We opted for the nine-course tasting menu at £135 today, but you could also opt for three courses at £75 or four courses at £85 (both being £10 cheaper at lunch). A three-course vegetarian option was also available at £45, and a full vegetarian tasting menu was an alternative to the carnivorous version. I have separately written about the very good and fairly priced wine list here, with corkage also available at a modest £35.  

The meal began with Parmesan shortbread biscuit topped with grapefruit mousse and bronze fennel from the garden. There was plenty of cheese flavour and the biscuit had very good texture, while the grapefruit’s sharpness was a nice contrast to the cheese (16/20). This was followed by deep-fried Scottish langoustine (langoustine tempura) with caper and ginger mayonnaise. The langoustine tail had lovely natural sweetness and the batter was light, coating the shellfish but not obscuring its flavour; there was no trace of greasiness, which often afflicts deep-fried dishes in the UK. The Japanese are the benchmark for really skilful tempura, at places like Uchitsu, but this was a very capable version. The bite of the caper in the mayonnaise cut nicely through the richness. A deceptively simple but delicious dish (18/20).

A new dish was tartare of razor clam and Orkney scallop with Vietnamese dressing with shallot and lime African blue basil and local herbs, all served in a razor clam shell. The razor clams had lovely flavour, the scallop was beautifully sweet but above all the dressing was superbly judged, the Asian flavours working beautifully with the shellfish (18/20 may be a harsh score). Bread was focaccia-style sourdough, which was made with an olive oil herb and garlic mix that had rosemary, thyme, oregano and slow-cooked garlic cloves. This was left to prove for three days before being baked at a high temperature. The bread had excellent texture. 

A well-established dish here is a little shot glass with three layers at different temperatures, a nod to a famous dish “chaud-froid d'oeuf”, by Alain Passard. In this version there is a layer of Pedro Ximenes sweet sherry at the bottom, topped with cold cream and maple syrup and the warm hen’s egg, garnished with chives. This was a technically clever dish (16/20). A signature dish of Dysart, and one that I hope never leaves the menu, is charred bream with daikon radish and a sauce of ginger, kaffir lime and champagne vinegar with a touch of chilli oil. This is a glorious dish, the beautifully cooked fish working really well with the lovely sauce, whose kaffir lime brings a refreshing touch, the earthy radish an excellent foil for the fish (strong 17/20, pushing 18/20).

Another well-established dish followed, oxtail risotto. Here the ox tail was marinated with aromatics and red wine for three weeks. The ingredients were then roasted in a pan and braised slowly overnight in the oven for 14 hours.  The meat is picked from the bones and the stock is reduced to make a sauce that coats the ox tail and bone marrow. The rice is cooked with a fine brunoise of fennel and shallots, white wine and a dashi stock made with herbs, lemon rind and chilli. The risotto is finished with a little butter and Parmesan, with some pickled chillies to add some freshness and piquancy. Seven-year aged Acquerello rice is used, which is genuinely a top-quality risotto rice. The touch of chilli is a crucial addition as otherwise it would be too rich, but there was just enough bite of spice to avoid this. This was superbly rich and enjoyable, a classy risotto (17/20). 

A fillet of turbot was from a huge 10kg fish and had superb flavour, the fish beautifully cooked. This was accompanied by local courgette, dehydrated courgette flower and a pool of bisque sauce flavoured with herbs. The bisque had excellent depth of flavour (easily 17/20). Creedy Carver free range duck (from Crediton in Devon) was cooked pink and also with confit duck leg, This was accompanied by English yuzu marmalade and glazed aubergine. On the side was very good fondant potato. I enjoyed the duck and there was nothing to fault with its cooking, but I am not sure that English poultry compared well to the best in France. Also, aubergine is perhaps hard to make exciting, at least to me (16/20). On reflection I should probably have tried the Yew Tree farm lamb with girolles, which my experienced dining companion raved about.

 A pre-dessert of pink and white grapefruit segments with a touch of Campari with a garnish of basil and a tuile flavoured with Cambodian Kampot pepper. This dish was simple but refreshing, the touch of pepper nicely enhancing the flavour of the grapefruit (17/20). A modern tiramisu consisted of a mascarpone sabayon, lady finger sponge soaked in Difference Coffee, a Venezuelan chocolate ganache, hazelnut liquor jelly and finally a chocolate almond tuile. The coffee flavour was deep and rich and the mixture of different textures was excellent. This was a clever and successful take on the Italian classic (17/20). Coffee was from Difference Coffee and came with some very enjoyable petit fours. 

Service, led by owner Barney Taylor, was as charming as ever. The bill came to £213 per person. The cooking at the Dysart continues to develop, with the menu steadily evolving, for example with the new razor clam dish. This is some of the very best food being served in and around London, and indeed I prefer The Dysart to most of the multi-starred restaurants on the capital. Why Michelin give this only one star eludes me.

Further reviews: 08th Dec 2023 | 27th Oct 2023 | 17th May 2023 | 17th Feb 2023 | 18th Feb 2022 | 12th Jun 2021 | 24th Jul 2020 | 04th Jul 2020 | 13th Mar 2020 | 15th Nov 2019 | 14th Nov 2018 | 15th Dec 2017 | 15th Sep 2015 | 04th Mar 2014 | 03rd Jan 2014