Ploussard

Ploussard opened in Battersea rise in April 2023. The founders are Matt Harris and Tommy Kempton, who formerly had a Brixton fried chicken restaurant called The Other Fried. Chef Matt Harris formerly cooked at Parlour, One Leicester Street and Lamberts in Balham. Ploussard, incidentally, is a slightly obscure grape variety from the Jura region of France. There was a tasting menu at £85 and a three-course set lunch at £38. We had the tasting menu, called ‘carte blanche”.

The wine list had 146 labels and ranged in price from £37 to £384, with a median price of £88 and an average markup to retail price of 2.65 times, which is very reasonable these days. Sample references were Domaine de la Plaigne Beaujolais Villages 2022 at £46 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £14, Domaine L'Austral Octopus Rouge 2023 at £65 compared to its retail price of £25, and Samuel Boulay Baltringue 2019 at £95 for a wine that will set you back £48 in the high street. For those with the means there was Non Progredi est Regredi (Antonio Quari) Ladoix les Briquottes, 2023 at £232 compared to its retail price of £228, and Domaine Prieure Roch 2022 at £268 for a wine whose current market value is £306. The list was 77% from France and 13% from Italy. Fully 53% of the list was priced under £75, and 10% under £50, with 75% of the list under £100. Corkage was £35 a bottle.

The meal began with a couple of canapes. Crab and black pepper tartelette was very good, the pepper nicely lifting the natural sweetness of the crab, and the tartlette had good texture (14/20). Vacherin and lardo croustade was a pleasant but slightly less successful nibble, the overall effect being quite rich. For me, some other balancing element would have been useful (13/20). Bread was made in the kitchen and had a good, springy texture.

Cured mackerel, blood orange & grape vinegar had fresh mackerel and a dressing that had plenty of acidity to cut through the natural oiliness of the mackerel. The blood orange also provided acidity, and for me the overall effect was perhaps a touch sharper than it needed to be. Still, this was a good and refreshing course (14/20).

Red mullet, preserved tomato & kimchi sauce had very carefully cooked red mullet, while the sauce was lovely. There was just a hint of sourness from the kimchi that worked really well with the mullet (15/20). Shiitake, hazelnut, egg yolk & Comté had an interesting balance of textures. The slow-cooked egg yolk contrasted with the hazelnuts and the mushrooms worked well with the egg (14/20).

Packington chicken from Burton on Trent is a free-range British chicken that has won several awards, including the 2025 Great Taste Award and the 2025 Great British Food Award gold medal. The chicken was served with black trumpet mushrooms, January King cabbage and a vin jaune sauce. The chicken was precisely cooked and went very well with the mushrooms, while the cabbage cut through the richness of the excellent rich vin jaune sauce. A filo pastry cylinder of chicken confit on the side provided another textural element (15/20).

Duck and gruyère pithivier, shallot & kumquat featured excellent pastry and a filling with deep flavour, the richness balanced nicely by the sharpness of the kumquat (15/20). Rhubarb, tonka ice cream & pink peppercorn was a refreshing way to finish the meal, the sharpness of the rhubarb working nicely with the richness of the tonka bean ice cream (14/20).

Coffee was from Difference Coffee. Service was friendly and capable throughout the meal, and the bill came to £114 per person. I really enjoyed my meal at Ploussard. The menu was appealing, and there was good culinary technique on display. As a bonus, the wine list is fairly priced. It is just the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that we all wish that we had near us.