It seemed Wimbledon was doomed to lag
behind other peripheral, affluent London boroughs in terms of gastronomy. While
trendy eateries were popping up all over North London and as
far as Chiswick or Catford, SW19 seemed somewhat neglected.
Of course there were a number of pretenders
to the culinary throne throughout the years, promising so much and yet either
delivering so little or, worse, being so damn inconsistent. When I was younger
Tootsies was as glamorous as it got, with its smothered chicken, crinkle-cut
fries and carousel of burger relishes. Other hotspots included the vast Chinese
restaurants Bayee Village and Confucius (I’m actually quite fond of the latter)
and the thoroughly dated and outrageously priced San Lorenzo Fouriporta (said
to be a favourite of Boris Becker – he’s obviously never been to Riva in
Barnes). It is fair to say that the borough was a plethora of Young’s pubs and,
if not a desert, a very dry savannah in terms of restaurants.
Such was the sorry case, and in my mind a
rather puzzling one. Wimbledon has always been a well-off area (especially
around the village and the top end of the broadway) and one would think that a
restaurateur would have seen the potential of setting up a great local
restaurant in the style of Chez Bruce. Perhaps it’s to do with the overheads,
or maybe the palettes of the local clientele are just not that sophisticated,
who knows. It’s certainly not hard to find artisan and luxury goods, with purveyors
like Bayley & Sage, Vallebona and Wimbledon Wine Cellar catering to high-end buyers
with a very high credit limit – The platinum AMEX or Coutts card is the weapon
of choice in these places, brandished with deadly efficiency like a Japanese
shuriken.
I am being both a little indulgent and
equally unfair. In the last few years, a couple of places, such as the Lawn
Bistro and the Fox & Grapes have popped up. The latter has become a local
institution and I have given it a good review on this blog, however it has three
distinct problems: inconsistency in cooking, almost Michelin-level prices and
it lacks atmosphere. I have eaten very well there but I have also eaten very
badly. Sometimes its sloppiness, sometimes it’s over-ambition, occasionally
just a little of both. It leaves one thinking that there is nowhere in the
neighbourhood in which one can regularly get great plates of food on a daily basis… of course,
this would be wrong.
The Lighthouse is a restaurant located on a
busy thoroughfare known as the Ridgeway, which leads from Wimbledon Village through the vale, down to the A3. It has been going for quite a few years
now and is the unsung hero of the local restaurant scene. I am personally
surprised that I do not see it more in critics’ reviews or the local
Archant/Zest Media glossies.
The cooking is modern European, very
accurate and quite often excellent. To my mind it is the best restaurant in
SW19. My most recent meal there? a couple of weeks ago, and I think that the menu that
evening (on which I celebrated my 27th year on this planet) was
testament to the sterling work that is going on in their kitchen and the
quality of the ingredients that they use.
I started with very clean plate of their
homemade gravadlax, very fresh and delicate with a slightly mustard sauce, a
perfect calling card and not to overpowering. With a cold, crisp glass of
viognier, a few pieces of this and this starter was a welcome introduction
ahead of the more gutsy main courses.
I chose the rump of lamb, three thick,
medium-rare slices of meaty heaven with a beautifully caramelised top,
producing a wonderfully meat flavour. This was paired with a smooth potato and
pea puree and some lightly cooked cos lettuce and a lamb jus. I cleaned my
plate!
To finish a surprisingly light, no frills
treacle tart with citrus undertones and a generous dollop of cold, clotted
cream. I’ve not got a big sweet tooth but this was an exception. I paired it
with a glass of grappa which, the pure alcohol cutting through the sweetness
perfectly.
Rounding off the meal with a cup of well
made coffee, something so rare to find, I thought to myself that it would be
nice if we could have more places to eat like this: full of creativity but
without the pretention.
If you find yourself in Wimbledon and
feeling peckish, you could do far worse than come to this lovely restaurant.
