Chez Lindsay
11 Hill Rise, Richmond
Surrey TW10 6UQ
020 8948 7473

Reviewed on Sunday 10 May 2009

Chez Lindsay

Chez Lindsay is a French restaurant with specialities from Brittany like galettes, pancakes and seafood. It is very well located on Hill Rise in Richmond between the river side and Richmond Park. The design inside is nice, with a kind of yellow pastel colour on the bricks and a well used wooden floor. All the staff are French but not all of them are from Brittany. We chatted a little about the 2009 Coupe de France final between two clubs from Brittany (En Avant Guingamp won)
We took Le Sunday Lunch (2 courses £18.50 or 3 courses £21.50). For the first course we had the choice between the Soupe du Jour (soup of the day) or Coquille de Fruits de Mer (coquille of fish and seafood, mushrooms and cream sauce) or Parfait de Foie de Volaille (chicken liver parfait with toast and salad).
For the main course we had the choice between a Filet de Bar aux Ecrevisse (filet of seabass with crayfish sauce, rice and green vegetables) or Rôti de Poulet (roast chicken with tarragon gravy and “Sunday vegetables”) or Galette à la Ratatouille ((buckwheat pancake filled with cheese, topped with ratatouille).
As dessert the choice was Assiette de Fromages (selection of cheeses) or Crêpe au Citron ou Chocolat (sweet pancake with lemon juice and sugar or chocolate sauce) or Dessert du Jour (dessert of the day) which was Lemon tart with vanilla ice cream.
We both had the chicken liver parfait, then chose the galette à la ratatouille and the fillet of seabass, ended the lunch with the lemon tart and a crêpe au citron followed by two coffees. As wine we had a very nice bottle of red wine 2007 Brouilly Domaine Crêt des Garanches (£27). It was smooth, round and rich with a nice after taste.

The paté to start was a very nice and smooth mousse. One of the best I’ve had in London, though I couldn’t help but feel while eating it that it would benefit from just a touch of garlic or armagnac (or some other alcohol). It is a small complaint though – overall, the mousse was very good and I’d just about return for that alone. It came with some exceptionally light, thin slices of toasted baguette that were the perfect accompaniment.

The galette was very nicely done. I need to be in the right mood for that sort of cuisine (which I was, otherwise would have chosen from the extensive menu of alternative options). It was made with wholemeal flour, giving it a touch of substance that would not otherwise have been present. The cheese interior matched nicely with the ratatouille, though the latter could have been more spicy to suit my taste.
The fillet of seabass was excellent, perfectly cooked (crispy outside) with a great crayfish sauce. My only complaint would be about the portion: I wanted more!

The desserts were both excellent. Not loaded with so much sugar as to overpower the real taste (and drive you toward diabetes) as is so often the case in London restaurants, but just lightly and nicely sweet. The crèpe was nicely cooked and arrived piping hot, lightly dusted with sugar and with lemon to apply to your taste. The lemon tart was also excellent – made with real lemon and cream – no sign of the bright yellow gooey and sickly sweet abomination I’ve encountered elsewhere.  It was certainly on the tart side, but for the true lemon-lover, that’s exactly how it should be.

If there is something to complain about here, it is the coffee. Rather than the espresso expected, we received two cups of brown water – the sort that would be called ‘Americano’ in France, and appeared on our bill as ‘filter coffee’.  A sad end to an otherwise excellent meal. My advice to potential patrons is to ask specifically for espresso, or to take an after dinner coffee elsewhere. We’ll be back of course, as the food and service were great – but will probably avoid the coffee in the future.

Parfait de Foie de Volaille

Filet de Bar aux Ecrevisses

Details of the filet of seabass

Galette à la Ratatouille

Great bottle of Brouilly!

Crêpe au citron

Tarte au citron

Coffee

Cost and conclusion: the total cost was £84.09 (including a “discretionary” service charge of 12.5%) for two three course menus, a bottle of Brouilly and two coffees. The staff were friendly and efficient, the food great so we will be naturally back!