A not so happy anniversary
In may this year the East Sheen restaurant Redmond's will have been open for 10 years. To celebrate, there was an offer running last week (over now) of a fixed-price menu at "prices closer to our opening menu". These turned out to be £22/£25 for two/three courses, so not all that close, I would have thought.
If you booked 24 hours or more in advance, you were entitled to a complimentary Kir.
Although I had only reserved a table earlier in the same evening of our visit, a young waitress plonked two glasses of Kir in front of us as soon as we sat down. Jolly generous and all that, but neither Reg nor I wanted them, a fact that caused her smooth brow to furrow.
She brought the drinks we did order then retreated to chat at length with her fellow workmate. Finally, when we caught her eye and asked for bread, she brought over a basket with a slice or two and a few crumbs in it.
On a Tuesday evening, the not very beguiling room was quite busy, including one large table of about 10, so cut-price offers can seemingly be effective.
Recently I read an article where Redmond Hayward had been describing how difficult it was to keep going steadily and successfully in the further-flung London postal districts. I'm sure it is. Meanwhile opening a bistro in Chiswick - as Pippa and Redmond have done at The Burlington - might mean you sometimes take your eye off the ball.
The absence of Pippa, a sweet and capable presence front of house and interesting to consult on wines, was keenly felt at Redmond's last Tuesday.
The two waitresses had no feeling for hospitality or the pace or shape of a meal. Items such as the chef 's "gift" of smoked haddock brandade were slapped down gracelessly.
Redmond Hayward, who was awarded a Michelin star in 1992 in his first eponymous restaurant in Cheltenham, has perhaps wearied of cooking. Certainly the arid belly pork with no crackling accompanied by spitefully bitter red cabbage and a rib-eye steak cut too thin to cook rare served on incredibly hot plates were indications.
Carpaccio of tuna was all right but it's really a matter of being able to slice thinly. Gravad lax with dill mustard sauce carried me back in time a lot longer than 10 years.
Vanilla crème brulée with rhubarb and blood orange sorbet was unavailable, as was bread and butter pudding with Amaretto and Armagnac cream. We shared an apple tart with caramel ice cream.
Perhaps Redmond's flourished more noticeably in days when East Sheen residents needed ideas for their dinner parties. Now I expect they buy them from Waitrose.
Price above estimates a meal with wine for one.
Redmond's
170 Upper Richmond Rd West, SW14 8AW
