Church Road, London

Phil Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas have built their new restaurant on a throne of plaudits, with the former bagging Michelin stars at The Square and Elystan Street and the latter doing the same at Kitchen W8. Barnes may not be in our regular beat but the restaurant they've created on the eponymous Church Road is a destination in and of itself - well worth the pilgrimage. We visited for a Friday lunch and were duly impressed. 

The dining room is lightness incarnate. Large screened windows and geometric brass wall sconces imbue the space with a brilliant shine, playing off crisp white tablecloths and austere eggshell-washed walls alike. Plush sofas welcome you into the well-stocked bar area and there's a gorgeous PDR nicknamed The Common Room with an enormous lightwood communal table. Heavy-hitters Sam Astley-Dean and Alan Parry have been brought over from Elystan Street to serve as head chef and general manager respectively. 

Seasonality and sustainability are of paramount importance at Church Road and we found them in every dish. A salad of puntarella and Tokyo turnip with an anchovy and orange vinaigrette was full of pithy bitterness, playful astringency and natural savour. Cured Loch Duart salmon on the other hand bedded down brilliantly sweet mustard dressing, potato salad and apple. A caramelised cauliflower with tzatziki and a vinaigrette of pomegranate, golden raisins and capers was an unctuous treat while whole chargrilled plaice with chanterelles, capers and potato crisps was a masterpiece in brown butter. Make sure you save room for the tarte fine of Braeburn apples with bay leaf ice cream and spices, an excellent dessert. 

Church Road has all of the hallmarks of a top-class restaurant. Well worth the trip to Barnes.

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