The Penny Black Restaurant

We walked past the Penny Black many times and it was a mistake. We should have had dinner there sooner. So last night we decided to book there. We took a well travelled friend of ours with us and she equally enjoyed it. For starter we had the mushroom veloute' that was as the name implies: velvety. Not the usual watered down version or the glutinous stodge that you normally get. The hash brown was full of taste althought I would have liked my egg a bit more runny. For mains we had tiger prawns and our guest said that they were some of the best she ever had. The Wellington was extremely well executed and the spinach that came with it was crunchy and tasty. The puds menu has all the classics and the apple crumble is delicious. However what is really remarkable is the wine list. All the wines are available by the bottle and by the glass. The list is incredibly well assembled and it is long. The service was competent, friendly and completely unfussy. We hope that teh Penny Black will endure and will not follow the fate of its predecessors on the same site. From our part we will be back very very soon.

I’ve just posted my Dinner by Heston review and there are many similarities in the British food cooked well ethos.
Lamb shank and beef wellingtons were our mains, both good sized portions very well cooked and very delicious.
Pudding was a let down though, sticky toffee pudding was ‘cheffed-up’ but instead of a gooey pudding we got a dry muffin.
The bill weighed in at £188 with service, with about £80 on drinks. Whilst not as good as Heston’s dinner, it was half the price and I’d be much more likely to return here than I would Dinner.

The beautiful cosy restaurant, with amazing menu and great wine list. As mentioned in the review above, go easy on their freshly made bread, or you will not have space for anything else. it is one of the restaurants you wish you had more space in your stomach to be able to try more food:) the portions are very generous and the quality of food is just amazing. The vegetarian options looks very inviting also, and that will be my next try when I visit penny black again. Unless of course i will loose my power to resist the Beef Wellington, again!!! A place definitely worth visiting again and again.

I was looking through London restaurants and The Penny Black caught my eye for serving traditional British dishes and for having so many great reviews, so I went there with my boyfriend last night and completely agree with all the other enthusiastic reviews – it’s excellent!

The food is out of this world! Simply the best English food I've ever tasted! It is clear the people behind this restaurant have a passion for delicious food! They’ve created a superb traditional menu with all your favourites cooked to the highest standards – I promise it’ll be hard to choose! And you can taste that they use all the best ingredients, for example their carrots and broccoli from “Secrett’s Farm” are truly the most amazing I have ever eaten!

The impressive drinks menu is equally as good as the food and the people working there really know their products so gave us great cocktail and wine recommendations.

I really liked the atmosphere, it’s classy as well as being relaxed and cozy – I can imagine going there for lunch or dinner, on business, with friends or on a date. It’s just a great setting where they’ve thought of everything to give you a brilliant dining experience so I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We can’t wait to go back!

Coming here on a double-date foursome on the strength of a recommendation we were very surprised at how lived-in and comfortable the setting was for what is a very new restaurant. Lighting is dim, the candle-lit tables quite romantic, chairs lovely and squishy and it was lovely to see smartly dressed and smiley staff.

The menu was very nostalgic in its choices and presentation and in truth we had great difficulty in choosing what we were going to eat, despite there only being eight or so starters and mains each to choose from. In the end we all chose different things in the hope that some of us would let others share! The dressed crab salad was really lovely and fresh and showed that simplicity is sometimes the better way to go. Oysters apparently were great although not my thing at all. When the mains arrived we were literally gob-smacked. The toad in the hole I ordered was breathtakingly huge with the most enormous yorkshire pudding i have ever seen. The beef wellington also compelled my partner to utter a few unrepeatable words and embarrassingly enough our waiter just laughed at and said it was a normal thing to hear. The eating was every bit as good as the seeing and it was a struggle to keep hold of my own plate as the others were itching to have their share.

We only managed two desserts between us and I can safely say the rice pudding is the best I have ever had. Better than my Mum's even (sorry Mum). So rich, creamy, sweet without being sweet, it came with a side of strawberry jam which I don't like but over which the others fought.

Service was really great and the staff ever so friendly. It was nice to see the management take an active interest in our dining experience and my only critical comment is that the portions were fractionally too large for us girls, although typically the boys immediately vetoed my suggestion! I loved the cocktails too which were some of the very best I've had in London.

Overall the service is top rate, the food really impressive and although it is more upscale in price it isn't by an means overpriced. This is an exceptional restaurant and deserves to be busier than it was that night.

I was visiting an old friend at his flat near Fulham Road when he suggested we try the Penny Black for dinner as he had heard lots of the local residents talking about it. I usually go for oriental cuisine but I thought a restaurant serving traditional English food might be a refreshing change.

Upon entry to the Penny Black, I noticed the elegance of the interior, its' discreet decor and fused red and black background. While in the restaurant, it took no more than a couple of minutes before a friendly waitress approached to lead us to a table, handing over a food and drinks menu. Whilst browsing through the food and drinks menu for around five minutes, the same waitress approached our table and asked the pair of us what drinks we would like to order. With the wide selection of drinks on offer, we opted for something simple, which was the Schiehallion beer. Being a non-lover of beers, I truly have to admit that this beer was enjoyable for its crisp freshness. With that being so, the friendly waitress departed and returned after a few minutes to take our food orders, quickly suggesting that the beers we were drinking goes well with seafood and chicken dishes. Being a fan of seafood, my mind was made up and chose the scallops, fried potatoes, crispy bacon with mixed salad and my friend chose the monkfish salad, grilled baby leeks with celery hearts as starters, and it was a wise choice as the scallops were very soft and tender, it felt like it melted in my mouth, truly enjoying it, as for my friend, he also enjoyed his starter for its' softness.

Wanting to try something unusual and new for the main choice, our selection was the Duo of roasted corn-fed chicken, stuffed new potatoes, broccoli with lemon-tossed salad. The meat was gorgeous together with its' additions and the beers, resulting in our conversations only chatting about the food we were consuming.

After finishing the main meal, our friendly waitress mildly stated that we should try the desserts, but with no further space in my stomach, I refrained from desserts and so did my friend.

Overall, the Penny Black restaurant is a British restaurant like no other and I definitely will visit again very soon with other friends.

A visit to an elderly and ill family member at a hospital is never the best way to spend a Sunday, but thankfully we had pre –booked at the Penny Black Restaurant for Sunday lunch.
The Penny Black had come highly recommended by a friend who had also been to the Penny Black after attending the hospital as an outpatient.

We arrived at the Penny Black after a short walk from the hospital. I had parked my car earlier in the morning in one of the local side streets.Thankfully, parking nearby is relatively easy in comparison to other locations in London.
We were warmly greeted as soon as we stepped inside, our booking was confirmed and we were shown to our table.The restaurant has a very warm ambience about it and is tastefully and carefully decorated. The staff were attentive, knowledgeable, immaculately turned out and made you feel as though you were the most important clients to walk through the door that day.

The menu was made up of the all time British classics – dishes that, whilst everyone loves them, rarely make an appearance on London restaurant menus. French, Italian, Indian, Chinese and Thai food is generally the norm, so the Penny Black menu was a welcome and refreshing change.

My wife chose the toad in the hole, whilst I went with the traditional great British Sunday roast.
The service was impeccable and our wait, which was minimal, was richly rewarded when our meals arrived.
My wife’s Toad in the hole filled the plate and the plump and perfectly cooked sausages all three of them, looked fantastic. The accompanying vegetables were equally impressive, baby carrots with buttered cabbage and a gravy to die for!

My roast beef was cooked to perfection, the batter pudding came on its own plate, which given it was the size of a pram wheel was not surprising! The roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and lovely and fluffy on the inside, the vegetables, baby carrots and the best cauliflower cheese I have ever tasted were accompanied with the same to die for gravy as that that graced my wife’s plate.

The desert menu like the main course is, again, made up of great British favourites.My wife chose the Chocolate Fondant accompanied with mint choc chip ice cream and I went for the chocolate soup, yes soup! The soup was also accompanied by the mint choc chip ice cream and delicious home made short bread biscuit.
The fondant, a sponge bomb, exploded with a rich warm chocolate sauce and complemented the ice cream, or was it the other way round, perfectly.
My soup was rich, the biscuit delicately exquisite and the ice cream made a fantastic foil to the deliciously dark and not too bitter soup.

In conclusion to my review, I would highly recommend the Penny Black Restaurant, whether it be an anniversary, business lunch, spur of the moment meal or romantic date, there is something for everyone at the Penny Black Restaurant.

Go on, treat yourself, we will, again and again.

Had the most amazing evening. The service was great and i believe this was our waiters first night with the job. Both my friend and I had the Beef Wellington which was absolutely to die for. We split two desserts… one apple something which was amazing and my favourite which was the orange posset.

Can't wait to return… my aim is to try a different dish but i think I am now positively hooked on the Beef Wellington it will be difficult to lure myself away.

Perfect evening… Thank you x

There comes a point in every food cycles life when it starts to become trendy and / or hackneyed. Great British Food could become like this. How many times have we seen this expression on a “gastro” pub menu and our hearts sink when served ill prepared Eurotrash hiding as Great British Food?

The Penny Black is waht Great British Food is all about. The wife and I had heard about it and were pressed by a friend to give a try. Hearing the 3 shivering words of “Great”, “British” and “Food” sent a quiver down my spine but I thought someone must get it right eventually. And BOY did they get it right!!!

Corned Beef Hash as a starter. Served with a perfectly cooked Duck Egg. Sublime stuff and a proper starter. Nothing mincing aroun d the plate pretending to be food. Oxtail and Shin of Beef stew with Herb Dumplings was to die for. Rich, unctuous and thoroughly warming, it's the sort of dish rural France wishes it still cooked. The waitrons then finished me off with that most lightest of British puds: Bread and Butter Pudding. And it WAS Bread and Butter Pudding. Not a sign of any Croissants or Pain au Chocolat or other mysterious bread based products dunked in “Creme Anglais”. Bread, Butter, Raisins, Custard, Baked until quivering and served in a huge bowl, I had to call for a wheelbarrow to get myself out of there!

If you're after proper, hearty British grub, this is it. I'm not going to kid and say that the portions are light, but if you want a good old British feed, you're going to struggle to find anything better than The Penny Black.

One final note was the amazing wine list. ALL of the wine are available by the glass. Sarah had a glass of Cuvee Marjorum Pouilly Fume. with her Monk Fish cheeks and it was easily the best Sauvignon I've EVER tried. I pushed the boat out with the Shin stew and ordered the Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon as was recommended by the Waiter. Not a big lover of Aussie wines but this was a match made in heaven. I also noticed they do some seriously good Grand Cru Burgundies By The Glass. Next time, I'm in I shall be taking the credit card with me to have a go at a couple of these!

I am surprised – really, I am. Not because this restaurant is good, actually, better than good, but rather because I never consciously realised that British food covers a wide spectrum of produce and taste.

The Penny Black opened as far as I can work out about four weeks ago and is so discreet in its appearance that I never knew it existed until I received an invitation through my mailbox for drinks and canapes. I duly went along with my partner, more out of curiosity than anything else, and when I arrived it was packed full of local residents, businesses, and more than a few of my neighbours!

The first thing that struck us was the clean, simple yet discreetly sophisticated decor, a mix of neutrals, dark red and black. There isn't much glitz or glamour, or rather there isn't much overt glitz or glamour, but what is there is a really cosy atmosphere that I felt extremely comfortable in. We were greeted by what later transpired to be the owner and after a chat and a few swigs of a lovely red wine, our attention was drawn to the canape trays that had arrived with miniature beef wellingtons and OHMYGOD…

I haven't had a beef wellington in years, literally, but the sight of these little slices of melt-in-the-mouth pastry-encased beautifully pink beef made me dribble, a lot. I haven't felt excited about food like this in quite a long time, so we made a reservation for a proper dinner at the weekend.

The actual dinner was over and above my surprisingly high expectations. Service was impeccable, very friendly and attentive without being overbearing in any way (I hate that in good restaurants – I want to be served, but I don't want to feel that every mouthful of food I'm eating is being watched and examined). The drinks list can only be described in one way – exceptional. There are loads of wines, probably at least a hundred, and every single one has a description explaining its characteristics and flavours. Then there's the cocktails, at least ten pages of that, and the cognacs, whiskey and almost every other spirit under the sun. I spent a good twenty minutes reading and in truth I wanted to steal a menu away. Very surprised to note that every wine is available by glass, carafe and bottle.

Anyway, the food – really good. Really very very good. A bit expensive on the Wellington (£29) but at least it had all the vegetables I wanted included in the cost. Shame they didn't have spinach or beans though which I thought a little strange given they are British staples. But being honest, I didn't really care. The beef was so good it made all the other dishes we had pale in comparison which is very unfair as they varied from very good to truly excellent. Scallops were divine, the cauliflower and stilton soup just lovely without being heavy. Portions are substantial to the point of being too large, but I'm not kidding when I say were compelled to eat every morsel, no matter how full we were.

Didn't manage a pudding sadly but that's there for the next time. Going to try their range of ports as well which look really tempting.

Not everything is perfect however – the music was a bit elevator for me and the lights could be dimmed more as it could do with a bit more intimacy later in the evening. The artwork is a bit surreal – my partner “got it” but I certainly couldn't work out why a sheep would sit next to a stamp. Odd.

So now I'm a bit spoilt for choice in the Fulham Road area – La Famiglia which I love, Hache for burgers, and The Penny Black for big grown up food, wine and cocktails.

Local restaurant, top end service, supreme kitchen. Bit pricey, but then the best things always are. Would I recommend it? I've already booked a table for Mother's Day.

Brilliant.

A new local restaurant with a tempting menu of classic combinations – we had to try it. Friday night, the second official day of trading and we were very pleasantly surprised with what we found. The decor is stylish yet comfortable and the countless numbers of staff very friendly and efficient.

The best surprise is the ability to order any wine by the glass or half bottle – even at the premium end of the wine list. Speaking with one of the owners after dinner, they also have adopted the concept of keeping your own bottle of wine or spirit behind the bar so you can enjoy it on a return visit, as well as sourcing any favorite tipple that you may fancy (with enough notice). A real winning concept given the number of restaurants that aim to fleece you with overpriced and unimaginative wine lists. Coupled with an great selection of cocktails on offer we were onto a winner.

As for the food, the combinations are tried and tested but the finished dishes when they arrived were far more interesting and imaginative than i would have ever expected. Scallops with bacon were accompanied by mixed leaves with a tangy and surprising dressing. The true delight of the evening however was the beef wellington… Melt in your mouth pastry, a wafer thin crepe, flavoursome duxelle and beef that you could cut with a butter knife cooked perfectly medium rare. It makes me hungry thinking about it.

We didn't try desert but as i can guarantee that we will be returning to this little gem of a restaurant we'll be sure to indulge next time. Overall verdict: a great concept, friendly and interesting staff and an appealling food menu executed well. Lets hope that, unlike its predecessors, the Penny Black is here to stay!