The Riding House Café

Don't go here for the food, which is distinctly average, but otherwise a great place for lunch or a casual dinner with friends.

A belated celebratory dinner turned into the ultimate midweek treat at The Riding House Café. If asked to describe it in a sentence I would say it is Fitzrovia’s answer to the Wolseley. The same all day dining concept is in place, and if you go often enough you start to see a stream of ‘regulars’, who like you, cannot get enough of the place. In The Riding House Café’s case the regulars are assorted media types strolling from their offices for a quick debrief and a bite to eat. The décor is very deconstructed country house outbuilding meets communal refectory – the squirrel festooned lampshades and red banquettes in the formal dining room are complimented by teal blue bar stools on classic white tiling and a long table that acts as a centerpiece in the less formal dining area. All combined this gets you in the mood for laid back to the manor born flavours.

Ambience sorted, equal care seems to have been taken with service. We hadn’t booked, but there was none of the snotty superciliousness that seems to blight many popular establishments. A quick agreement that the table would be needed a couple of hours later and we were seated, sipping Prosecco and perusing the menu. The highlight for me were the small plates – the perfect solution for the undecided. We ordered the beetroot carpaccio with ricotta and merlot vinaigrette and the spicy buttermilk fried chicken with celery and blue cheese. Not in a long time have two small plates of food made me so thoroughly happy. Thin slices of crisp beetroot and ripe ricotta were happy bedfellows, what made the whole thing even better was the merlot vinaigrette providing the necessary dose of acidity to proceedings. And finally the surprise: a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds adding a crunchy nuttiness that brought the dish together. The buttermilk chicken consisted of a trio of chicken rings fried in a truly spicy batter; the accompanying celery and blue cheese dip was pleasant enough , but the chicken on its own was the revelation.

Onto mains, both myself and my friend opted for the cheeseburger, medium rare. To drink as it was a school night, we chose the half carafe of the Valpolicella, one of an impressive 20 wines on the ‘House Selection’. Restaurants really need to understand that there is no reason to make customers feel the poor relation by opting for a house wine usually drawn from a sad selection of two or three, and The Riding House Café did a commendable act in having not only a range but also knowledgeable staff to guide you through the list. There was a little wait for the burgers to arrive but when they did they delivered, toasted semi sweet bun, delicious meat, properly pink in the middle and two crisp Cos lettuce leaves and an optional gherkin, thin red onion rings on the side and condiments galore for you to pimp your burger as you would wish. I utilized the lot, and the opening few minutes of silence were testimony to our both enjoying our food. The fries were competent – I would have liked mine a little hotter, but the burger was so delicious that it was forgiven.

Pudding had to be the inevitable tarte tartin for two which was served with a dollop of cream and also a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. The tart had adequate caramelization on the apples, the pastry was good to fair, although a little soggy in places, but the ice cream was suitably indulgent and did the job of providing the hot/cold contrast that is often present in the best puddings. And the waiters had remembered it was my friend’s birthday and put a solitary candle in the pudding, a super thoughtful touch that brought a smile to both our faces. Feeling festive I had a glass of the Chateau Septy to accompany. It did exactly what you would expect of a decent pudding wine, coaxing out further sweetness from a delicious plate of food.

Like Cinderella at quarter to midnight we called it an evening. The bill came in at a rather recession friendly £98, not bad at all considering all that was consumed, service was included and bar a couple of teeny-tiny imperfections everything that was put before us was yummy to boot. The next trip to the Riding House Café has already happened – I couldn’t face staying away from that beetroot carpaccio for too long – it is officially my new true love.

very good!

The atmosphere of this restaurant is up there with the best of them in London and so much so that I am willing to forgive the odd gripe with the food.

You walk into a huge well lit bar come informal dining area and it is humming with chatter and people who are there simply to enjoy a drink or two. Sectioned off behind the maitre'd' (whose team I have to say were spot on in terms of juggling customers and friendliness)'s desk is the vibrant red dining area, which means you still hear the hum of the bar in the background but it doesn't drown out your own conversation. The menu is a little new-age and trendy with ‘tasting plates’ (recommended 3 plates for 2 people) for starters, which takes a little getting used to if you are anything like this slightly traditional diner, but which brings back into the fold even the most conservative diner with a more classic and somewhat British/American themed mains and pudding menu. We chose the sea bass ceviche and, on the recommendation of the waitress, the lamb and the rabbit small plates to start. The sea bass got my top vote; fresh, clean and with a tang of lime and chile running through it. The rabbit was ok but, in all honesty, if I had not known it was rabbit beforehand I would have struggled to guess what the meat was; the sauce definitely won the battle with the meat that day. The lamb was crisp on the outside but had a heavy and lingering taste of fat running through it and was not my cup of tea at all. Then on to the mains. Having heard good things about the Tichfield burger, it seemed rude not to test it out; not bad at all and perfectly enjoyable but the soggy strands of onion and the hunk of foie gras on the top did nothing for me. My friend had the pork with lentils and I always think that if there is a clean plate afterwards, it speaks volumes; this was no exception.

Overall, a fantastic venue with a New York feel about it, a modern albeit slightly random menu and a restaurant worth a visit from anyone looking for good food and a fun night out in central London. I'm looking forward to my return trip already!

I tried this not inexpensive restaurant twice with friends. While the beetroot small dish was lovely and the chickpea veggie option wasn't bad, there were far too many miscues. A friend had the sea bass with crab and leek salad and showed me how little crab there was. The smoked trout was wrecked by a jalapeno pepper that destroyed the pallet. Asparagus and carrots had no flavour or seasoning. Chips were just soggy. The rasberry and gooseberry desert was poor. It just left an unpleasant taste and gooseberrries had the texture of indifferent grapes. The desert for two left no flavour memory. A good chocolate sundae had largely melted by the time it hit the table. The fish n' chips had a strange taste that left one longing for a real fish n' chippy like the Golden Hind. Service was inattentive and a mistake with an order resulted in a 50p surcharge! This business appears to be over-trading. It needs to go back to basics and check the dishes on the menu to make sure they work.

Arrived at 11.00AM, reservation not found told brunch starts at 12.30 food arrived at 1.00 staff need coffee. Wendy W saved the day five happy customers leaving after all the confusion, thank you

The lunch and dinner menu is more substantial than the Cafe moniker might suggest. Plates of small sharing food occupy the top half of the menu, neatly priced at £3, £4 or £5, a popular recent trend and here pleasingly priced. It’s a bit all over the shop with no clear style; Moroccan nestles with continental bistro classics, Eastern treats sit next to solid British bites. That being said, there are some simple gems there and it’s easy to eat substantially for £12 – £15, priced well for the local office market as a weekly treat. I’d have trouble defining anything as perfect, but there’s nothing that doesn’t need just a small tweak from the army of chefs on show. Squid and chorizo came in a spicy tomato sauce with fresh olives, slightly too many flavours for the well cooked but subtle squid. Roasted butternut squash with sage and (sadly unnoticeable) chilli should have had a little more crisp to it for my money, but for three quid it’s hard to complain.

Other ‘smalls’ sampled include a very competent lamb with a superbly spicy aubergine puree and a tasty if slightly dry pork belly – three big cubes made a good enough impression for me to put it down to teething troubles and a minute too long under the heat lamps. The final two dishes continue the slightly odd world tour. Tuna ceveche, that lime ‘cooked’ tartare from Latin America, was another substantial portion well doused in spice and flavour (though lacking a little in lime according to The International Man of Mystery), and a steak tartare, a favourite of mine, here slightly over ‘prepared’ (ie pre-mixed with a touch too many capers, onions and herbs), it was difficult for the beef to shine, but I’d certainly give it another go.

Spread over two lunches, I also had time to sample the Tichfield Burger. An all too rarely seen sloppy mix of darkly pink flesh (I didn’t stop and get the breakdown, no doubt others will) cooked medium and nestled plumply on a controversially seeded (and slightly too chewy) bun. It wasn’t the worst bun I’ve had, and was certainly of a good quality, but didn’t quite ring true. The meat was excellent. The Tichfield comes topped with a fairly proportioned slice of grilled foie and thinly sliced and slow braised onions, both rendering down and sinking into the juicy meat like an upmarket sloppy joe.

We went to a pre-launch test evening – their first. We were running late so arrived in a taxi and our first word upon pulling up upside the venue was “wow!”
The venue looks absolutely stunning and is the kind of place that people on the outside see and want to be inside. It was a Friday evening and people outside the pub opposite were all looking over enviously,
The feeling continued inside with a fantastic buzz, great lighting and superb styling throughout. Everything in the riding house cafe contributes to the whole effect. It's wonderful. Even the bar itself is beautifully crafted.
We had cocktails which were sublime and interesting (in a good way!) a pirate daiquiri and a bermondsey breeze. Both were excellent.
It was a trial evening so we had to expect that not everything would be perfect and it wasn't. Service was finding it's feet but honestly even despite minor issues that will certainly be ironed out come launch proper this place is far and away my new favorite place in London. The menu offers tasting plates at £3, £4 and £5 and they were all excellent. Mains were also delicious. The wine list is both extensive and well priced, the whole place has been really well though out to cater for a range of tastes. This place is without doubt going to become a very firm favourite with a lot of people. I'm going back next week.