Prince of Wales

With new a new pair of hands in the kitchen, the very talented and beguilingly relaxed Michael Goeman (from the Harwood Arms no less) is producing dishes of such quality rarely found in high-end restaurants anywhere in London let alone a converted local Pub in Putney. The space created here is also unusual in that diners have room to breathe. None of our not too near neighbors intruded at all. I do hate being packed in cheek by jowl where you have to say excuse me to the next table just to get up. There is too much on offer to describe in full here to do every dish justice, but here are some of my highlights on a tasting menu visit: Fresh Cow’s Curd on Toast with Truffled Vinaigrette, Lavender Honey and Basil Cress. The Sweet Honey perfectly balancing the Curd’s naturally sour tendency. The creamy finish of the Curd was left curiously upbeat on the tongue thanks to the Basil Cress. Bliss on toast for just £6. Another stand out dish was a tumbler of Broccoli Soup with Mustard Cream and Soda Bread. This was a revelation of the senses. As I sipped the hot soup the cold Mustard Cream resting on the top slowly melted to combine and make a kind of hot – cold – velvet – acidic experience. A simple but genius idea performed superbly for £5. The main dishes were no less enjoyable. Roast Fillet of Wild Bream with Glazed Pig’s Cheek, Crushed Curried Turnips and Coriander was a triumph of the unusual – surf ‘n’ surf with a twist of a mild curry that gave a feeling of warm satisfaction to the last mouthful – £14. There was Roast Rump Lamb with Aubergine and Miso Puree, Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette and Basil. Finest quality meat and a harvest you must not miss out on: The hay and tea Smoked Tomatoes must come from another world, maybe Heaven such was their beauty and clarity of taste. It was as if they had packed a summer barbeque into a jar and just released it before serving. At £18 it was truly wonderful. It’s worth mentioning that the cheapest dish on the menu will set you back a mere £1.50 and the most expensive only £19. There was also a Buttermilk Pudding served with Rhubarb Three ways, although I can’t think of three ways of describing it so I’ll settle on one – glorious. The delightful staff made the whole business of eating here a complete pleasure. I’m a very big fan of the ‘unobtrusive’ school of service. The Prince of Wales excels at this. This is a relaxed, confident, genuine culinary Utopia. It’s such a bargain for the quality of food on offer. Oh and did I mention that Michael as well as being very relaxed smiles a lot – I’m not surprised, he has a lot to smile about. Well just go and see for yourself! If I gave marks out of ten this would rate very highly.

Neil Hennessy-Vass

Last night (Mon April 5th) I came into the pub at about 9.15 and ordered a pint of Doom Bar bitter. After I had paid for it I realised that the barman had served it in a mug so I asked him politely if he would mind transferring it to a straight glass. He said he couldnt do that as he didnt have any ‘Doom Bar’ glasses. I said I didnt care about that and he could pour it into any straight glass he liked. He then said he couldnt do this as it was illegal to put beer from one supplier into a glass for another. I thought this was pretty bizarre and silly as even if it is true I've often been served beer in ‘different’ glasses. When I pointed this out he said , 'Well I don't' in a rather supercilious manner. I then noticed some plain straight glasses on the bar and asked him to use one of those. He said he couldnt do that as they weren't pint glasses ! I said that didnt matter as I could top the glass up when I had drunk some of the beer but he still refused. At this point I was kind of dumbfounded and went and sat down to read the paper. I was waiting for my girlfriend and when she arrived I opted to leave half my pint and get out of the place. Having to pay an exorbitant £3.50 for a pint of bitter and then be told I can't drink it out of a glass of my choice is the pits of bar service as far as I'm concerned. I've since mentioned this incident to several regular beer drinkers I know and nobody finds it anything but incredulous. I can't believe this guy is doing this business any favours which might be borne out by the fact that there were only about 2 other people in the bar at the time.

My wife and I booked on-line via this website and I happened to mention in the “special requests” section it was our 15th wedding anniversary. Although a fairly small dining area they did find a table that was as a private as it could be in the restaurant without being prompted.

One of the owners was there and he was a fantastic host, explaining all the dishes, offering complimentary pear cider ( absolutely amazing ) and desert wine in recognition of our event.

What's important though is the food which is sublime, really unusual, great providence, carefully cooked and great value for money.

I've been to many gastropubs in London over the years and this one is right up there with the Earl Spencer, White Horse and The Havelock Tavern.

I went to the Prince of Wales with a friend last week and was really impressed. The service was absolutely fantastic, the passion was pouring out of everyone that worked there and the food was out of this world. We had pear cider to begin with which was beautiful, I then had the crab salad which was divine followed by steak which was cooked to perfection. We were going to skip dessert as we were so full but then we saw the chocolate fondue pudding arrive on the table next to us… all I can say is that I was actually in heaven. This place is excellent, laidback and has a great atmosphere, I eat out in London a lot and I can honestly say this is one of the best restaurants I have been to.