A la Colthard: Wright Brothers , Old Brompton Road
Wright Brothers are huge suppliers of fish to the restaurant industry so when they opened their fourth restaurant in Old Brompton Road you could guarantee that the produce would be fresh and tasty. The restaurant used to be one of those intimate French brasseries, la Bouchee, in which I finished up and disgraced myself after many a SW3 drinks party in my misspent youth. I was always terrified of taking on those steep stairs in my stilettos.
I chanced upon it as I was meeting Bryony Bateson before her visit to Christies which is more or less opposite. It’s a small narrow restaurant. The waiter was helpful to the point of being over familiar and bossy. I ordered fish soup and a plateau de fruits de mer. I was not disappointed by either. The fish soup was served with rouille, gruyere and croutons but nothing wrong with this as long as the stock is rich which it was. The plateau de fruits de mer was copious with oysters, prawns, whelks, cockles and mussels and ay -de -li -do as the ditty goes. Each variety of sea food was as fresh as those whose had designs on me some twenty years ago and just as irresistible !!! There is no great culinary art in preparing such a plateau except for insuring that the sea food is of good quality. As Wright Brothers have their own oyster farm near Falmouth and supply 140 restaurants I had no reservations on that score. The only problem was a logistical one: the tables were rather small to accommodate the plateau, the bowls for the detritus, our plates and ourselves. With a glass of wine, somewhat expensively priced from £5-80 to ££8 per 175mm but that is normal these days, it works out at around £50 per head.
The top of Old Brompton Road by South Kensington tube station is not the greatest area for restaurants and walking around I could not see much competition. It’s also been a somewhat Gallic quarter which should help, too with its clientele. As with so many new restaurants the management was trying hard to establish itself and I hope it succeeds.
