Chez Bruce - Wandsworth, Sunday March 11th, 2012

Another offer from Toptable, another one off the list. Chez Bruce had been on my 'to visit' list probably the longest of any London restaurant, so when they were offering half price on the a la carte menu on Sunday nights we jumped at the chance. Having enjoyed visits to La Trompette and The Glasshouse in years gone by, the crown jewel in Bruce Poole's impressive repertoire was always a long-term target.

Chez Bruce has been one of the most popular London restaurants for years. Consistently named by Harden's as one of the very best (and often the very best) place to eat in town, it has held a remarkable popularity and reputation in the capital for an admirably long time - the place opened in 1995. On the site of Marco Pierre White's legendary Harvey's, no less. A big act to follow, but the proof is in the pudding, and some seventeen years after Chez Bruce started, I was about to find out if all the popularity and acclaim was justified.

The first thing that struck me about the menu was its confused nature. The restaurant is branded as French but it has that typically modern knack of being kind-of-French with bits of Europe thrown in, leaning heavily on British food. Too many dishes looked over-complicated by one or two ingredients, hinting at a place that has hit its ceiling and is needlessly trying to push boundaries.

As much as I enjoy judging restaurants without eating in them, it really is all about the food and whether or not Chez Bruce can justify the hype. My starter was a messy-looking thing, with colours, textures and levels of food all over the place. The description suggested it might not be the most elegant thing going - pig's head salad with beetroot, mustard, comté and crackling - and it certainly was a bit of a pile (left).

That said, the taste was rather pleasant. The pig's head was a soft and majestic meaty base with the crackling sitting on top as an enjoyable variation. The salad part of the dish was light, refreshing and well-complimented by the mustard. the mild cheese was somewhat lost in the mix though, which was a shame. Parmesan may have been a better bet overall. The main problem I had with this dish was the stifling inelegance of it all. The food was slightly drowned by the lettuce and it looked a mess.

The second starter had all the parts the first did not. A seemingly baffling ingredients list - braised oxtail, crisp garlic bread, mushroom duxelle, fried egg & red wine - actually translated into a very pretty plate of food (right). It was elegant, attractive and lively in all the ways the salad had not been. The taste was excellent as well. Chunky but flaky oxtail was a delicious base to the more delicate ingredients sitting atop. Great stuff, and what people expect when dining at Chez Bruce.

Main courses differed from the starters by being a lot more basic and far more in line with the kind of clinical dishes I was expecting from Chez Bruce. The first - veal rump with morels, gnocchi and wild garlic - was a perfect-sounding dish, replete with simple ideas and great-sounding produce (left). The veal was moist, well-cooked and tender, with the creamed morels the absolute highlight. Sadly, the mushroom sauce was so good it nearly overwhelmed the dish. The elements were all well-executed but none apart from the mushrooms to warrant serious praise. And none which made the whole thing excellent.

The wife went for pot au feu duck with foie gras, tarragon jus and a brioche dumpling (right). A strange-sounding mixture at first, but when you think about it, one that should work perfectly. Pot au feu is a traditional French stew, usually made with beef. The addition of foie gras ties the duck in, with the brioche and broth bringing the whole dish together. In the event, it was another slight misfire with the broth literally and figuratively dampening the dish. The meat was well-cooked again but the whole thing ended up being a surprisingly uninspiring plate of food by the end.

Our first dessert was a chocolate pudding with praline parfait. This was ordered by the wife since I don't believe I could tolerate that many nuts in any dessert. It was rich, homely and comforting as you would expect a melting chocolate pud to be (left). However, once again it was a sad story of poor presentation; looking a right mess. The theme of the evening was a sorry state of bad-looking dishes and this was perhaps the messiest of the lot. You just expect that little bit of precision when eating somewhere like this.

My dessert was a mille-feuille of chocolate, vanilla and chestnut, with a sauce of caramel and poached pear (right). Again, an interesting and appetising combination in prospect but one which again fell short. The pastry was not soft enough, the chestnut was not distinct enough and the sauce was completely overwhelmed by the chocolate.

At the end of the meal, we had different reactions. The wife was actually quite satisfied with her lot. This needs to be mentioned in the interest of fairness, but for me it was a restaurant quaking under the weight of historical expectation. There is something extremely frustrating about a place spinning its wheels as much as this and whilst I'd never go as far as saying it was bad, I expected a lot more. For the kind of experience Chez Bruce is aiming for, go to Kitchen W8.

Chez Bruce