Restaurant 109

Restaurant in Richmond
Restaurant 109 image
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9 / 10 from 2 reviews
Address
109 Kew Road
Richmond
Richmond Upon Thames
TW9 2PN
Map
Telephone
020 8940 0050
Cuisine
Other
Region
Richmond
Nearest Station
Richmond
0.15 miles

Resaurant 109 is a modern international resaurant with a diverse mix of dishes from countries such as Australia, Thailand, France, and Ireland, all brought together.

All In London Review

Warm, calm, tasteful and intimate

Review Image
I’d arranged to meet my friend in West London but our original plans had been messed up. But my companion had found an interesting offer on TopTable (three courses and a glass of Pimms for £19.99) at this restaurant.

I’ve been to just about every restaurant in Richmond and Kew and was surprised that I hadn’t noticed this one. I thought it was new (although it turns out it’s been there 15 years!) so agreed to give it a try.

We started our evening in the nearby, newly refurbished pub The Shaftesbury. It has a beautiful interior – more modern, tasteful wine bar than pub. Outside at the back there’s a walled area and overhead cover with some really jolly red, white and blue chairs. As we walked the few steps to Restaurant 109 we passed another pub – The Hope – which looked like fun and was offering both live music and a disco. It sounded good.

Anyway. Restaurant 109 has a tiny frontage and is next to what looks like a not very busy Indian restaurant – it’s easy to miss. There are some delicate fairy lights high above the front window (which provides a great view of the Richmond Circus roundabout).

Once inside you see that it is quite a small place – around 40 covers with most tables set for couples although small groups would be easily accommodated. The art on the wall is striking – sort of naïve, earth colour images of South America people – one with a woman holding what looked like a Chihuahua. It’s by a local artist and the work is for sale.

There’s a compact, high sided bar surrounded by some rather fine wine. The tables are set with pristine white cloths and elegant cutlery. The female manager greeted us warmly, took our jackets and quickly brought us our glasses of Pimm’s which were included in the price. There was a quiet hum from the other diners – mostly in twos and threes.

The menu had a reasonable choice. While we considered the options we were presented with a deep fried courgette appetiser with a chilli dip. Whilst the batter was a little more substantial to be considered tempura, it was delicious.

For starters, I selected the salmon and tuna pate and my companion the goat’s cheese salad. The presentation of the food was a little home cooked style (my companion’s salad arrived in a large round leaf and my pate was on two triangles of toast) which was a refreshing change from the over-faffiness of some places. I thought it added to the charm of the place. The important thing was that we both thoroughly enjoyed the food.

We had wondered about the sole for a main course but then decided to share a paella. A medium sized dish arrived absolutely smothered in mussels and both large and small prawns. I also found some octopus in there. So generous on the sea food front. I could be picky and mention that the rice wasn’t quite as yellow as you might expect (and I couldn’t taste any saffron) but the consistency and flavours were good.

For dessert, my companion choose a warm, melty brownie with ice cream. But I think I made the superior choice with the chocolate truffe which was rich but airy-light and perfectly set off with a berry coulis.

The bathroom was clean and rather pretty – although it took a little while to find the high switch on a pull behind the door. And the background music was a tasteful selection of acoustic and nondescript tunes.

We were on the Toptable special offer but had a few glasses of wine as we ate so that total came to £53.92 with service which we felt was extraordinarily good value for money.

It’s a charming restaurant – a real little gem. It’s warm, calm, tasteful and intimate. The staff are attentive and friendly, the food is more than adequate and it’s extremely good value for money. It would do equally well for a cosy romantic evening as for a relaxed meal with friends or family.

With so many overpriced, overcrowded and loud restaurants in Richmond as well as soul-less chains, I’m surprised that this place wasn’t much busier. Sadly, the proprietor said that often people booked tables but didn’t show up. Really Richmond – where are your manners?

Reviewed by KimT
Published on Aug 20, 2013


Useful Tips from AIL Users

Ask about the lobster dishes, they are out of this world.

Ian, London

User Reviews

Ian
from London

May 6, 2017

Amazing hosts, amazing chef...my lobster and scallops were out of this world and the ambiance is cosy and romantic with an added touch of local artists work on display.

The food was well priced, local, fresh and really tasty, served with a great bottle of red which was recommended by the lovely host Maeve.

Well worth a visit next time you are in Richmond.
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