Rock and Rose restaurant in Richmond

For many years, one of my favourite haunts in Richmond (well, probably Kew) was called Pregos. It was a large, airy and informal place with a reliable menu with good wine albeit a bit on the pricey side. What I particularly liked about it was that the owner operated a few other restaurants in West London and also a restaurant in Barbados called The Lone Star which I had looked up and visited when I was there on a family visit...

So. It was with much interest that I learned Pregos had gone and had been replaced with a themed restaurant called Rock and Rose. The web site suggested that the decor might be a little, well, over the top - at the sort of boudoir/burlesque end of the spectrum - lots of black and red and sparkly stuff. But the menu offered a good selection of vegetarian options so it was just what I needed for my dining companion...

We had to book weeks ahead - such was the demand. But it was worth the wait. Well, the decor was anyway. I have never seen anything like it. OK, I have seen black glass chandeliers before but the styling had the heavy hand prints of an interior designer let loose with lots of money and the props department from a drag show...

There were roses and black lamps and red walls and cute little tables, scattered with books and bijoux statues. There were trees of black twigs bearing blood red roses. There were whole walls (on the way to loos) covered in large monochrome swirls. There was a gathering of peacock chairs. There were nooks and crannies that hid individually styled tables and chairs - just like the crib of some celebrity. And I have to say that I actually gasped when I saw the large shiny black chair inlaid with diamonds all around the edge...

And it went on. The lights on the tables and on the walls and the standard lamps were all unique and each a talking point - did we like it, was it for real and were they serious? The food was ok - an interesting thai beef salad to start for me, followed by a flavoursome sea food paella with the biggest prawns I have ever seen and my companion had some sort of vegetarian salad to start followed by a risotto - but it was eclipsed a bit by the decor. The service was friendly and efficient. It was a tad too dark where we were seated - which would have been great if we were secret lovers, but we weren't and had to resort to a mobile phone light to read the menus.

Anyway. The wine we had was fabulous. The bill was a little bit expensive for what we had, but it really was worth it for the experience. I even paid £5 to take away one of the mugs as it was so pretty with angel wings, hearts and roses all in, yes you got it, pink and black and with the strapline "Food. Passion. Glamour".

Well worth a visit if you are in West London - but maybe for a brunch or lunch first? Oh. And make sure you dress to match the decor...

:Omg: