Trinity

The reviews for Trinity have been very positive, and even my rather pernickety mother recommended it to us ... on the strength of which we decided to have our pre-Christmas family lunch there this year. When we arrived at 1.00 pm, the restaurant was still quiet, but it filled up quickly, even to the extent of having Andrew Lloyd Webber and companion wander in an hour or so later. The atmosphere is good and the service is friendly, efficient and pleasantly unfussy. The portions are generous and it is clear that the staff are fully dedicated to providing their guests with a genuinely enjoyable culinary experience. The wine list is very extensive, and while we steered away from indulging in anything grand, the ‘by the glass / by the 500 ml carafe’ selection at the beginning of the list is rather good. The cover charge of £1.50 per head includes unlimited amounts of water (still or sparkling), excellent bread, and an introductory little something.

The problem for us, however - perhaps spoiled by too much experience of eating in Japan (and occasionally in France, though we don't rate the latter so very highly) - was that the cooking was just not up to it. It was heavy, lacking in magic, and in places positively strange - the duck's egg with this, that and the other turned out to be a (large) fried egg surrounded by vegetable titbits, which bemused our daughters, while the oysters floating in their shells on my wife's and my overly salty beef and onion pie were a gesture to something we couldn't think what. The coffee (really fresh and bright) and accompanying high-octane chocolate were very good, and the puddings tasty if a little too rich. If you want a jolly time and have the appetite of a rugby or lacrosse player, this is the place for you, but it you want delicate, sensitively crafted food, better go elsewhere. At £165 including service for four people, the bill was reasonable enough, but I couldn’t help thinking that we could have eaten first-rate dim sum in Chinatown for a quarter of the price.
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Rupert
8 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, December 22, 2010

This place had been recommended to us so we thought we would give it a try. So glad we did! Even on a Wednesday night the place was packed. Maybe the acoustics could do with honing, as the hum of converstation did make it hard for me to hear what my wife was saying across the table from me. Or maybe she should just speak up a bit more.

Food was excellent, and the portions are generous. We had starters of salmon, and partridge terrine with brioche (2 slices, not the paltry 1 one often gets with terrines). Absolutely delicious. On the main course front I was a little disappointed - I wish I had had my wife's dish, the slow-cooked beef, which was cooked to absolute perfection, and served with a delicious steak tartare and wine sauce. Not so sure about the triple-cooked chips, I thought the point of multiple cooking is to ensure they are soft in the middle but crisp on the outside. These were a little soggy. As for my main course, the veal shin with sweetbreads and pumpkin, it was very tasty, but maybe a little on the heavy side. Its main problem though was that it was not the beef! To finish I had the chocolate fondant, which again was a little on the copious side. But then again, that's probably my own fault for being greedy and eating it all.

The restaurant also serves a wide range of teas, and two types of coffee, but no espressos. Just an interesting aside.

So, would I go back? Gladly, yes!
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Daniel
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, November 25, 2010

What a fantastic place this is! I took some friends for dinner to Trinity on Saturday night and we had a truly wonderful experience. From the moment you arrive you are made feel so welcome by the staff with their relaxed yet professional attitude, a hard trait to be able to combine! They really do everything they can to make your dinning experience memorable.

The atmosphere and decor of this place is lovely, there is a real buzz about the restaurant and given it was pretty full when we were there, there was no feeling of being "overcrowded."

Of course the main reason to come to Trinity is the food and it is simply delicious! We had the taster menu, and every course just shone. My favourite was the Turbot on pickled vegtables with cockles and mussels, so much flavour, very intense and yet almost cleansing on the palate. We opted to have their choice of wines with each course and they matched extremely well.

Well done to Adam and his team for creating a truly magnificent dinning experience, I'll definitely be back and if you are looking for somewhere different in SW London I suggest you give Trinity a go, its worth it!
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AJ - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 10, 2010

First class. No stone unturned in turns of service and quality of food and wine.

Amazing Sunday lunch - can't wait to go back for an evening service. Up there with Chez Bruce and possibly better.
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Will
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, October 31, 2010

An interesting menu and good food, if a little bit pricey... service was good but over-attentive, tending to interrupt conversation. The most negative aspect was that our evening ws spoiled by being refused coffee and being removed from the table because other diners were waiting. At 10 pm on a saturday evening having paid £80 per head being moved on in this way was unexpected and disappointing. Overall an enjoyable meal, but if you book, make sure you book a table for the whole evening!
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7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Saturday, October 16, 2010