Petersham Nurseries

I'm a little surprised by the reviews below. A friend asked me to go to Petersham Nurseries with him, and I'm really glad I did. Such a refreshing change for a lunch out!

The approach is totally atypical - you walk down a narrow country lane till a broad field opens in front of you, and the nurseries are on your left. Behind worn wooden doors, you walk through the beautiful shop under the transparent greenhouse roof and into the restaurant. The entire place has such a unique design sensibility - a light-filled Continental farmhouse meeting the English countryside.

The service was unpretentious and cordial, and the food...well, the food!

I had the hearty squid with a tomato ragout to start, and then a very healthy guinea fowl leg and thigh for my main. Everything was perfectly cooked - the greens were tender, flavoursome and exotic (I had never heard of or tasted one of the vegetables in my main). The squid was succulent and tender, and they had thought to put whole almonds in the ragout for texture. The guinea fowl was moist and meaty, beautifully crisp on the skin side. I was so full after two courses, that I (regrettably) had to skip dessert - but they did give me one of the best espressos I've had in or around London.

My principal complaint was the temperature. In the middle of winter, a greenhouse needs to be heated. But the table of Ozzies next to us insisted on keeping the heater above us at full-blast for the entire meal, and it was sweltering. The poor staff kept running between the two tables to keep us both happy.

Ok, and then there are the prices. Here's my view. The family that runs Petersham Nurseries are doing a service to the heritage of London's suburbs and the English (near)countryside. They took a gamble on purchasing an expensive piece of property in order to preserve the character of their neighbourhood, and they've opened it up to the public as an extraordinary restaurant and shop. That's got to be expensive - and it's the experience that you pay for, as much as the food.
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Peter
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Just back form lunch at the Nurseries.... Lovely place.... food is tasty.. and service ok... nothing special..!! We started with Prosecco, and then moved onto red.. at the end of the meal we still had the empty champagne glasses and the wine bucket on the table... even though we had finished it about 2 hours previously.

I am absolutely amazed how this place can be awarded a star! It is not Michelin standard at all. Very very nice place... but Michelin really? I think not!

Go here if you want to spend money on a nice Sunday lunch... in a lovely setting.. and you are willing to pay through the nose for something you could pay much less for somewhere else...
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5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Sunday, November 27, 2011

Lunch experience on the 27th Oct. Atmosphere is quite special. Starters were excellent although quite large portions. Seabass main course overcooked and 'pub' quality. Dessert hazelnut icecream, fine taste, poor presentation (i.e. lot of icecream in a glass nothing else). Overall really expensive. Not a star experience.
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5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Monday, October 31, 2011

Maybe it's the time of the day I have visited, maybe it's my international friends on six separate occasions! Maybe it's a "we can detect that you're not going to spend a ridiculous amount of money on quiche and veg"- whatever it is, it is not what we expect in England, it is not a piece of the countryside in London and if it makes you happy to be seen there, spend there, meet the ladies for bite and a chat, then do so, but it does not change the fact that, it's staff or proprietors are exceptionally lacking any real service skills (rather rude! Child tolerant but not friendly), nor does it change the fact that, it is certainly not value for money and finally, yes it is very good and special set up but unfortunately, they cannot getaway from professionals in the same market that, operate in real value based nurseries/ handling value/quality based food and service. A real shame- shall not be reporting this place to colleagues in the business.
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Sinjin
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, October 02, 2011

We are just back from a birthday-lunch visit, and I wished I had read the reviews earlier. We left with a bill of £390.- for five, including a massive 15% service charge. We didn't want to go through the embarrassing discussion, so we left it.

The food was ok, but not worth the prices we paid. Starter £15,and mains £32. The restaurant has it's charm, so go for a coffee, and if you want to have a good eating experience where the food is excellent end the prices fair, go to the Glasshouse in kew, where we normally go on special occasions, and will go again next time.
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Gabriela
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Saturday, August 20, 2011

We had 2 simple salads, and accepted together with the surroundings - a bit pricey but enjoyable. Then added 2 coffees and one small piece of a plain marbled sponge cake, handed over £10 note and shocked to receive 50p change that spoilt the day, and no receipts to see if I had been charged for service, which didnt exist.
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5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Beautiful and unique dining room. Every dish spot-on. But way too expensive. Starter of tomato salad at £12.50 followed by wild salmon and greens at £35.00. Close to £50 for two courses without drinks and service is just too much. I know wild salmon is an expensive ingredient, but it's not that expensive and it wasn't big. These sorts of prices are more understandable when a lot of money has been spent on the room and the furnishings. But the rickety chairs and tables and earth floor, charming as they are, didn't cost much.
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andrew
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I have just come back from an afternoon lunch and thought I would log on and enjoy reading of others enjoyment at the Petersham Nurseries. Having read some reviews I felt stomachbound to add another perspective.

Yes, its not cheap but this is now my fourth or fifth visit over several years and every time I come away feeling very well fed indeed, not stuffed or sedated by the food, but alive and healthy. From my viewpoint that is rare indeed and I felt the opposite of overcharged. More like a very fair exchange.

If you count value in terms of an uplifting experience, then this definitely gets my vote. The place was full but easy conversation was not drowned out and the service was a treat. Lastly the wine we had was not overpriced but was delicious.
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Colin Goldman
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, May 15, 2011

The first question is really: why does this place have a one star Michelin?

The venue is undoubtedly very charming...yes lunch is served in a ventilated 'green-house' and yes beautiful flowers are all around....nonetheless the floor is dirt, the tables have no tablecloth, the chairs are rusty, old and not really comfortable.

and ...Yes I know, we all like that alternative urban country chic style...so be it ! and let us move on to the food.

The food is very limited in menu, in particular for vegetarians...my friend was forced into a "roasted garlic with garlic and shallots" plate...and is looking to digest it for the Olympics.

Again, a one star Michelin would probably be a bit more considerate about the typology of food on offer...and italian cuisine could showcase a bit more.

For those who enjoy meet and fish the good news is that they are served...presentation is not on the restaurant's priority list [after all we are in the country, so what do you expect!]...taste is ok.

If you are familiar with the gastro-pub culture you will find out that there are plenty of pubs around London that could compete!

The olive oil is very good...but hey! at least that! knowing that they have direct connections to Liguria!

The wine list is good.

The service would be better if they had a counter mensa style - so that people could get up and get their own food straight away.

It is really not nice to have to wait 1.5 hrs for a "roasted garlic with garlic and shallots"....or any other food really....also cause if the weather is not nice, the wait could be muddy, wet and cold.

If you are lucky at the end of the meal they offer a free coffee you did not order to make up for the extenuating delay.

The price is what brings it all together...and makes it a place not worth going back to [for the food, of course]...mains at £27....and the "roasted garlic with garlic and shallots" at a bargain price of £17!

Honestly, one wonders whether they bought the star to justify the prices....far from country style!

Anyways, the nurseries are worth checking out, maybe for a tea and cake in the cafe...[funnily enough despite having nice cakes - the restaurant side does not benefit from them]. ...and you can still buy a laurel for £100.00...!
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alessia
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 25, 2011

Having never felt inclined to write a review before having eaten lunch at Petersham Nurseries last Saturday I felt obliged to add my comments to the long list of extremely similar comments I have found on this website. How I wished I had done a little more research and avoided it completely.

Three of us for lunch, seated at 2 p.m. Two courses, horrendeously expensive, starter of risotto which struggled to be more then one and a half tablespoons - small, having waiting an hour and a half between our starter and main course and having asked three times where our food was, it eventually arrived. I had asked that my lamb not be bloody it was so overcooked it was like leather sitting on a bed of chick peas which were meant to be hot but were stone cold.

The service, or lack of it was appalling, we did not get the bill until 4.40 p.m. and that made its way to our table with an indecent haste that infuriated us. Three starters, three mains, two coffees, a jug of lemonade without service and no alcohol £47.50 each and that was before a grand total for the table of service charge of £17.00 odd, which we told the waitress we were not paying, it did not seem to faze them.

It can only be assumed judging by the rest of the reviews that our experience is the norm rather than the exception. I left with the overall feelings of being ignored, ripped off and hungry. They wont be having my custom again nor anyone I discuss this with.
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Katie
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, April 05, 2011