A feast at FENN
You’re lucky if you live near a good neighbourhood restaurant, and for that very reason I am incredibly jealous of anyone living in Fulham right now. Having said that, no matter where you live, this new opening is worth the trip...
The talented team behind popular Hackney restaurant NEST have just opened their newest venture, FENN, on Wandsworth Bridge Road. Inspired by its proximity to the Thames, this relaxed neighbourhood hangout takes its name from the old English word for low-lying wetland, and it also symbolises its commitment to serving locally sourced, British seasonal dishes. A lot of restaurants throw those words around these days, but FENN really means it; founder and executive head chef Johnnie and head chef Joe Laker have created a menu that genuinely and proudly celebrates the very best that this country has to offer.
With indoors firmly closed until May 18 (expect a cosy yet stylish 30-seat dining room with lots of wood and royal blue), we dined on the pretty and very effectively heated (hallelujah) 14-seat terrace. It’s small but pretty and comfortable, and cleverly immersed in foliage so you feel very much indoors, even though you’re not. There’s subtle styling in the shape of vintage chutney jars and old copper pans filled with herbs, and the attention to detail doesn’t end there.
Front of house is overseen warmly by Toby (another founder) and restaurant manager Harry, and between them they’ve hand-selected a range of sustainably produced wines and seasonal cocktails to complement the menu. There’s also an impressive no and low selection, which I like. Having said that, I kicked off with a very good dry martini, made with London’s eco-friendly, tree-planting vodka, Sapling, and Sacred’s dry English vermouth, which also hails from the capital.
The menu is a well curated mix of mouth-watering dishes, ranging from Exmoor Caviar (£40 for a 20g tin) and oysters (£3 each, served with lemon, pickled shallot and FENN’s homemade tabasco) to confit duck egg with wild mushroom (£9) and lamb belly with spring onions and mash (£22). There’s flexibility to order a few to share or go traditional starter-main-dessert, however there’s also the very tempting Chef’s Set Menu, of which there are veggie and pescatarian options too. This is incredibly well priced at £45 per head for six courses - I feared that this would mean small portions, but thankfully I was wrong.
First up was a lovely wooden plate of Lincolnshire Poacher dumplings – seriously cheesy, rich and satisfying, and perfect with my martini. Slices of pillowy soft potato sourdough then arrived with a delightfully light and slightly sour cultured butter. A bowl of smoky beetroot came next, balanced beautifully with tart, creamy goat’s curd and perfect little bites of candied walnut. Then, a beautifully cooked piece of halibut, presented neatly next to a mound of Cornish crab mixture that my husband and I both declared was exactly how crab tastes ‘when you’re actually by the sea’. A beautiful bouillabaisse sauce with an almost meaty richness and delicious depth of flavour perfected it, as did my delicious glass of Waterkloof’s South African biodynamic Sauv Blanc (£6.50/glass).
I wasn’t overly excited about the next course; new season Jersey Royals, asparagus and watercress sauce, but it turned out to be my standout dish. Never have potatoes tasted so indulgent! They were cooked to perfection with a pleasingly charred flavour and texture, and a dollop of delicious potato foam, if you please. The Wye Valley asparagus and bright green watercress sauce were both bursting with freshness and there was some wild garlic in the mix too – combined, it was a truly sensational spring dish.
Pudding came in two stages – first a scoop of beautifully simple nutmeg ice cream, followed by a divine medley of very dark Pump Street Chocolate from Suffolk, that had been ‘Aero-fied’ and ‘ganached’, along with a dollop of silky yoghurt ice cream to cut though the chocolatey richness.
I would have loved the optional British cheeses (+£11) with shallot chutney and cheese scone (heaven) but sadly there wasn’t enough time as the next booking arrived. The end of the meal felt a bit rushed, which is always a shame…the set menu is perhaps quite tight to achieve in two hours so my advice would be: don’t dither like we did – arrive on time and order quickly. Then you can just sit back and enjoy every delicious mouthful…
194 Wandsworth Bridge Rd, London SW6 2UF fennrestaurant.co.uk
Review published April 2021 on Essential Surrey & SW London
