Brouge Restaurant, Richmond – Review.

We recently got invited to go and trial the delights of the Brouge restaurant in Richmond, a modern Belgian bistro with a slight British influence. It`s the second restaurant in the chain, its sister being in Twickenham (just down the road).

Having never been to a Belgian restaurant before we arrived at the restaurant with no pre-conceptions to what we`d find. Obviously we`d checked out the web site which portrayed the place well.
If you`ve never been to Richmond, we definitely advise you do. It`s absolutely stunning in the summer and sitting next to the River Thames with a cold pint in your hand simply can`t be beaten.

Anyway… I digress. The restaurant is situated right near the river in the basement of Waterstones book shop. This means it offers many of the architectural characteristics of what you`d imagine a classic wine cellar would – high ceilings, archways, cubby holes and good acoustics!

There`s a rather nice ambience about the place created by the noise, delicious smells and of course the character architecture.

So… onto the food and drink. I simply love Belgian Beer and after discovering that they have their own menu of beers (over 50 types) I instantly relaxed and ordered a rather tasty (but strong) wheat beer. We ordered Ç?¶« pint of shell on prawns as an appetizer to share which came with a choice of three dips, the best being the firey salsa – gorgeous.

Then the starters arrived. I went for the Beer ribs which were not too dissimilar to Chinese ribs… but far tastier. Chantelle ordered the battered prawns which were also hugely tasty.

For mains Chantelle had the Beer battered fish and chips which definitely come in her top 10 fish and chips of all time (and she`s a seasoned pro!). The batter was absolutely to die for and very light – compliments to the chef!

My main was the smoked Haddock and scallops with chorizo sausage which was absolutely bursting with flavours, although perhaps a little rich for my palette. Delicious all the same and the empty plate at the end said it all.

Finally… we couldn`t leave without tasting a true slice of Bruge with the Belgium waffle with ice cream which was simply incredible, but boy, I could hardly move afterwards.

The service was extremely attentive and the waiting times more than acceptable. The pricing was also extremely reasonable and pitched perfectly. We advise you go on a Tuesday and get the Fish & Chips and a pint for £11 – you won`t be sorry! Thank you Bruge for an extreemly enjoyable evening.