Bingham Restaurant

Tuesday was a very special day,

In the company of my lovely Mom, I ordered my Wedding Dress! I’m thrilled but very nervous too, it’s a scary thing because (in my case anyway) I’ve never actually laid eyes on the design as it’s a bespoke gown – but I trust the designer, plus my Mom has been a costume designer for a large portion of her days, so she’s amazing with fabrics, styles etc… I’m very lucky to have her in my corner – I’m really so excited – can you tell?!

My appointment was in Richmond and after the excitement of ordering my dress, Mom and I were in a celebratory mood so, on recommendation, we took a chance at The Bingham Restaurant in the Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel

I was instantly taken with the place, it has a beautifully decorated entrance which makes you feel like you’re entering a home rather than a hotel. Everything about it is inviting.

Although we had no reservation, thankfully they were able to squeeze us in amongst all their guests as we were only a small party of two (no way you’d be this lucky if you were trying at the weekend, so if you’re thinking of going – book!). We were given a beautifully placed table over by the window where the Thames sat waiting to greet us. In Summer, I would imagine it’s rammed with every Richmondite and visitor across the land trying to nab a table to bask in the wonderful view!

Very sweetly, each menu had been designed for Christmas by local children, mine was a lovely Christmas pudding “by Katy aged 9” – well done Katy!

Glasses of Champagne were ordered and thoroughly enjoyed while chatting, perusing the menu and doing a bit of people watching too!

The bread should have tipped us off that we were in for a treat at Binghams. When it arrived, each slice had been delicately placed on a beautiful wooden board with a quenelle of butter on one side

(quenelle, I know, I’m fierce fancy!)

Mom ordered the Fois Gras Terrine (smoked duck, spiced prune puree, sour dough) to start

While I had the Iron Bar Pumpkin Risotto (dried ham and chervil cream). Both were wonderful, the Fois Gras was broken up beautifully by pieces of ham which really added to the flavour and my Risotto was demolished in seconds, Mom isn’t the biggest fan of risotto, but even she was getting stuck in for a try!

After such a brilliant start we were delighted when our main courses arrived, Hay Smoked Turkey (sprout tops, pigs in blanket, potatoe cooked in duck fat) for Mom

How amazing does the dish look? It also came with a lovely jus and another quenelle, this time, of carrot and swede. It tasted like more!

I went with the Grass Fed Beef (kale, salt baked beetroot, truffle honey). Wow, seriously, it was so good, the beef was perfectly done, soft but not so rare that I was worried it might moo at me!

My dish also came with beautifully creamy mashed potatoes, yum!

My Mom loves a good cheese board, if you can rustle one up that’s to her standards you’ve done well. The British Selection went down a treat with her and not a scrap was left on the slate

I went all out and had the Caramel Tart (vanilla Chantilly, compressed apple, clotted cream), we both had a good dig into this one,  it was gorgeous

The broken pieces of honeycomb were such a lovely addition

I was very grateful for the salt on top, it was a nice sized portion but if the salt hadn’t been there to help cut through the sweetness of the caramel, the dish wouldn’t have been half as delicious as it was

To finish off our meal we both ordered green tea, a perfect way to round out a sumptuous, celebratory meal

Upon receiving the bill we were offered a card to write down any comments we might have, a particular dish we did or didn’t like, likewise with staff etc… there wasn’t enough room on the card for the amount of nice things I wanted to say about this place, their impeccable standard of service, the exquisite food, the attention to detail and friendly nature was a complete surprise for such an unassuming place

I will definitely be returning and I know Mom wants to bring Dad along at the first opportunity! Binghams is for any occasion, but if you’re looking for somewhere special, book in advance and request a window seat because no matter what the season, you’ll be glad you did as the view is something to behold!

Rxx