Tideway Yard – Mortlake High Street – Barnes – London SW14 8SN www.depotrestaurant.co.uk
We recently did something in between, (which at one point seemed like the worst decision we’d ever made) we decided to drive from North to South West, not to the coast, but to the river, to meet up with friends in their favourite local restaurant, The Depot in Barnes. I won’t bore you with the details of the drive, needless to say it was ugly at times with a lot of ‘Who’s bloody idea was this?” but when we arrived it soon became apparent that this was a hit. It was also apparent, as guests began to pour through the doors, that this place is clearly not only a local ‘fave’, it attracts the ‘destination’ and ‘celebratory’ crowds too, all dresses and high heels, presents and flowers to the fore. Everything felt familiar and relaxed, but somehow special and exciting at the same time. You wanted to people watch, but you also wanted to just kick back and put your feet up; almost home from home.
We sat down at 4pm (an hour later than scheduled!) and couldn’t believe the restaurant and lounge area was still more or less full. Sadly no English asparagus left by the time we did order, but starters of tuna carpaccio, mozzarella and sweet peppers with aubergine caviar and broccoli and rocket salad arrived promptly. The dressing on the tuna pungent with ginger and garlic and the mozzarella soft and bouncy with a good combination of ingredients and stylish presentation.
Their un-fussy presentation demonstrates an underlying confidence from a competent kitchen team. The food looked good, tasted good and was pretty good value at around £14 for main courses.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was a buzz of conversation and energy with charming staff, all smiles and grace. Cool ambient music, big picture windows and French doors open, to invite a warm breeze in from the river and frame the pretty views, all made The Depot a lovely place to be. Did we want to leave? No, absolutely not. And neither of us wanted to drive back either. So we didn’t; we stayed the night at our friend’s and went back the next day for brunch. Well, we had to pick the car up! And we needed to be happy and full at least, before we made the journey back……. all 15 miles of it, in relentless and predictable bank holiday Monday rain!