If you’ve been over Richmond Bridge recently you’ll have seen the hive of activity in the former Pitcher & Piano site. Well folks, it’s no longer a secret: Tower House is open and packed! Alison went along the other day with her pal Lyndsay to check it out.

It was a bitterly cold night, and they have sensibly put a heavy velvet curtain inside the main door to stop draughts. Once inside, it’s a light and cosy cocoon atmosphere amidst flickering lights. We were taken to our table downstairs, where they’ve built a very impressive glass room complete with large olive and palm trees.

Tables are quite close together, and they have lit candles in a ‘wee willie winkie’ type of candle holder on each table, creating a beautifully festive, (but perhaps rather risky from a safety point of view), ambience. There’s an open kitchen at the rear showing the busy brigade at work.

The staff are delightful – and helpfully take you through the menu concept, which is one of sharing plates. Tower House is described as a modern Mediterranean restaurant. The executive chef here and at the sister restaurant Gold in Notting Hill, is Theo Hill, and his menu changes daily, making the most of seasonal ingredients.

An excellent Negroni kick started my evening, while Lyndsay opted for a Mini Martini (served in a small glass – but with a big kick).

We chose a portion of whipped cod’s roe, radish and chicory to start, together with a special of the day of burrata, with endive, Bellota ham and grilled pears. Both were excellent – the cod’s roe was delightfully lemony and smoky, with the chicory and radish being the perfect accompaniments. The grilled pears added a very tasty and interesting element to the burrata salad.

We also had a portion of gem lettuce, baba ganoush, labneh, chilli and almonds which, again, was really excellent and a perfect balance of ingredients.

For our ‘main’ we had brill with ajada (garlic and paprika) sauce. It was served whole, but the offer to have it filleted was too tempting, especially as they had just dimmed the lights in the restaurant, so it was returned beautifully filleted. The skin (something I usually dislike intensely) was really tasty and topped with wafer thin slices of garlic and chopped herbs.

The skill of the chef was evident by the subtle flavouring that allowed the fish to be the hero ingredient, without masking its flavour. To accompany this we very much enjoyed a side of chargrilled broccoli with piquillo sauce.

I’m not much of a dessert person, but Lyndsay was tempted by the peanut butter and jelly, burnt marshmallows. It was very rich and sweet indeed, and while she enjoyed it, Lyndsay couldn’t manage to finish it.

The very extensive wine list has wines by the glass from £7.50 and we tried the ‘Bonkers’ English Chardonnay from the South Downs – mainly because we were tempted by the name – and it was excellent.

Tower House has launched with aplomb and looks set to be a great addition to the Richmond dining scene. For any vegetarian it is a welcome chance to try some very unusual and extremely tasty veggie dishes. Come summer, when the terrace is finished, al fresco dining will offer spectacular views of the river and it will, no doubt, be a very sought-after dining spot.

11 Bridge St, Richmond TW9 1TQ
www.thisistowerhouse.com