The Glasshouse * | Kew, London (UK)

Comfortable with the classics, with room for contemporary influences.
A self-confident establishment that makes you sit back and enjoy the gastronomic experience!

The Glasshouse is set in Kew, a beautifully tucked away part of South West London (UK). Just yards away from Kew’s Victorian tube station and within walking distance from Kew Gardens. The Glasshouse is that kind of successful restaurant that makes you wonder why anybody ventures into central London for a good meal. The triangular restaurant has floor to ceiling glass windows and a modern décor. Wooden floors, crisp white linen, leather chairs and a dazzling rippled feature wall.

Co-owners Nigel Platts-Martin and Bruce Poole opened The Glasshouse in 1999, bringing classy cooking to this part of London. The Glasshouse is a sister restaurant to four Michelin starred restaurants: La Trompette*, the Ledbury**, Chez Bruce* and The Square*, all based in London. The Glasshouse was awarded with it’s Michelin Star in 2002, which they have attained ever since.

Head Chef at The Glasshouse is Gregory Wellman. who first worked for Nigel Platts-Martin in 2010, when he was a junior Sous cChef at Chez Bruce. After 3 years he moved to The Square as Chef de Partie, to return to Chez Bruce as senior Sous Chef. After a stint at Chelsea’s Elystan Street*, Gregory came back to work for Nigel Platts-Martin in Februari 2018 as Head Chef at The Glasshouse.

The Glasshouse is open from Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner, on Sunday for lunch only and closed on Monday. The menu offers 6 starters, 6 mains and 6 desserts. Dinner is priced at £57.50 for 3 courses, £47.50 for 2 courses and £35.00 for 1 course. A 3-course Lunch is £39.50 during weekdays and £45 during the weekend.

We went for lunch two weeks ago on a Sunday and picked 3 courses each from the menu.

Sourdough bread and a walnut bread with salted butter. In this Italian/Mediterranean atmosphere I did expect some olive oil on the table, but there wasn’t. Bread was nice though, especially the walnut bread!

This was on the menu as a Special Starter (with a £6.50 supplement). The bisque was amazing. Creamy and full of flavour, without being too fishy in taste. The touch of (basil) oil lifts it even more. Delicious! The courgette flower, packed with crab and scallop, with soothing and warming flavours of the sea.

Nice textures of the duck. Fresh, summer tastes from the green peas and the runner beans. Al dente pasta and creamy sauce makes it really comforting as well. NIce crunchy duck skin bits to finish the dish off. Exceptionally delicious!

Gorgeous crispy crumb on the perfectly cooked plaice. The fish was a bit under-seasoned and really needed some salt. This was made up by the fondant potato, which was slightly over-seasoned. Fresh petit pois accompanied the plaice well, but there was a bit too much of it. The white asparagus was slightly underdone (al dente). Perfect for green asparagus, but not for a white one as it makes them a bit woody. This dish has a few minor issues, but still enjoyable to eat.

The lamb saddle was nicely pink with great taste, but the lamb neck was divine! Just falling apart and melting in the mouth. Crispy onions on top, a smooth potato puree and a free interpretation of a Niçoise. Rustic presentation, but an excellent Mediterranean lamb dish!

Classic flavours in an inviting and pretty presentation. Smooth, flavoursome vanilla crème pâtissière with sweet strawberries, crunchy mille-feuille and strawberry sorbet. What’s not to like!?!

A proper treacle and pecan tart. Not too dark in flavour, which treacle can be, but just right. Good dollop of clotted cream. A classic dish, beautifully executed.

We received a complementary dessert, as they thought we simply had to taste this one. A pleasant surprise and I’m very glad they did. What a delightful dessert! Beautiful smooth custard with just a bit of herby and almond flavour from the Meadowsweet. Great combination. Sweet, intense flavoured, poached cherries, reminding me of amarena cherries. Almond brittle and a light cherry sauce. Bellisima!

It happened to be Joanne’s birthday, so they made her this special birthday brownie with milk ice cream. Very nice gesture and taste to match. A brownie can be too dense and chocolaty like a ganache, but not this one. Thank you!

With all those desserts, we couldn’t finish the chocolate truffles. We were completely satisfied.

Restaurant manager Kern Gohre, clearly a hospitality professional, does an excellent job in creating that special-guest feeling. Checking in with each table for a personal chat here and there and making sure that everyone has a good time. Together with his team is very visible that they take great pride in doing their utmost to give all guests a top class and memorable dining experience.

Having a traditional 3-course meal at a Michelin starred restaurant is rare thing for us these days. The Glasshouse has not caved in to the tasting menu trend. nevertheless our lunch was a full-on culinary affair with all the key elements: great seasonal ingredients, precise and well-balanced cooking and splendid service. One of the real joys at The Glasshouse, is that they are very comfortable with the classics, with room for contemporary influences. 

With all food critics (except me 😉 ) only chasing the tail of the new, with big-budget restaurants going bust every other day, and with grand hotels dependent on the whims of celebrity chefs, it is only those restaurants that offer real quality and value from a good, honest, hard-working chef that will save the day. And more importantly, the day after that, and the day after that….
The Glasshouse is such a place. A self-confident joint, that makes you sit back and enjoy the gastronomic experience!