Cocktails on the terrace at Brasserie Constance
What can you tell us about Brasserie Constance?
This is the West London restaurant from Adam Byatt, the man best known for the extremely well-regarded Clapham restaurant Trinity. It's a modern British brasserie that just happens to be part of the huge new Fulham Pier development beside Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium.
And where exactly is that?
If you don't know, we'll assume you're not a Fulham supporter (or that you haven't been to a match here). The new Fulham Pier development is an add-on to the stadium's riverside stand and, as such, backs right onto the Thames. Downstairs, just by the river, it's primarily a collection of street-food outlets, a bar and some shops. Head upstairs (the most direct way is by the large, circular wooden staircase in the middle of the venue) and you'll find Brasserie Constance.
If you're coming here from further away, there are no tube stations close by, so the easiest way to get here is take the tube to Putney Bridge, and then it's a short 10-minute walk down by the river. On the way back, Putney Bridge is the most westward point of the Uber ferry, so it's a great way to head back into town (that's what we used).
What happens on match days?
There is an exit that connects the restaurant directly to the stands - but that's only used on match days, when Brasserie Constance doesn't open (at least not to standard punters). So bear that in mind if you're trying to book.
From top left, clockwise. The terrace, the bar and two views of the long restaurant.
What's actually at Brasseire Constance itself?
It's really split into three main areas - the bar, the very long (covered) terrace and the main restaurant itself - again a pretty large space. The bar would be handy if you're in the area, but the main attraction is the terrace. On a great day, this is the perfect space for drinks and snacks, and you can have your meal out here too, if you want. That said, if you're dining our recommendation would be to do what we did - have snacks and drinks on the terrace, and the main dinner in the restaurant.
There are plenty of large booths inside, but if there are just two of you, the seats lining the windows are the ones to get.
What kind of food can we expect?
The restaurant describes itself as serving a menu of "modern British dishes" and there are some very specific British influences at play here. Mainly from the Constance of the restaurant name, which refers to Constance Spry, an influential food writer who was also the creator of coronation chicken. So you'll see more than a few references to coronation chicken and coronation sauce on the menu.
The menu itself does initially seem a little all over the place. While things like snacks, "to start", main dishes and sharing plates are all fairly straightforward, there's also an all-day omelette section, shellfish and a salads section that, for some reason, features beef & tomato tartare with smoked bone marrow. That's really stretching the definition of salad in our book. Either way, you may need a little time to get your head around the menu - so order some snacks while you do.
Anchovy fingers (£5) and English corn & green chilli tarts (£7) - truly top-tier snacks, particularly the tarts. Even if you're not coming for dinner, snacks and cocktails on the terrace would be a great plan.
Coronation chicken pate en croute (£14) - exactly what it says, the ingredients of coronation chicken are reimagined into pate en croute. Mixing two of our favourite things, this is a winner.
Dorset crab vol-au-vent, coronation remoulade (£24) - not only gorgeous to look at, but an absolute stunner of a starter.
It's also worth pointing out that the London smoked salmon is worth a look - that's wheeled over to your tableside on a trolley to be carved in front of you.
When it comes to the mains, we have to admit the following two dishes weren't the strongest dishes we had on the day. Based on that, we'd probably steer you to the omelettes (the Dorset crab and chive one, particularly) or the sharing plates. There, the sharers of claypot chicken, ribeye, roast cod with potted shrimps or rack of lamb would seem to be better choices. That said, here's what we had:
Semi smoked salmon, butter sauce & roe (£30) - a decent slice of fish although we weren't fans of the cucumbers, and the sauce needed a richer, buttery kick.
Chicken leg, French style peas (£26) - The peas and sauce were great, but the texture of the chicken was too sous-vide for our tastes.
What about dessert?
While we may not have been won over with mains, things were back on strong form again for dessert. We missed out on the tableside smoked salmon action, but we absolutely had to have the baked Alaska, which is also wheeled over to you on its own trolley and sliced tableside. If you're only going for one dessert to share - make it this one:
The baked Alaska trolley in action
A Slice of Baked Alaska (£12) - this comes with a choice of whiskey jelly, chocolate or chantilly cream or as a better choice, all three. An excellent dessert, elevated by some nice tableside action.
That said, the following tart is also highly recommended:
Treacle, date & walnut tart, pouring cream (£8) - a deeper treacle tart than we're used to, but all the better for it.
What about drinks?
The wine list is predominantly European and its strength is that the same team behind Byatt's Michelin-starred restaurant Trinity have created the wine list at Brasserie Constance. While that means there are some great choices in the higher echelons of the menu's pricing, bottles here start at a not-bad £37, although you're looking at heading up to around £50 to give yourselves more options. There are some no-alcohol wines on the list (the first time we've seen a low-alcohol Riesling) and we'd definitely recommend the cocktails (all around the £14 mark).
As is the current trend, you'll also see some mini cocktails on the list, including the Flo Martini, pictured above.
Overall thoughts
Whilse we felt we might have made better choices for the mains, the rest of the food we had during our lunch at Brasserie Constance showcased a kitchen on top form. It's not necessarily a restaurant we'd say you'd cross town for, but if this is your part of town then we'd say it's well worth checking out, even if it's just for cocktails and snacks. And maybe a huge slice of that baked Alaska.
More about Brasserie Constance
Where is it? Level 1, Fulham Pier, Stevenage Road, Fulham, SW6 6HH
How to book: Book online or call 0203 002 5221
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @brasserieconstance.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Brasserie Constance. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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