Restaurant Review: The Richmond, Queensbridge Road, E8

I was really taken with the ox-blood red walls of The Richmond; the colour exudes a contradictory mixture of warmth and darkness and furnishes the perfect finishing touch to the restaurant’s sophisticated fishy fare.

The place has undergone a radical revamp since its days as the rather bizarre Egyptian-themed LMNT restaurant, and is now marketed as a “neighbourhood spot” specialising in snacks, comfort food and raw dishes.

It was buzzing when we turned up just a week after its launch, with squeals of laughter coming from tables where its owners, Bib Gourmand-winning chef Brett Redman and fashion stylist Margaret Crow were sitting with their friends.

The Richmond boasts London’s first ever raw bar, replete with happy hour oysters at a pound a shot, and there’s quite a selection with Maldon Kumamoto, Scottish Cumbrae, Welsh Menai rocks, Irish Hearty and American Hardshell clams on the menu.

The excitement was rather lost on me, as I view the shellfish on a par with fish eyes, and they are one of the few foods never to have made it past my lips. But I indulged in other raw treats instead, like the gorgeous melt-in-your-mouth tuna tartare, spiced up with aubergine, harissa and mint, priced at £9. The Queen scallops with preserved lemon and fino butter, also priced at £9, were cooked to a deliciously sweet tee, and the seasonally-sourced wood-roasted beetroot, apple, caraway and goat’s curd salad starter was a tasty combination of creamy and fresh.

For mains, the Nduja spiced seafood stew with pasta shells and aioli, priced at £16, was rich and warming, and the artichoke, white bean and cimi de rapa stew was crunchy and tinged with wholesomeness.

We were impressed with the selection of natural wines, and deserts were divine – I loved both the rhubarb and rose trifle, and malted milk ice cream and hazelnut cake, which is more like a little biscuit. All in all a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.