Shay Cooper, who was the deserved recipient of a Michelin star in the latest guide as well as three AA rosettes, is a man in a hurry to make his name, judging by the cooking at his restaurant at the stylish boutique hotel The Bingham in Richmond. With only the top-class The Glasshouse in nearby Kew offering cuisine of a similar standard in this upmarket pocket of south-west London, The Bingham would seem to have a monopoly on the well-heeled local diners, as well as hungry urbanites tempted by the acclaim this restaurant has attracted.
All of this means that the remarkably well priced a la carte menu (£39 for 3 courses, £45 for 4, and with a set lunch that can be had for less than £20) comes as the first pleasant surprise of the evening, closely followed by the exemplary cooking. All the subtly sophisticated flavours and textures that you’d expect from Michelin-starred cuisine are present – from foie gras and pineapple to cauliflower risotto with lobster jelly to start and salt marsh lamb with baked aubergine for a main course – but Cooper is a sufficiently intelligent chef not to try and over-egg the pudding (which here might be a divine Amedei chocolate tart) by complicating the dishes. All this is helped by a well-chosen wine list that offers something for all tastes and wallets – an Austrian Pinot Noir proved an unusual but highly effective accompaniment.
There is something here for casual diners who want a treat as much as there is for serious gourmets who want to check out the early flowering of a chef who, I imagine, will turn out to be a proper culinary discovery over the next few years. Catch him now, and lap up the chance to say ‘I told you so’ in years ahead.
61 – 63 Petersham Road, Richmond, TW10. www.thebingham.co.uk
