Rick Stein, Barnes
Harden's reporters say the Thames view makes it worth the trip, and only if you get a window table.1
Why go
The room sits in Tideway Yard on Mortlake High Street with the river outside, and the menu carries the Padstow dishes: Dover sole, Indonesian seafood curry, lobster thermidor, on a list the operator changes with the season.2 Stein himself is not behind it. Harden's says his ex-wife and sons run the restaurant, and the survey's reporters are consistent about what that produces.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a window table, first and before anything on the menu.
- Avoid: booking without one.
Otherwise it never seems quite to live up to the reputation of a famous name.
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What locals & experts say
- Harden's survey reporters, on the view:
The view over the Thames makes it worth the voyage.
On the food: it can begood
, butof course it is not cheap
, and too often it isdisappointingly ordinary
. Their summary:you're paying for the name and location, not the food.
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Good to know
- Where: Tideway Yard, 125 Mortlake High Street, near Barnes Bridge. The saved pin gives SW14 8SW and Harden's gives SW14 8SN.
- Booking: essential, and ask for a window when you make it.
- Price: the top bracket, on the survey's account.
Verdict
listed — Harden's reporters are blunt about this one: the Thames view near Barnes Bridge makes it worth the voyage, but only if you are seated by the windows, and otherwise it never quite lives up to the name. The food can be good, it is not cheap, and too often it is disappointingly ordinary, with the survey's line being that you are paying for the name and the location. Rick Stein is not cooking it; Harden's says the operation is run by his ex-wife and sons. The menu carries the Padstow dishes, Dover sole, Indonesian seafood curry and lobster thermidor, and nothing read this pass recommends a single one of them. It sits on the bottom rung because the only critical source on file says so, and there is no second voice to complicate it.