I really do love Blackheath you know. This buzzy, vibrant little village is full of some fantastic pubs & bars, lots of restaurants and has a real sense of community and village atmosphere. It has some great history to it too, dating as far back as 1166 – then known as Blachehedfeld. The only downside to Blackheath more recently is that with London becoming increasingly more busy and the village being a through road from South London into the centre of town means it can get very busy here. At the top of the village, right by the heath sits Chapters Blackheath. A cosy, intimate restaurant with an all day dining feel serving up some exquisite service and food.
Chef patron here at Chapters Blackheath is Andrew Mcleish who also looks after the kitchen at the multi award-winning Chapter One in Kent. Food here isn’t as refined as it is in Kent, but it’s not meant to be – this is a more casual, all day dining restaurant which focuses on providing this village with hearty & flavoursome dishes at an affordable price – at least that’s how I found it. We started with an amuse bouche of sorts kindly brought to us from the kitchen before our meal – a gorgeous medley of torched mackerel, hazelnuts and tart dressing. A lovely start to our meal. First of our starters was one which is seen on almost every restaurants menu these days, baked heritage beetroot with creamy goats curd. The kitchen took it up a notch by adding some tart slices of apple and pine nuts for texture. A little large in size perhaps but I couldn’t fault its flavour and freshness.
These photos of mine don’t do the size of these dishes any justice at all, because while they may look well portioned, I can tell you they’re not – they are gargantuan. Me and my dining companion, a resident of Blackheath told me she’d been coming here on the occasion and each time loved it, referring to it as “the nicer place to go to in Blackheath” and I couldn’t agree more – it’s very nice. Being the carnivores we are I couldn’t help but order everything meaty. First course out was a moist and juicy Kentish Double Barnsley lamb chop which had been cooked in the kitchens josper oven giving the meat a nice smokiness. We paired it with some triple cooked chips and traditional mac’n’cheese, the latter of which I wasn’t a fan. Just as good and just as rich was the perfectly cooked venison with a rich and moorish ragu, cabbage and creamy mashed potato. If you ever make it over to Chapters Blackheath I highly recommend this, in fact I loved both dishes just as equally.
Desserts? A bit of a mixed bag if I’m honest. One was incredible, the other acceptable. I have an insatiable appetite for sticky toffee pudding at the moment and since December last year I’ve eaten 23 (I know I’m counting) of them and in 23 different restaurants – I’m searching for the best. The version here was rather average, but has lots of potential. The overall flavour was excellent, the ice cream delicious but the sponge dry. That’s the one thing this dessert should never be. It should be sultry and soaked throughout. The outside was a little rigid too. But on the flip side of things the lemon tart with fresh raspberries and raspberry sorbet was incredible. Perfectly baked pastry which was rich and buttery. The lemon filling set to a perfect wobble, toasted nicely on the top and the sorbet faultless. If the kitchen could get all their desserts at the same level as this they’d be on to a real winner.
So what did I think? Well I loved it. The venue is fantastic, the staff couldn’t do enough for you and the food packs so much flavour. Special mention to our lovely waitress too, she did a fab job. There is certainly some talent in the kitchens here and with a little more precision they could go a long way if they wanted to, but in its current form right now it works well for the locals here in Blackheath. All day dining with big portions and quality ingredients – at bargain prices, what more could you ask for more?
7.5/10
