Putney Pies, SW15 - review

The location of what is now my new favourite pie joint in the heart of middle-class yummy mummydom could pose a challenge to its owners.

Their ambition to blend the tradition of British pie-eating with a setting that feels expensive enough to justify its address means that Putney Pies appears - at first - to be a bit confused.

There is a conscious rusticity in the parchment menus with frayed edges but, rather incongruously, it also bears a barcode enabling customers to download it to a Smartphone (accessed of course via the restaurant's wi-fi). There is also an aesthetic discord between the industrial-looking lights and an über-designed stainless steel wall clock.

The food - served in generous portions - is first-rate though. The cold "Mini Pies" starter (of chicken and pork) arrived with a well-seasoned salad and was a suitable warm-up act. The grilled Portobello mushroom was complemented by a flavoursome oat and Stilton crust.

Steak and kidney pie - the important test of any
pie vendor - came in a light and airy pastry with pleasantly tender meat. The bubble and squeak
side dish is a nice touch which doesn't turn up on
too many menus.

The long list of ales - some from the Beer Boutique next door - includes unfamilar and welcome tastes. Generous portions, tasty fare and sub-Nando's prices make Putney Pies a welcome outpost of Britishness in an otherwise wilderness of continental cuisine.

Putney Pies
136 Upper Richmond Road, SW15 2SP