The Duke Gastro Restaurant, Richmond, London

Asparagus Starter with duck yolk, pumpkin seeds and orange

THE DUKE - I'm back to Richmond borough, if you missed my food blogger meal at Bumpkin in Chelsea this week be sure to check it out. 

On this occasion we headed for a Sunday lunch that we booked almost a week in advance - when you eat at The Duke you may need to check bookings a week out as it is quite popular on Sundays. The restaurant itself is a nice little gastro pub, tucked away off the High Street in Richmond and Richmond Green. It attracts an affluent, not bothered crowd, so it is a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere and easily enjoyed by all.

There is plenty of seating inside, and the interior is divided into a dining area and another more relaxed lounge area. In the dining area it's light and airy with plenty of room for yummy mummy's and kids. Service is effortless, the staff were pleasant and not intrusive. 

As it was a busy fathers day Sunday we were given a fixed menu with mostly Sunday roast offerings (not normally my blogging specialty but they were perfect for the occasion), thankfully there were good choices on the starter & dessert menu as pictured below.

So to start we had Salmon with gin dressing and goats cheese. This was delicious, however the cheese slightly over powered the Salmon. The salmon - I would have loved a more generous portion, but very nice.

Also to start was grilled asparagus and poached duck yolk. This was a great starter, nicely executed and presented, and one thing I really liked was that nothing was over salted. The sesame gave nice texture as well.

Salmon Starter

The mains of chicken and pork were your run of the mill, typical Sunday roast meals but cooked well with plenty of gravy, great Yorkshire pudding. I loved the crackling on the pork - that was completely crispy, no chewy bits. Both dishes were decent in size, so were quite satisfying but I have to say the potatoes weren't roasted well. I mean, I love a yellow, crispy outside, floury inside potato, but these were quite plain, and heavily salted. Meh, I'm just being picky, I know, I know .... it was a Sunday lunch, can't be too fussy. So we'll just say the rest of the food (starters and sweets) were probably on another level. I say this because when I decided to share a dessert, the sticky toffee pudding, everything changed. The Sticky toffee pudding came out and y'know it instantly looked good. Think of a cake, straight out of the oven, its still warm right? that's it. All those treacle comfort flavours coming together in a sponge cake, and its really moist. Furthermore, its bathed and rested in a sweet buttery sauce and topped with salted caramel ice cream.  I dug into it and was enjoying mouthful after mouthful. I must been in sugar deficit that day because it was sublime. I was lost in a world of my own when I suddenly remembered.... I'd opted to share my dessert with the chic geek! I looked up and saw he was now death staring at me, spoon poised upward, face steadfast. Oh, woe is me, I'd made a rookie mistake! I'd picked a star dish to share, ugh! I reluctantly pushed the dessert plate toward him. Never again, next time its mine ..... all mine!!!

Sticky Toffee Pud with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Sauce

http://www.foodandfuel.co.uk/our-pubs/the-duke-richmond/