Open seven days from breakfast until late and for lunch Sunday–Friday
Hotel restaurants are curious places, often unbeknown to their local area and empty with only a handful of mismatched diners. This is a crying shame as occasionally they are serving up some of the best cuisine in the area. Napa is one such restaurant; tucked away inside the Chiswick Moran Hotel the vast, yet empty, restaurant (on our visit) offers modern British cooking with a creative twist. Chef and patron Wayne Dixon puts great importance on the traceability of seasonal produce and adapts his menu daily around this.
The restaurant itself is tranquil and classy with an abundance of rich, mossy green leather and dark wood, immaculately set tables and ambient lighting. The central partition helps to make the enormous restaurant seem a little more intimate, although more diners would do this better! The staff were all charming, in particular our waiter who was incredibly friendly and relaxed. As we perused the menu, impressed by the variety of starters, we ordered a bottle of the Chilean Santa Puerta Sauvignon Blanc, incredibly good value at £15 a bottle.
The wine menu is unpretentious and well priced with a good mix of bottles from Britain and the New World. For those looking to push the boat out there is a lovely New Zealand Cloudy Bay at the top end of the menu. To start, I ordered the beef carpaccio with rocket, parmesan and truffle oil (£8.50), sliced incredibly thinly and complimented by the texture and heat of the peppery rocket. My friend ordered the wood pigeon and rocket bruschetta with red wine and shallot dressing (£8.50). The wood pigeon was cooked to perfection and the dressing had an intensity and sweetness that set the bird’s flavours off beautifully.
With our taste buds suitably tickled by the fantastic starters, we approached our mains with gusto. I opted for the pan-fried sea bass on a brown shrimp and samphire risotto with lemon oil (£17.50). The fish was delicate and moist and the samphire added a burst of colour and bite. However, the risotto was unfortunately far too heavy for such a delicate dish. The Dover sole with crab-stuffed courgette flowers and tomato butter sauce (£18.50) on the other hand was a triumph; it was beautifully presented and tasted divine. The courgette flower was a beautiful addition to the plate and refreshingly it was not fried as they so often are. We were both bowled over by the dish as a whole; the stunning and unique presentation, the inspired thought behind it and the perfect execution.
For desert we indulged in the baked Belgian fondant with anglais sauce (£6) which, despite being delicious, did not have that satisfying ooze once broken into. Our other choice, baked figs with sweetened mascarpone and brandy syrup, was the perfect, light desert – simple and refreshing yet ever so slightly naughty.
Napa restaurant offers an inspired and original menu executed with finesse in comfortable surroundings at reasonable prices. On our visit the only other diners were all dining alone with mounds of paperwork; the significant improvement would be for more people to take advantage of this hidden gem.
Meal for two, with drinks, around £85.
