Review: A Cena, Richmond

I remember going to A Cena a couple of times when we lived in Richmond; it was a high-end Italian restaurant just over the bridge in East Twickenham, serving up truly delicious Italian classics in an elegant but convivial dining room. So needing a table for six in Richmond, we decided to return.

It’s still an elegant and convivial dining room, a good atmosphere for a meal with family or friends, and the prices are still high-end Italian (think £28 for a main) but the level of cooking is more neighbourhood family Italian – just fine, nothing special. Maybe it’s my memory at fault?

We got some foccacia to nibble, and it was okay but it was a fine-crumbed bread of some kind with a bit of olive oil brushed on. Nothing springy or airy about it. My starter was halibut crudo. Good description, as the pieces were kinda crudely sliced and arrayed on the plate with a bit of diced citrus and chilli. The halibut had been a bit too “cooked” by the lemon juice.

For main I decided on a half-chicken with San Marzano and a tomato and marscapone sauce. The chicken was well cooked, the breast still juicy. The plentiful sauce was probably what I should have expected: cream of tomato soup in sauce form. In hindsight, I should have got it to share with someone else, along with a couple of sides, but A Cena doesn’t really feel like that kind of Italian. Maureen’s aubergine parmagiani was fine, light on the cheese-n-oil, which is certainly better for your arteries than the uber-gooey examples we had in Italy! Pan-fried sea bass was declared good, as was a tagiatelle amatriciana. I enjoyed their tiramisu with crumbled caramelised white chocolate and pistachios, despite being absolutely stuffed with chicken.

So, a perfectly decent neighbourhood Italian meal. Nothing memorable, nothing (very) bad. You can decide whether that’s worth £50ish for three coursed before drinks. I can think of a dozen other places I’d enjoy more for less.