Richmond is not cool. Richmond is arguably (by me at least) the best all-round place to live within the M25, with splendid green spaces all around, superb transport links into the city or out to the country, theatre, shopping, cinema, and good eating. But the avant garde have always made the possibly valid assumption that Richmond is conservative rather than cool, and so the town never sees anything new to eat, drink or buy until it’s already safely mainstream. In spite of the fact that a two bedroom flat on Richmond Hill will buy you a ten bedroom mansion in Dorset, the best place to eat in town is La
Equally traditional and equally good is the tiny Pizza Rustica, sandwiched so tightly among the shops on the high street that you might blink and miss it. But it’s not unheard of to find yourself wandering Richmond on a Friday night and wondering what to feed on, so this little patch of Italy is worth knowing about.
This evening I had their absolutely signature pizza, the “2007”. They cook the pizza base with nothing more than good cheese on top, then add piles of rocket, parma ham, marinated tomato and shaved parmesan. I can’t eat this pizza without grinning cheerfully. The base is thin and crisp, with a good taste of roasted flour. The ham and cheese add plenty of salt, the tomato a bit of necessary juiciness and the rocket a great balancing bitter greenness.
Maureen went for the “Buffalo”, where again the pizza base is cooked with nothing more than a good garlicky tomato sauce, and a combination of parma ham, basil leaves and fresh buffalo mozzarella is added afterwards. Triumph of Italian flavour, as simple as that. We swallowed these with a couple of perfectly decent glasses of Italian white wine, and then went to the cinema.
You should too.
It doesn’t stop at pizza, though. You can have a Foodie Day Out in Richmond if you know where to look. Among its traditional and unadventurous bounds, picturesque riverside, panoramic parkland and John Lewis-stuffed homes you can find some of the best pizza, chocolate, ice cream and cheese anywhere in the country. Get stuffed.
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