Butlers Wharf Chop House is located in Shad Thames and forms part of what was Terence Conran's redevelopment of the waterfront next to Tower Bridge; like Conran's other restaurants, it is now part of the D&D group. Every food blogger surely has a view on the D&D group but in our experience, each restaurant seems broadly able to develop its own style and food (driven by the head chef) and we've had great meals at Coq d'Argent and Plateau as well as less good meals elsewhere, though nothing ever truly terrible. D&D does seem to ensure a minimum standard and in that sense there's a reliability to eating in one of their group restaurants.
The restaurant itself is situated next door to Le Pont de la Tour and, as it's name suggests, it's in the Chop House tradition and therefore seemed an ideal place to go and try a Sunday roast. So far, my Sunday outings have been reasonably unsuccessful and I'm hoping that BWCH will fare a little better.
On a Sunday, it's £25 for two courses, £32.50 for three. Perusing the menu, I hatch a cunning plan: seeing that one of the starter options is chicken liver pate, Yorkshire pudding and grape chutney, I can sample one of their Yorkies and choose lamb for my main to make a change from beef which has been perhaps too prominent a feature of the new year already.
The Yorkshire pudding is actually very good, the best yet that I've had on my Sunday outing s and much better than the one at The Tramshed where it's also part of the starters. Here it is crisp outside, fluffy inside, has a lightness to it but also full flavours with a hint of fat. My only issue, and this was a problem on the main too, was the temperature, where it was a warm rather than hot, and given how fast my order arrived at the table, it was clearly cooked well before I ordered it. Back to the plate, the chicken liver pate was nice enough and the grape chutney working well to bring it together. Overall, I was fairly pleased with the starter, mostly only the basis of the Yorkshire pud.
A full choice of main roasts are offered: beef, lamb, chicken and pork, and as noted, I went for the lamb. Two generously thick slices of lamb arrived, and it was a reasonably good cut of meat, but it mostly lacked impact as lamb seems to do these days. By the end, it just seemed like an exercise in chewing. And the roast potatoes hit one of my Sunday bugbears, being just two excessively large roast potatoes on the plate. They strike me as lazy roast potatoes, left that large to cut down on work, these potatoes weren't made with a love for the Sunday roast, they've simply been made in the most convenient way, and while they weren't the worst potatoes I've had out on a Sunday (Les Deux Salons take a bow), they are so inferior to what you'd make yourself at home, I do wonder why I am paying money for this.
Things pick up again for dessert. I think Bread & Butter pudding must be a friend of the D&D group and I have previously enjoyed a Panettone Bread & Butter pudding at Quaglino's and here it is again at BWCH; twice lucky? Indeed, it was an excellent bread and butter pudding, soft where it should be, a crunch on top, sugary, and so moist the custard was hardly needed.
Something of a mixed bag, and certainly not a destination, but as a local restaurant, I might return in due course, though by no means rushing to do so.
The restaurant itself is situated next door to Le Pont de la Tour and, as it's name suggests, it's in the Chop House tradition and therefore seemed an ideal place to go and try a Sunday roast. So far, my Sunday outings have been reasonably unsuccessful and I'm hoping that BWCH will fare a little better.
On a Sunday, it's £25 for two courses, £32.50 for three. Perusing the menu, I hatch a cunning plan: seeing that one of the starter options is chicken liver pate, Yorkshire pudding and grape chutney, I can sample one of their Yorkies and choose lamb for my main to make a change from beef which has been perhaps too prominent a feature of the new year already.
The Yorkshire pudding is actually very good, the best yet that I've had on my Sunday outing s and much better than the one at The Tramshed where it's also part of the starters. Here it is crisp outside, fluffy inside, has a lightness to it but also full flavours with a hint of fat. My only issue, and this was a problem on the main too, was the temperature, where it was a warm rather than hot, and given how fast my order arrived at the table, it was clearly cooked well before I ordered it. Back to the plate, the chicken liver pate was nice enough and the grape chutney working well to bring it together. Overall, I was fairly pleased with the starter, mostly only the basis of the Yorkshire pud.
A full choice of main roasts are offered: beef, lamb, chicken and pork, and as noted, I went for the lamb. Two generously thick slices of lamb arrived, and it was a reasonably good cut of meat, but it mostly lacked impact as lamb seems to do these days. By the end, it just seemed like an exercise in chewing. And the roast potatoes hit one of my Sunday bugbears, being just two excessively large roast potatoes on the plate. They strike me as lazy roast potatoes, left that large to cut down on work, these potatoes weren't made with a love for the Sunday roast, they've simply been made in the most convenient way, and while they weren't the worst potatoes I've had out on a Sunday (Les Deux Salons take a bow), they are so inferior to what you'd make yourself at home, I do wonder why I am paying money for this.
Things pick up again for dessert. I think Bread & Butter pudding must be a friend of the D&D group and I have previously enjoyed a Panettone Bread & Butter pudding at Quaglino's and here it is again at BWCH; twice lucky? Indeed, it was an excellent bread and butter pudding, soft where it should be, a crunch on top, sugary, and so moist the custard was hardly needed.
Something of a mixed bag, and certainly not a destination, but as a local restaurant, I might return in due course, though by no means rushing to do so.