Review of 'Carvosso's at 210 (NOW CLOSED)'

It was a Saturday and we were looking for somewhere in Chiswick that was fairly quiet, informal and in a comfortable setting. We came across some good reviews for Carvosso's so made a booking. Carvosso's is in the heart of Chiswick on the high street, billing itself as a “Wine Bar & Eating House”. We have passed by the impressive facade on many occasions, looking a lot like a rather up-market pub. This perception is not altogether incorrect after climbing the steps into the interior - On the ground floor, a small bar with comfortable seating throughout in several small rooms. The music was quite loud in the largely vacant area (possibly due to no air conditioning in the hot weather) and so we thankfully accepted the invitation to eat in the back courtyard which was buzzing with people enjoying the sun in this early evening.

We were shown into a slightly uncomfortable booth fashioned after an old stable on the side of the courtyard and given the menu. The food menu is only the single side of a piece of paper with the drinks menu substantially bigger in the form of a small book. I left the drink menu to others and concentrated on the few options provided in the area of food…The first item is the “Carvosso’s Special Mixed Platter” (“Jamon iberico, spicy chorizo, lomo, houmous, babagnanoush, manchego cheese, bocconcini, sundried tomatoes, padron peppers, mango chutney, mixed olives & French bread”) for £13.90 which we started with. This was a great sharing platter for the three of us having great flavours and quality throughout (though, being picky, the peppers were a bit soggy). We had this instead of selecting from the “Starters” section of the menu which was a good choice and recommended if there are several people dining (the platter could easily be managed by two diners).

The “Mains” section of the menu only had 9 or 10 options which are all pretty good crowd-pleasers including a cheeseburger (£12.50). All dishes tended to come with at least one or two sides including salads but there were also a number of additional sides available including vegetables and sweet potato fries (as well as the standard potato based). I decided on the “Paella” (“with prawns, mussels, chicken, chorizo & fresh chilli”; £18.70) which was quite a good sized portion with a welcome good quantity of prawns and mussels (though one was closed that I left un-eaten on the side). The rice was perfectly cooked, slightly al denté, and full of flavour.

One of my companions selected the “Rack of English lamb (served pink)” (“…with mediterranean couscous & tzatziki” though my companion decided to replace the couscous with sweet potato fries; £19.80) that she indicated was delicious and tender with the fries delicious and crunchy working well with the tzatziki.

My other companion picked the “Grilled fillet of sea bass” (“…with roasted vegetables & basil dressing”; £13.60) which she said was very tasty and looked to be very fresh.

Impressed with the food so far my companions decided, even though quite saited by the larger portions, to try several items from the “Desserts” section. The “Sticky toffee pudding” (“…with caramel popcorn & vanilla ice cream”; £5.20) was quite impressive and perfectly moist with a good portion of toffee sauce and a good sized scoop of ice cream on the top.

My other companion tried the “Selection of cheeses” (“…with biscuits, mango chutney, grapes & celery”; £8.40) which was very enjoyable and, thankfully (for her), lacked any of the very strong cheeses such as blue or Stilton but instead had some more manchego and some brie. The biscuits were obviously picked from a Jacob's box (this is fine, Jacobs make very good biscuits).

We were all very satisfied with the experience though we did find the place quite noisy even out in the courtyard with the number of full tables and a lot of hard surfaces for the sound to bounce off of. The staff, dressed all in a modern, cool, black were very helpful and pleasant. We were happy enough with the prices. Certainly a cut above any pub the food was the star here with the short menu full of really tasty and well prepared dishes. Not sure we could come back too often as the choices will be quickly exhausted. I think most come here for the drink…

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2017-06-17

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Address: 210 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1PD ENGLAND

Public Transport: Turnham Green

Location: London (England) - Chiswick

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8995 9121

URL: http://www.carvossosat210.co.uk/