Linnea (Kew)

• Prior to opening Linnea was head chef of the Fifth Floor Café
• The dining room had a wooden floor and banquettes with a taupe colour theme
• Is far from kind but is not unusual for London
• Beef gravlax was topped with green beans and horseradish
• The horseradish was not too strong
• Sea bream was roasted with fennel and dill
• Pollack was pan fried and served with almond and potato brandade with a red wine jus
• Pollack is not the most exciting of fish (except the stunning version at Sa Qua Na) but it was cooked carefully
• What made the dish interesting was the very good brandade
• Saffron mousse came with a sweet wine jelly and shortbread biscuit
• The metallic tang of saffron was present but not too strong
• Warm chocolate and hazelnut brownie came with salted caramel custard
• Although this was pleasant enough
• The service knowledge of the waitresses was very basic indeed
• So the bill was unrepresentatively low at £
• A typical bill with coffee and service would come to around £
• Overall I thought Linnea was a very nice neighbourhood restaurant
• Inviting and accented with lovely crystal wall lights
• The menu choices are complete with Atlantic prawn gratin
• On this day I had the heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese and pumpkin seed vinaigrette
• Carrot and coriander salad with ginger dressing
• Mains we went with Seared duck breast
• Maybe some beans but the duck pastilla (samosa of duck confit) was just divine
• The other main consisted of Lock Duart Salmon with sweet sour aubergine and mangetout (flat pea)
• Consistent crisp over the top with opaque moist fish inside
• It paired nicely with the sweet aubergine and pea
• Desserts we decided to go with the suggested wine pairings
• It was served with an Australian reisling
• On the other side of the table we had the blueberry pie and blueberry ice cream paired with a sweet chardonay
• The facilities at the restaurant are of good standard as well
• Atmosphere is one of the most important things when dining out
• Eating out may have once been only to simply fill you up or to spend time with friends and loved ones
• Walking towards Linnea from Kew Green and the first thing you'll notice is its half frosted covering on the glass window
• The foundations are already here at Linnea
• Nice and fluffy with a good crunchy crust and a rosemary infusion which left a lingering impression
• Perfectly formed and the riesling we sipped on was beautifully aromatic
• My starter of smoked haddock risotto with grana padano cheese turned out to be a lovely dish which will only leave you with regret if you don't order this
• Lots of smoky flavour working its way around the dish and the risotto was cooked very well indeed
• It's colour was bleak and stale white
• Thankfully this was one very deceiving looking dish
• Another starter we managed to divulge in was the Dingley dell pork and pistachio rillettes with toasted sourdough and pickles
• Sourdough was delicious too but overall this dish was begging for a little sauce on the side perhaps some mustard
• One thing that really surprised me most about Linnea is that its Nordic heritage wasn't reflected in the food as much as we were expecting
• Our main course of roasted coley with potato salad
• A side of red cabbage was the best part of it all and was full of festive sweet spice
• So instead it was replaced with partridge
• I keep going on about the foods heritage and I've no problem with the food being British either
• The fact the ingredients are all sourced locally is inspiring but it's just not what I was expecting from Linnea and I'm sure it won't be what most of its visitors will have in mind either
• There is so many small influences making its way on to the menu from the Nordic countries here that I just wish it was more defined as to what the menu wants to offer
• Lime and soft cheese mousse was a pleasant affair and its freshness very welcomed after some heavy foods
• Brie and a richly flavoured blue they were all mouthwatering and fantastic examples
• Especially with that puddle of honey to dip them in
• Plating of the food needs work and so does it's vibrancy as everything was a little dull and wasn't exciting to look at
• Linnea certainly has lots of potential and with a little work on its decor

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