Tonight:
5°c
Fay Maschler's rating
Bentley's
By
Fay Maschler
1 Nov 1996
This review was first published in November 1996
Established at this address in 1916, Bentley's is well-versed in selling oysters and fish to the gentry. Commendable efforts to move with the times have not always had the happiest results on the plate, but the menu this year has divested itself of too many inappropriate exotic flourishes. If you want to stray from the straight and narrow of, say, a dozen oysters followed by a grilled Dover sole, try the skate and artichoke terrine with red-pepper pesto, and baked salmon with ginger, garlic and Szechuan vegetables. Fresh marinated anchovies perk up a Caesar salad, and fillet of cod with a sauce of mussels and spring onions is well-judged. Non-fish dishes are not mere tokenism. Consider maize-fed chicken with black pudding, apples dauphine and onion marmalade; confit of duck leg on creamed potatoes; and pappardelle with roasted aubergine and pesto. There is a noteworthy British-cheese selection.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
