db Eats: Chez Manny

Tucked away up the cobbles in Battersea High Street, Chez Manny is not one of those restaurants you will see foodie-types regularly packing out due to its relatively obscure location, which is a huge shame as the quality and welcome on offer is as good as any of the more illustrious London establishments.

The eponymous Manny himself greets every guest personally upon arrival and over the course of the evening regularly ensures you are as comfortable and as entertained as possible as he works his way around the colourful dining room.

With the recent departure of his younger brother Guillaume, previously head chef, back to their native France, Manny moved quickly to secure the services of former Ronnie Scott’s head chef Jean-Yves Guiomar to ensure the French flavour continued to chug its way out of the kitchen, and the new menu Guiomar has introduced certainly offers a delightful mix of classic dishes and innovative variations on classic French cuisine.

Manny is the embodiment of an obsessive owner – living just a matter of yards from his restaurant for the best part of nine years – yet you get the feeling his priority is that all his guests have fun while they’re in his establishment rather than rack up big bills. Indeed, Manny himself said he would be quite happy for a diner to slowly nurse a single glass of wine over four hours in his restaurant so long as they were relaxed and enjoying themselves.

Upon db’s visit on a Tuesday evening – not the busiest night of the week for the restaurant by any means – we were warmly greeted by Manny with the offer of an aperitif in the form of a couple of Kir Royales (£6.50) before he personally brought over the wine list and, in an act of chivalry possibly designed to emasculate db, asked my female dining companion about her taste in wine and what style she would prefer before offering his suggestions on what we should order. A break with tradition it may have been, but that’s typical of Manny’s more personal and unique approach to running a restaurant.

Having answered “fruity and crisp”, my companion’s comments led Manny to suggest a bottle of Esprit de Serame (£21.50), a refreshing and crisp Sancerre Sauvignon.

We nibbled on a bowl of olives (£1.15 for 50g) while we perused the menu and the ever-changing specials board. My vegetarian companion did not hold out too much hope of finding a great selection of veggie-friendly dishes – this was a French restaurant after all – but was happy to spy the baked camembert (£8.95).

When it arrived, its status as a “starter” had us both worried – it was absolutely huge and served with plenty of toast alongside the complimentary bread bowl we had been given at the start of the evening.

However, db left her to it as I plumped for the distinctly un-vegetarian homemade duck foie gras with red wine and onion jam and toasted brioche (£10.95). It was simply presented in much the way one might expect a Ploughman’s pub lunch to be laid out, yet the quality was second to none. The generous slabs of foie gras were gorgeously rich, creamy and silky smooth, while the brioche was sweet enough to offer a respite from the strong meaty flavours, likewise the jam.

I used my remaining brioche toasts to help my companion mop up the remnants of her still-sizzling camembert before we moved on to the main course. A note to potential Chez Manny diners – the camembert is more than big enough to do for two people as a starter!

My main, taken from the specials board, sounded divine – seared fillet of plaice on a bed of leek fondue with Champagne sauce (£16.50). While the fish was very well cooked, with a crispy edge and soft, tender middle, it lacked any real depth of flavour, while the leek fondue was slightly too thin for my tastes and lacked “cheesiness”. While slightly disappointed with the star attraction, the fresh seasonal vegetables that accompanied the meal went some way to making up for it – they were deliciously crunchy and the honey glaze added a pleasant sweetness to give more flavour to the overall dish.

My companion, delighted to come across a veggie main course that didn’t revolve around cheese, plumped for the stuff field mushrooms with mixed peppers and salsa verde (£9.95). Described by her as “very tasty, rich but not too heavy and very well balanced”, she admitted that she initially mistook the salsa verde for green pesto and was surprised by the vinegary, garlic flavours she experienced.

By the time we had finished our mains the restaurant was starting to fill up a little more, with a gaggle of customers – quite clearly local regulars – were chatting away with Manny and his staff at the bar, while a birthday party had taken their place behind us and were promptly greeted with a cake and a hearty rendition of “Happy Birthday” by the restaurant staff (and db, which maybe rather spolied it).

While our mains settled we decided to order a glass of red and Manny once again came up trumps with his recommendation of Osaado Shiraz. At £4.75 per glass, this 2010 vintage from San Juan represented superb value for money, as indeed does pretty much everything on Manny’s menu. As the man himself said to us: “Life’s too short to drink bad wine.”

The desserts arrived shortly after, with my companion’s raspberry crème brûlée (£4.25) the most eagerly anticipated of the two. While it was undeniably indulgent and deliciously moreish, the raspberries were sadly slightly imperceptible, as they had perhaps been rather too vigorously blended into the crème brûlée.

My rum and fruit terrine (£6.50), on the other hand, was packed full of strong flavours which were greatly enhanced by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, though I had perhaps over-estimated my remaining appetite as the chunky block of mixed fruits proved slightly too much to polish off.

There was room, however, for a post-dinner Cognac, with Cognac lover Manny recommending a drop of Maxime Trijol (£5.50 for 50ml), which was slightly warmed by our waiter in a manner befitting a Cognac connoisseur. Indeed, the delicate fusion of ginger, lemon and toffee flavours were immeasurably enhanced by a slight temperature rise.

The standout thing about Chez Manny isn’t just the welcome of the owner or the atmosphere. Rather it’s the extremely reasonable prices paid for excellent quality food which, should you find in any more central, higher-profile London restaurant, you would happily fork out much greater sums for without so much as a second thought.

While Manny’s may be a favourite with the locals, perhaps it’s time the rest of the capital took a stroll up the Battersea High Street cobbles to check it out.

Chez Manny

145/149 Battersea High Street

SW11 3JS

Tel: +44 (0)20 7223 4040

Web: www.chezmanny.com

Alan Lodge, 07.06.2011