Wine List Confidential: Petersham Nurseries Restaurant

Douglas Blyde visits Petersham Nurseries Restaurant in Richmond, discovering the eatery’s connection to a Chianti Classico icon, and finding a rare white wine that hits close to home.

“Set at the back of an old greenhouse within a plant nursery, with dirt floors” – which your reviewer once witnessed a thoroughbred dog use as its personal convenience – “and mismatched, wobbly tables and chairs,” this bucolic retreat “starts at a disadvantage,” according to the Good Food Guide, noting the “decent half-hour walk” from Richmond station.

Yet, it is precisely this rustic charm that Michelin, in awarding a Green Star, found to enchant its diners. “As you sit in the greenhouse, sand beneath your feet, surrounded by fresh flowers that perfume the air even in winter, it feels as though all is right with the world,” they mused. Sonya Barber, writing for Condé Nast Traveler, added that “well-heeled West London families, plant lovers, and ladies in floral prints to match the surroundings” seem to effortlessly merge with the whimsical setting, as if plucked from the garden themselves.

Design

The restaurant finds itself in an idyllic greenhouse, fragrant with jasmine and draped in flourishing grapevines, cradled within the grounds of the Queen Anne-era Petersham House, which has been the Boglione family’s sanctuary since 1997. Over the years, the family has poured their passion for antiques, plants, and sustainability into the restoration of the nursery, which opened 20 years ago, offering a carefully curated selection of homewares, eclectic curiosities, and botanical treasures – not to mention a quaint tea room. Their vision since expanded to Covent Garden, where The Petersham restaurant and its aperitivo sibling, La Goccia, blend the Richmond greenhouses’ lush serenity in a courtyard with bold, contemporary art. The staff are often seen in K-Way, Cappa, or Superga, subtly echoing the family’s broader interests.

Drinks

Beginning with a map of Italy’s boot, the regional wine list – stored in a refrigerated chalet draped in thriving grapevines – is overseen by motorcycle-riding head sommelier, Raffaele Giovanetti. Hailing from Emilia-Romagna, the land of Lambrusco, Giovanetti’s journey began at Henry’s Café Bar Piccadilly (RIP), famed for its 1,851-calorie Signature Gammon Steak. Thankfully, he later moved to the elite-sporting grounds of Lensbury Resort in Teddington, with stints at Michael Sager’s Fare near Old Street’s “Silicon Roundabout,” the eclectic Brunswick House (which narrowly escaped demolition), Frantoio in Chelsea, Chez Bruce, and the Henrietta Hotel. Initially joining Petersham Nurseries alongside friend and top podcaster, Mattia Scarpazza, Giovanetti stepped up to the head sommelier role in May 2023.

While wines from estates overseen by political economics graduate, Giovanni Mazzei, scion of the family which invented the Chianti recipe in 1435, feature across the 15-page list, they don’t monopolise it – unlike at Cantinetta Antinori. Mazzei is married to Lara Boglione, MD of Petersham Nurseries, who traces her roots to eleventh-century coopers in Carmignano.

Sparkling options by the glass span England, France, and Italy, including the family’s own Villa Marcello Prosecco (£10/125ml), though opting for a bottle of their Col Fondo “Mady,” aged an extra year, offers a more interesting choice. Still wines range from the lively 2023 Grillo (£9) from Zisola in Sicily – where Mick Jagger and his four-legged friends spent lockdown – to the rich Verdicchio Misco Riserva Tavignano 2019 (£17), via Stefan Pratsch’s Austrian Riesling 2022 (£13.50).

Andrea Marino, co-founder of Switzerland’s Enoteca 1620 and former senior fine wine buyer at Cult Wines, now CEO of Petersham Cellars and a Master of Wine student, shares Giovanetti’s fervour for extra brut sparkling wines. Their shared enthusiasm is evident in the selection, which includes Tickerage Pinot Meunier Brut Nature 2014 from East Sussex (£155), Ettore Germano’s Alta Langa Extra Brut 2019 (£130), and Champagne highlights like Boreal Clandestin Les Semblables Blanc de Noir Brut Nature 2020 (£199) and Billecart Extra Brut 2009 in magnum (£350). The Champagne influence extends into the still wine section, with Sébastien Mouzon’s Coteaux Champenois Verzy Grand Cru 7 Cépages 2020 (£230) making an appearance.

The most budget-friendly bottle is Chateau de Campuget’s 2023 Grenache-Viognier (£30), one of eleven wines under £50. At the other end of the spectrum is Gaja Sori Tildin 2010 at £600. Other notable selections include Radikon’s 50cl Oslavje 2009 (£80) from the skin-contact category, Joseph Swan’s 2018 Grenache Blanc from Russian River Valley (£110), and Giovanni Mazzei’s own Chianti Classico Gran Selezione IPSUS 2016, whose deer motif feels influenced by Richmond park’s antlered residents (£395).

All wines – and many more – are available for purchase through the family’s wine merchant, Petersham Cellar, while spent corks are donated to the “Recorked” project, which resells them to support charities.

Dishes

Clad in a jacket made from recycled bottles, head chef Andrea Parente brings experience from Joël Robuchon and San Carlo group. Aside from the likes of Parmesan, white truffles, olive oil, and vanilla pods, most ingredients are sourced from the UK, including the family’s organic farm in Devon. They cultivate fruit, vegetables, and livestock there, run a brewery and butchery, and two eco-friendly cottages dating to the seventeenth-century which you can stay in.

From a menu proudly bearing the Slow Food logo, dishes gradually adorned our eight-sided table, overseen by long-time restaurant manager, Paula Passos Carr. Starters included a crisp fritti of borage leaf, courgette flower, and sage, beautifully paired with the imperceptibly pink 2021 rosé by former professional pianist, Giuseppe Russo, made from Nerello Mascalese grown on Etna’s northern slopes. Next, Giovanetti poured Thomas Pico’s 2020 Chablis Vent d’Ange from Domaine Pattes Loup, harvested late and partially aged in cement eggs, lending richness and savouriness to a dish of Puglian burrata, English yellow peach, Petersham honey, and a garden-grown pistachio and nasturtium pesto.

John Dory crudo, dressed in cucumber, green chilli, Amalfi lemon, and dill, was lifted by the Clandestine Les Semblables Boréal Brut Nature 2020, a Blanc de Noirs hailing from Kimmeridgian soils. “One of my favourite producers,” Giovanetti remarked, adding that when he started at Petersham Nurseries in early 2022, Ayala was the only champagne on the list.

For the grilled whole sole, served alongside perfectly bitter chicory, Giovanetti introduced Bianchetta Genovese – more commonly known as Albarola – expertly crafted by Villa Cambiosa north of Genoa. “We’re the only restaurant in the country with this wine,” Giovanetti said proudly, its provenance serendipitously aligning with your reviewer’s mother’s homeland. With Hay Farm chicken dressed with nduja-spiced mascarpone and hazelnuts, he poured the purple, tobacco-leaf-scented Sfursat Fruttaio Ca Rizzieri, Rainoldi 2019, an intense wine made from dried grapes. And for the organic rib eye, also from the farm, served with a punchy chimichurri, Giovanetti finally brought out a wine from Mazzei – Castello Fonterutoli Gran Selezione Chianti Classico 2015, from a three-litre bottle, which Monica Larner of Wine Advocate praised for its “sharpness and detail.”

For dessert, an artfully piped Amalfi lemon meringue tart matched the bright, citrusy notes of Malvasia di Casorzo Il Giardino di Flora 2022 by Castello di Gabiano, echoing the sharp, high tones of the pudding itself, a fitting end to a charming meal.

Last word

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden,” wrote Frances Hodgson Burnett in The Secret Garden – a sentiment which sums the spirit of Petersham Nurseries, where ingredients are nurtured with care, while, as Giovanetti shared, wines are crafted with a deep, long-term respect for the environment. For years, the restaurant has navigated planning hurdles over evening services. Now, in part thanks to a petition signed by 11,500 loyal supporters, the doors can finally stay open for nighttime dining – allowing a natural continuation for this oasis of splendour, tranquillity, and in every sense, good taste.

Best for

• Mazzei family wines
• Ingredients grown at the venue’s farm
• Enchanting location

Value: 93, Size: 93, Range: 93, Originality: 93, Experience: 97; Total: 93.8

Petersham Nurseries Restaurant – Church Lane, Off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 7AB; 020 8940 5230; res.richmond@petershamnurseries.com; petershamnurseries.com

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