The good folk of Hammersmith have an impressive, mid-range restaurant in their midst – and most of them probably don’t even know it. Tucked away in an entertainment complex which is itself tucked away in a residential street, this place slickly serves excellent modern British food at keen prices in an agreeably arty atmosphere.

The Venue
Some of television’s most popular shows are recorded at The Riverside Studios. It stages theatre, stand-up comedy and exhibitions, and screens plenty of interesting films. The restaurant is reached via the main foyer and isn’t signposted, so there’s little passing trade: the vast majority of diners come for a performance. With its well-spaced tables for 60-70; brown, leather banquettes; studded steel-fronted bar; well-judged, subdued lighting from groovy, retro, metal, ceiling lamps; and high ceilings with exposed pipework, this restaurant is easily good enough to be a destination in itself. There’s a terrace and so-called secret garden (both with direct Thames views) for al fresco summer dining.

The Atmosphere
Staff are unusually friendly and chatty, and completely competent. As well as keeping an eye on their needs, they have to ensure pre-show diners have finished by different curtain-up times for the centre’s various entertainments. The crowd is relaxed, civilised and ever so slightly arty.

The Food
There are two menus, one a la carte and one of bar meals (plus a brunch menu available until 3pm). Diners are welcome to mix and match. From half a dozen a la carte starters, smoked salmon with shallots, capers, crème fraiche and bread and butter (£6) is a simple, but big, hit. There’s plenty of good quality fish, and all the accompaniments work well. Thankfully, the bread is proper brown, seeded, crusty slices, not the namby-pamby, crustless, doll’s house-size triangles that you often see. Equally good is a warm slice of vegetarian tart (£5.50) with crumbly pastry and rich, eggy filling studded with halved cherry tomatoes and red onion. The generous accompanying mixed green salad is fresh, includes really interesting leaves and is judiciously underdressed.

A main of pan-fried scallops (£12.50) features six fat, just-cooked beauties with roes attached (why do so many establishments remove and discard these?). Lardons add crunch and meaty flavour. There’s squidgy roast squash, too, and caponata (Mediterranean veg) sauce. A 9oz sirloin steak (£15) arrives more medium than medium rare as requested, but is a tender, well-flavoured slab of protein with delicious charring. Alas, the Jenga-stacked accompanying chips aren’t crisp, partly because a good red wine jus has been trickled over; serving it in a separate jug would help. Roast cherry tomatoes and a grilled field mushroom complete a pretty good plateful.

Warm chocolate brownie (£5.50) proves the dish of the night with an agreeably high proportion of intensely chocolatey melting middle to its crisp shell. The accompanying white chocolate ice cream is a star in its own right. Meanwhile, scoops of vanilla and honeycomb ice creams and black cherry sorbet are great value at £3.50.

The Drink
There’s a global wine list of ten whites, ten reds, one champagne, one sparkling wine and a couple of roses. House white and red are £14, nothing breaks the £40 barrier and there’s an excellent selection available by the 125, 175 and 250ml glass. The house white (white blend, Tasari, Italy, £3.50 for a 175ml glass) is an unremarkable but perfectly adequate quaffer. A Chilean sauvignon blanc (Valdivieso, £4.30 per 175ml/£18 a bottle) is typically clean and citrusy. Also from Chile, Merlot, San Rafael, Central Valley (£4/£18) is a caramelly, spicy, tannin-rich bargain. The Last Word
Three a la carte courses and half a bottle of modest wine shouldn’t set you back much over £30 a head, which is nothing short of a bargain for food this good, served so winningly in such a pleasantly buzzy venue. However good the theatre or films at The Riverside, they’ll have to go some to beat this production.

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