Go grand in glamorous south London with an evening of deliciously quirky food in Dulwich’s finest home.

The Venue
Built in the 18th century, this stunning white stucco mansion house has an air of Hollywood about it. Set back from the road amidst a sweeping gravel driveway, Beauberry House is quite the picture. Located within the vast grounds of Dulwich’s Belair Park, it has long been popular as a venue for weddings, anniversaries, christenings and other great celebrations.

Inside to the right is a narrow bar filled with velvety chaise lounges and a roaring log fire which is perfect for cosying up on a winters eve with a good bottle of red. To the left of the main door is a light and contrastingly airy dining room. Painted angelic white with hardwood furnishings and some entrancing light pieces, although it is a little shabby in places with some corners needing a desperate lick of paint. There is a small outdoor terrace which is popular for Sunday brunch and summer lunches, which overlooks the lush green of the nearby park.

The Atmosphere
Despite being quiet on weeknights, the appealing decor, personable service and delicious food makes for a very nice evening indeed. The waiter-cum-sommelier will happily guides you through both the food and the wine menu, making friendly suggestions and recommendations. There is no real urgency to the service, so you don’t feel rushed in the slightest, although it may be a completely different matter on a busy weekend. The clientele is generally local luvvies in for the good value set menu and birthday/anniversary celebrators in for the fine fancy food and grand decor.

The Food
The a la carte menu is priced as two courses for £20 and three for £25. Starters include a heavenly tuna springroll which is far more impressive than it sounds. Turrets of fresh tuna, rolled in nori and filo pastry, stand tall on the plate each weighty with barely seared fish and served with a salty soy sauce. The crispy squid with chilli is exactly that. Thinly sliced fishy crisps are scattered with fresh red chilli and served with a sticky sweet chilli sauce, delicious but not as impressive as the tuna.

Mains are equally as delightful, the lemon sole and vegetable tempura arrives in a deep fried, skeletal sail. The light and crispy tempura batter really does this gently flavoured fish justice. The lightly battered fingers of courgette, pepper and asparagus which accompany it are also properly cooked and are far from soggy. A punchy ponzu and creamy grapefruit hollandaise bring it all together to make a delightful and very moreish dish. A solemn-sounding pork hock with mash arrives like a work of modern art, yet has a simple, hearty flavour. A small bowl of shredded, pink hock meat, doused in its own caramelised, sweet juices is a little bowl of man-heaven. The mash is moulded like a soft, satiny sea shell and served on a vivid green banana leaf with all the fabulous flavour of a butter-laden staple. A side of pak choi in oyster sauce is tasty but nonetheless a wallflower in comparison.

Desserts include a coconut blancmange served with mint jelly and granite and a recommended pistachio parfait with a fruit coulis. To finish, a good selection of coffees are available and all come with delicious home-made petit fours. All that is needed now is a lie down on one of the chaise lounges in the bar…

The Drink
War and Peace has nothing on Beauberry House’s wine list. It is epic! There are a good range of wines from around the world, including some surprising examples from Georgia, Switzerland, Morocco, Algeria and Luxemboug. The prices start at a reasonable-ish £18.50 a bottle, and many are available by the glass, but considering there are literally hundreds, if not a thousand different wines to choose from, this is probably only a very small selection. A great recommendation is the deliciously light and fruity Gaillac (£18.50) from southwest France. For real party people a humungous jeroboam of Laurent Perrier NV seems almost reasonable at £200 a pop, although it would take three people to lift the bottle.

The Last Word
For local dining you simply can’t beat the location, style and glamour of Beauberry House and the food’s pretty decent too. Recommended.

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