London Food Review : Wright Bros. Ltd.

For fish and seafood fans, Wright Brothers need no introduction. Their swanky new offshoot is in the snazzy riverside development of Battersea Power Station, fast becoming a foodie destination in its own right.

IMG_5175

We found ourselves on their opening night, taking refuge from the cold outside and soaking in their tasteful interiors designed by Macaulay Sinclair.

IMG_0214

In fact, it felt so new that you could still smell the fresh paint! The capacious interiors have a cabin boat feel (apt, given the location) with timber floors, plump and squishy leather banquettes, shiny full length bar, bustling open kitchen and plenty of bright lighting.

IMG_5177

IMG_5184

IMG_5186

An all-glass frontage offers panoramic views of River Thames and Chelsea Bridge.

IMG_5201

IMG_5190

Outside, there are sheltered tables with heat lamps for warmer days. In the background looms the mighty Battersea Power Station.

IMG_5176

IMG_5283

Over a generous basket of warm, savoury bread (always a benchmark for good restaurants), we perused the menu. Whilst fish and seafood feature heavily as expected, there were some strong meat options as well. Meat being a focus here makes complete sense as the Battersea Branch is home to their first Josper Charcoal Grill.

IMG_0207

IMG_0209

If you don’t mind messy hands over dinner, I would highly recommend tucking into the Oysters and Shellfish platters. They look as heavenly as they sound, and I will definitely be going back to sample those when I am not blogging or needing my hands for taking photos.

But the rest of the menu looked utterly delicious too. From the Small and Raw section, we first ordered the Tandoori Tiger Prawns, Raita, Crispy Onions (£12.75). The prawns were deliciously charred and of decent size. They had also put a lot of thought into the raita, rather than treating it as a side dip. It was sweet and yoghurty, with a hint of curry and heat.

IMG_5219

IMG_0181

To tick the fresh seafood box, we also ordered some Oysters which were served fresh and pristine, just as it should be.

IMG_5197

IMG_0167

IMG_0171

The Gallician Octopus (£13.75) was strongly recommended, though we really didn’t need much convincing as I simply love octopus. The meat was tender and lightly charred, inventively matched with nutty ajo blanco (almond paste).

IMG_0174

IMG_5221

The one that we chowed down with utmost pleasure was the Soft Shell Crab, Sriracha Mayonnaise, Winter Slaw and Fries (£16.75). Inside the luxuriously crunchy, fried batter was soft, savoury ‘crabby’ meat. The fresh slaw and sriracha-laced mayo added further oomph to an already kickass dish.

IMG_0163

IMG_0164

IMG_0162 (1)

Having gone for a rather fish and seafood heavy first course, I decided to opt for one of the meat dishes from their chalked up specials board.

IMG_5278

I had the Best End of Swaledale Lamb in Jansson’s Temptation (£28.75). The lamb was decent but the rich sauce did not do it for me. Thankfully, Jansson’s Temptation turned out to be outrageously good. Thin slivers of potatoes, densely layered and specked with tiny anchovies, imparted a combination of garlicky, slight bitter and salty flavours. I have now discovered another delicious way to eat my favourite carb.

IMG_5224

IMG_5223

Kris had the Newlyn Bay Tranche of Hake (£23.50) – a fat slab of delicate white fish, served with brown shrimps and smoked paprika butter. As far as flavour combinations go, this was definitely a crowd-pleaser.

IMG_0188

IMG_0190

Strong support was given by Tempura Broccoli (£8.50) packed with verdant crunch, and well-cooked Boiled Potatoes (£4.00).

IMG_0194

IMG_5226

IMG_5225

IMG_0193

Staff were polite and unpretentious, though one of the waiters was hilariously forgetful. Service was mostly smooth and it didn’t feel that this was their first proper evening of service.

At the end of the day, I still think their fish and seafood is their strongest offering. So if you want to impress your pescatarian friends or simply indulge in a meal without meat, this is the place to be.

Location: 26 Circus West Village, Battersea Power Station, London SW8 4NN

More information can be found here.

 

Advertisement

2 Comments Add yours

  1. Amanda Bradshaw says:

    What an appalling company! I was sent a Luxury Seafood Box by my in-laws as a Xmas present. Really exciting! I ate a plate of cooked crevettes the same day they arrived and later that night I started vomiting. The next week was spent in bed in agony with severe vomiting and bloody diarrhoea . Xmas was ruined and it has taken me 3 weeks to recover from exhaustion and trauma to my stomach and bowels. My in-laws complained to Wright Bros initially and were only offered a refund for the crevettes.- – we had to throw away the entire contents of the box because of the risk of poisoning. Once I was well enough, I complained and had to complete a questionnaire so that Wright Bros could conduct an investigation into their suppliers and processes. The outcome of their investigation was it was deemed ‘highly unlikely’ that the crevettes were the source of the food poisoning. Wright Bros suggested that the ingredients for sandwiches bought at my local supermarket – cheese,bread and chicken roasted at home – were the source of my illness – ingredients shared by my family with no resulting sickness. My GP has diagnosed food poisoning but in the absence of a stool sample this holds no weight with Wright Bros. I ask, why would anyone suffering food poisoning in a high risk COVID environment approach their GP for a stool sample? It was the last thing on my mind. They have sent me a voucher covering the value of the food box, but have refused to compensate me for the the illness I suffered. It seems that as long as they have covered their backs, they are happy to assume that you are either lying or wrong. I am very clear that their crevette caused the food poisoning and am appalled by their customer service. I will never eat their products again and I advise other potential customers to steer clear

    Like

    1. Oh dear! Really sorry to hear. I personally haven’t tried their home delivery service so can’t comment on that but never had any complaints when we ate in their restaurants which is several times.

      Like

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s