Brentford has wanted to emulate its other river neighbours for a long time. Kew, Chiswick, Richmond, Barnes are all known for their genteel charm, and delightful riverside. Brentford was mainly famous for the sewage museum and easy access to the M4.

Over the past few years, and somewhat rudely interrupted by COVID, one side of Brentford High Street and much of the local industrial land has been cleared, and slowly rebuilt, as part of the “Brentford Project”. It is an ambitious plan to rejuvenate Brentford and turn it into the next Yuppie paradise of outwardly attractive small flats and high rents.

One pleasant side effect of the flattening of this little West London niche is the appearance of Rottura. Presumably, rents are still pretty cheap as the developers try to attract new buyers and tenants to the area with the promise of posh shops and decent restaurants. There is already the obligatory Gails if Morrison’s sourdough is not to your taste.

We stumbled across Rottura last summer while walking down Brentford High Street en route to the Steam Packet (review here). Had there not been tables and chairs outside, you might have mistaken its minimalist style for a hairdressers, but we were pleased we stopped. Dining on the pavement of Brentford’s second busiest road is not completely charmless, and we had a really good meal, at a good price.

Quite what made us go for a repeat performance on a wet night in January, is still slightly beyond me! However, two buses and 45 minutes later, we arrived, and we genuinely pleased we did. It is not a big restaurant, but it seems airy with a very minimalist style and large windows.

My only real complaint at this point, was that it is a little bright for an evening meal.

Not a huge menu (and you can see from the shadows what I mean about the brightness of the restaurant), but previous experience suggested it was going to be good.

We started with the Bruscetta, the broccoli and the Spicy Pork Belly.

I really enjoyed the Bruscetta (not everyone loves Brussel Sprouts as much as me), although it was crying out for seasoning. The pork belly was not too sweet and had a nice heat to it. But whoever was on Tempura duty needed to take the night off. The batter was too thick, and the fryer too cold, and the result was a doughy, greasy tasting covering to the vegetable. Honestly, I just thought they had undercooked it, so sent the first version back. If anything, the second one was worse. I specifically remember how good it was on our first outing, so was disappointed.

The mains (salmon and cauliflower), were both very good. The cauliflower was, again, very underseasoned. By this time, we had managed to get a small dish of sea salt, but as I have said ad nauseam elsewhere, you should have salt and pepper on the table, and not expect customers to ask for it. It is highly personal, and by no means an insult to the chef.

Drinks-wise, I had a not unreasonable Negroni, and a glass of Nero D’Avola, which was fine, but nothing to write home about. My companion plumped for a glass of rose to start (“quite good for the price”), and glass of Picpoul to follow, which was “fine, but nothing special”

Including tip we got out for under £100, so even with some less great elements to the meal, it was an enjoyable and good value night out. Service was good (Our drinks order was taken quickly, and nothing was too much trouble). We need more independent local restaurants, and I’m pleased to be able to recommend Rottura.

Be careful when booking, though. There are no many actual tables. There is a largish sharing table and “high tables”, which is actually a long shelf looking over the road, which means you are sitting next to each other. Something for the less romantically minded among us!

Conclusion

Overall: 4/5

• Service: 5/5
• Food: 4/5
• Drinks: 3.5/5
• Atmosphere: 3.5/5 (mainly the lighting)
• Value for money: 5/5
• Would we go back? 5/5

Rottura: https://www.rottura.co.uk/