In Brief:
Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 9/10
IN DETAIL:
It is often said, and repetition makes it no less true, that the restaurant industry is in crisis. An imperfect storm of Brexit, Covid and inflation has meant that running a restaurant in 2025 is a very hard business, to the point why you sometimes wonder why anyone tries. It is therefore quite exhilarating to come across somewhere that, despite the headwinds, has the enthusiasm and energy to make the effort and the talent to pull it off.
The Silver Birch has that vital combination. Situated on Chiswick High Street amongst a variety of big-name chains, it has unashamedly set out to be a fine dining restaurant. Chef Nathan Cornwall joined in 2023 having won a Michelin star at The Barn at Moor Hall and previously learned his trade at Le Champignon Sauvage. It offers an a la carte menu for £75 per person, which would be great if you are in a rush, but the six course Chef’s Tasting Menu for £110 allows a fuller appreciation of what they are trying to do.
You can usually begin to judge whether a restaurant is able to meet the demands of fine dining from the quality of the opening snacks, and whether you would be happy for them to simply bring you further plates of these rather than anything else. The Silver Birch meets the required standard with aplomb. A pig’s head fritter was enhanced by a dab of mustard, while the cured sea trout was perfectly accompanied by an English sparkling wine from Rathfinny, which really brought out the saline quality of the fish. The dish was completed with an unctuous Spenwood cheese tart. All beautifully presented and accompanied by a series of breads, each with its own butter, of which the bacon and shallot brioche was the standout.
They are obviously not going to let you have endless cheese tarts and so we moved on. The palate was cleansed by an amuse bouche of an earthy celeriac broth with truffle that had undergone a two-day reduction, sweetened by a hint of apple, before the first course proper. This was a Ruby Red beef tartare served with artichoke in pickled, sliced and crisp form and a caper jam which provided a sharpness to cut through the meat. If you chose to have the accompanying wine flight (and you should) this came with a Touriga Dourosa La Rosa, whose deep black fruit nose and port notes gave way to an elegant smoothness that complemented the tartare.
Following this were Norfolk Heritage carrots glazed in brown butter, given extra texture by a crunchy roasted pearl barley. This came in a cheese sauce made with Coolea, which managed to be both delicate and rather opulent in a comfort food kind of way. Accompanying this was the probable star of the wine show, a Spanish Viognier from Navarra which was almost Burgundian on the nose but with its coastal roots giving a saltiness when combined with the carrots and Coolea.
Sticking with the coastal theme, next was Newlyn cod poached for 45 minutes at a low temperature which rendered it exquisitely cooked, the flakes separating at the slightest press of a fork. This came with barbequed cabbage and a dill sauce that provided a bite to an otherwise rich dish. A Chenin Blanc from Anjou had biscuit notes that worked superbly with smoky cabbage.
The final savoury course was a Squab pigeon, cooked quite rare giving it a melt in the mouth texture. Not overly gamey, for those put off by such things, and given a wintery earthiness by some organic beetroot. This was paired with a young Rioja Crianza which had good tannin while remaining light and fruity.
Dessert began with a cleansing blackberry sorbet accompanying Kentish blackberries and a bit of granola crunch and wafers of meringue. This came with a dessert wine I had never encountered before, a Reciotto made from late harvest Valpolicella which had a raisiny, black cherry quality. The final shot was a brown butter chocolate delice, a dark tart with preserved cherries and a topping of milk sorbet that perhaps fortunately was a lot lighter a dish that it looked. This came with a classic 10 year Offley Tawney port.
All of this was absolutely excellent, but there was an extra element of enthusiasm, of a desire to give you the best possible dining experience that is harder to capture in a review. This is a credit to the young but knowledgeable and enthusiastic front of house staff who did a great job of conveying what the Silver Birch was about and what they are trying to do. There is just something slightly thrilling about going somewhere that’s gone and found a Spanish Viognier (did you even know such a thing existed?) and really, really wants you to try it with their carrots because they think you’ll love it, and they are absolutely right.
The Silver Birch is not quite an undiscovered marvel – it was the AA’s London Restaurant of the Year in 2024, but you sense there is more to come. I looked out for their name in the recent Michelin announcements but there was nothing this year. That may be no bad thing. One reason for giving them only 9 out of 10 is that I reckon they think they’ve got further to go, and that they have every intention of striving to get there. More reason to go now, to enjoy being on their journey. And so you can go back in a couple of years’ time and tell everyone you were going there long before it became really famous and Nathan Cornwell becomes a household name.
Nathan Cornwell
ADDRESS: The Silver Birch, 142 Chiswick High Road, W4 1PU, 020 8159 7176, www.silverbirchchiswick.co.uk
OPENING TIMES: Lunch, Thurs to Sat 12:00 to 14:00. Dinner, Tues to Sat 18:00 to 21:00
Chef’s Tasting Menu £110pp, accompanying Wine Paring £70pp. 3 Course set menu £75pp.
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