Brummell Recommends: The Fat Badger

The Gladwin Brothers brings the best of the British countryside to London with their delicious farm-to-fork fare

Food and Drink 20 Apr 2022

The Fat Badger dining room in Richmond is flooded with light

The background
The Fat Badger is the fifth outpost by Gladwin Brothers, the talented duo behind Notting Hill institution The Shed, Rabbit on the King’s Road, Nutbourne in Battersea and, most recently, Sussex in Soho. Located a stone’s throw from Richmond’s riverside, it has quickly become a neighbourhood favourite since opening in November last year.

The space
One thing’s for sure – you can’t miss The Fat Badger on Richmond Hill, and you definitely wouldn’t want to. Step inside and everything is larger than life, from the atmosphere to the extra wide comfy seats in the window. A bright and modern space with parquet flooring, forest green and mustard tiling, plush buttery banquettes and a verdant peppering of flora and fauna, it’s the ideal spot for a relaxing Sunday roast in style. There’s even artwork by Bridget Gladwin and swathes of natural light flooding the bar and dining room during the day, and warm orb lighting setting the tone for an evening soirée.

The food
Brummell visited The Fat Badger on a Sunday: the best day, in our opinion, to sample the best of the Gladwins’ delicious fare. “Sundays on the Farm” are a ritual at The Fat Badger, and it quickly becomes clear to us why. We’d already heard all about the generous roasts from the local buzz around The Fat Badger, which is a champion of British produce with a hyper-seasonal and zero-waste approach. And despite knowing we would soon be tucking into a Sussex sirloin and Creedy Carver farm half chicken (sourced from the family farm in Sussex) with all the trimmings, we started with the mushroom Marmite eclairs, a delicious pre-cursor to any meal, and one which we couldn’t resist following with six delightfully fresh AAA Maldon rock oysters with a smattering of Tabasco sauce and a shallot and apple vinaigrette.

A sip or two of the complementary crisp and dry white wine later and we were ready for the pièce de résistance. And our roasts did not disappoint. Succulent meat, perfectly cooked roast potatoes (crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, in case you didn’t know), sweet honey carrots and cabbage and a wholesome gravy. Wow. This was a roast to end all roasts – and this is definitely not the wine talking. We also found extra stomach space to share a salted caramel chocolate torte with brandy-soaked grapes and clotted cream, which was a bonus treat that meant we did not need to eat again until Monday.

The bill
To enjoy the same deliciously indulgent Sunday feast Brummell devoured, set aside around £80 for two with a glass of wine.

The verdict
Genuinely one of the nicest roasts you could ever eat in a gorgeous spot by Richmond riverside. Believe us when we say you’ll need a little stroll along the river after a perfectly satisfying Sunday on the Farm.

The Fat Badger, 15-17 Hill Rise, Richmond TW10 6UQ; thefatbadger-restaurant.com