Tucked away on Kew Green is Linnea, named after a species of honeysuckle and run by the Michelin trained former chef of Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Owner Jonas Karlsson refreshes Linnea’s small but ambitious menu every six weeks, keeping him and his customers on their toes.

The excellent restaurant manager, Jan, recommended a crisp and subtle Spy Valley wine to begin, and provided some delicious rosemary sourdough bread – it was so delicious I asked for seconds.

The crispy duck salad with pomegranate seeds, fennel and baby gem provided excellent balance between the especially crispy duck and the zesty crunch of the vegetables.

Taking Jan’s advice, we moved on to a slightly stronger Argentinean chardonnay for the main course, a salmon and cod fish pie, with leeks, peppers and mash.

Fish pie is a dish often seen on restaurant menus but is a tricky one to get right, however Linnea’s was delicious.

The restaurant has its own bay tree in the garden and staff makes bay leaf ice cream from scratch. I opted for the chocolate fondant, which had a perfectly gooey centre, and the bay leaf ice cream, which complemented the fondant in a way vanilla ice cream could only dream of.