Fabulous food and fine wine a great addition for the Putney diners

Bibo is the latest addition to Rebecca Mascarenhas’ stable of restaurants which opened in March this year. On a drizzly summer evening the welcome was warm and the restaurant full.

The menu offers a range of choice but is not huge, which generally results in well cooked items. The four of us had the cocktail of the day - a prosecco with lemon sorbet fizzing at the base and a sliver of mint - fizzy and refreshing and a change from the more traditional French option of cassis.

citrus cured salmon	panzanella

We opted for coco beans, anchovies, roast peppers (£7), the citrus cured salmon, fennel, basil, orange (£6.50), from the small plates section the homemade ricotta, broad bean, zucchini, pecorino crostini (£3.50), pictured right and a hearty dish of panzanella (£7), a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes popular in the summer. It includes chunks of soaked coarse bread and a variety of tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

It was refreshing as a diner who is allergic to cheese, to find there were numerous options that I could order (hey ho I will just have to go back to try them all!). I ordered the pan fried calves liver (£17), served with borlotti beans, kale, girolles, balsamic - served pink and exquisitely tender, it melted in the mouth. Again the roast lamb rump (£18), served with new potatoes, bobby beans, salmoriglio (a pungent sauce of olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano) was served pink and was both tasty and tender. The chicken breast (£16) (pictured below), served with beetroot, fennel, lentils, summer herb dressing was light and very tasty. My husband ordered the brill (£19.50) (pictured left), served with zucchini scapece, and corno peppers, the zucchini were finely sliced and, together with a side order of creamy polenta with parmesan, were good complements to the texture and taste of the fish. All the dishes were beautifully cooked and presented.

There is a good leather bound wine list with a particularly good choice of wines by the glass or small carafe, guided by the very helpful Andreas, the red wine drinkers enjoyed the 2012 Valle del Crati ‘Cariglio’ (250ml £11.50) - a rich well rounded red - so much so we ordered a second! The white wine drinkers enjoyed a Falanghina (250ml £9.50) a sauvignon-style dry wine.

Bibo is an ideal place for a drink or a casual meal. Prices are not bargain basement, but the cooking is well-judged and the service excellent. We will definitely be back.

Sandi Bloomfield

August 26, 2014