The excitement for Wimbledon is building, but west Londoners are lucky to have a Lawn Tennis Association event on their doorstep at Queen’s Club.
Last week, we were lucky enough to see Australian Open champion Madison Keys try out her grass court strokes in what was the first WTA event at the Baron’s Court club in 50 years.
But Queen’s isn’t just about the tennis, there are plenty of watering holes to quench your thirst, whether for a classic Pimm’s and lemonade, or a cold, juicy rose.
Journey’s End, a winemaker from Stellenbosch in South Africa’s Western Cape District has a dedicated two-storey site where we enjoyed a glass of their Wild Child rose with its notes of strawberry and orange blossom.
Once the tennis was done for the day, we wandered over to the river at Hammersmith and the terrace at Sam’s Riverside brasserie which has a summer-long partnership with the winemaker.
Opened in 1887, this suspension bridge with its decorative shields is often cited as Londoners’ favourite Thames crossing and was designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette.
It’s been attacked twice by the IRA and once by the Real IRA, and was closed to cars in 2019 when cracks were found in the pillars. It has just reopened to cyclists and pedestrians with renewed hope that funds can be found to repair it.
Either way it’s a beautiful spot to for people watching along the Thames from rowers to joggers. We were happy to be less active, as we sipped Journey’s End’s creamy, lightly oaked V1Chardonnay while choosing from Sam’s modern British menu.
My colleague is vegetarian so we shared two veggie starters, a buttery-soft burrata with heritage tomatoes came with the tang of pickled red onions and an artichoke pesto.
The grilled asparagus came with a gooey crispy egg – think Scotch egg without the pork – and salty parmesan crisps.
There’s plenty of fish on the menu from scallops to mussels, oysters and langoustine sourced from Scotland, Ireland and Jersey.
But we opted for an aubergine schnitzel with a crunchy carapace and melting inside, set off with with the spice of a harissa and sumac coconut yoghurt.
My lamb rump was nicely pink and came with a light spring salad and mint yoghurt with a moreish side of pink fir potatoes doused in seaweed butter.
It went beautifully with a Journey’s End cabernet sauvignon, which was full of blackcurrant fruit and spicy oak.
And as the wind picked up there was a cashmere blanket to ward off any chill.
There was barely room for dessert but my colleague squeezed in a scoop of pomegranate and orange sorbet, while I had the lightest, fluffiest lemon souffle topped with pistachio ice-cream.
It rounded off our epic day of tennis, wine, and delicious food – all with a view of one of the loveliest stretches of river in London. Game, set and match.
Sam’s Riverside is at Crisp Road, Hammersmith and the summer terrace is opened daily throughout the summer, serving six Journey’s End wines including the Wild Child rose and a crisp sauvignon blanc.
