The story
The Crossing Barnes sits at 73 White Hart Lane in Barnes, London, serving modern British food in a neighbourhood gastropub. The kitchen holds one AA Rosette (2026), and the menu changes with the seasons, moving between pub staples and dishes with an Italian lean.
Head chef Riccardo Rizzo leads the kitchen, and the daily menu shifts with what suppliers can deliver. Lamb and venison come from Denbighshire, and fish arrives from fishermen in Wales and Dorset. Bread is sourced from Barnet and coffee from Hackney, which gives the kitchen a clear local spine.
A spring visit for The Good Food Guide, which lists the pub as Good for 2026, covered a wide range. Cauliflower croquettes arrived with a cheesy centre, and a pea soup came with mint, lemon and 'nduja oil. Sea bream was crisp on top and flaky underneath, served with cauliflower purée, pickled apples, kale and brown shrimps. Another reviewer praised the rigatoni cacio e pepe and a flat iron steak with chips fried in duck fat. Pizzas come from the oven on Thursday to Saturday, and the sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice cream closes the meal well.
The bar and dining room is light and understated, with large windows and scrubbed wooden tables. Velvet settles and a cosy upstairs room suit private dinners and quieter evenings. In summer, the lantern-lit garden terrace comes into its own, with a flame-fired rotisserie grill and heaters for cooler months.
Recognition
Details
History
As a sensitive and family-friendly re-imagining of an old pub, it seems that owner Christian Arden has got this place finely tuned to the local neighbourhood – with excellent service to boot. The spacious bar/dining room is understated, filled with light from huge windows, backed up by a few pavement tables to the front and a large, walled sun-trap garden to the rear. It’s just the sort of place where folk feel comfortable dropping in for a pint, a cocktail or something from the decent selection of wines by the glass, before deciding to make an evening of it with dishes from the appealingly short menu. A springtime visit yielded satisfying pub staples ranging from reassuringly cheesy cauliflower croquettes to an old-fashioned chicken forrestière with hispi cabbage and new potatoes, alongside specialities with a Mediterranean slant. A bowl of pea soup with mint, lemon and 'nduja oil was a generous portion, as was sea bream (crispy on top, meltingly flaky underneath), served with cauliflower purée, pickled apples, kale and brown shrimps. To conclude, a classic tiramisu was everything it should be. The garden comes into its own in summer, when the pizza oven is turned on.
1 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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