Chompers of Surbiton opens for business!

Now we have completed our move to Surbiton (Long Ditton, actually), it’s been suggested by a couple of readers that I should rename the blog. So welcome to the first posting on Chompers of Surbiton!

Since restrictions on pubs and restaurants were lifted, we’ve managed two lunches out, and discovered the pleasures of sitting in the sunshine outside our local, the City Arms, watching the wildlife in the marina – heron, great crested grebe, as well as more common birds, and some huge fish.

Our first lunch was back to Hart’s Boatyard.  They had arranged a one-way system, with hand sanitizer at the door. Tables were well spaced out, and the upstairs area out of action, so the number of people they could seat was much reduced.  Most tables were occupied, but we had asked for one overlooking the river, so we had a very nice view, though it was a little darker downstairs than the at upstairs tables we’d had before.

Their menu was reduced, but still there was an interesting range.  We ordered tempura squid and crab arancini to start, and a bottle of Sunlight Sauvignon Blanc. Thankfully, the waitress pointed out to us that the Sunlight was low alcohol, so we went for Tokumara New Zealand SB instead.

We seemed to wait quite a while for our food, and when it came, they brought the main courses, rather than the starters. They took these away, and the starters appeared soon after.  The squid was cooked nicely, but the batter was a little dull, with no sign of the Szechuan peppercorns. But the chilli and red pepper in the arancini made up for that with quite a good kick in a full flavoured ball.

We ordered a second bottle to go with the mains, which arrived after a sufficient pause to make one think they had been re-cooked. B had more crab in her linguine, with king prawns and chorizo. The chilli in this was prominent too, though in identifiable pieces you could avoid if you wished. I had chicken Milanese with fries with some nice garnish of parmesan, rocket, pine nuts and aioli.

We passed on desserts, feeling full on our first meal out in months.  With service – friendly, recovering well from the mistake – and the two bottles, this came to £108, good value for some interesting food.

 

When restaurants were allowed to open on 6^th July, we tried to book for lunch at The French Table – but the first day we could get was 22^nd.  That was just about a month after we moved in, so it seemed a suitable date.  Our previous visit had been back in October when we had been very impressed, and we had twice been thwarted – on my birthday when no trains were running, and on the day we completed on the house, when lockdown started. We had bought a couple of gift vouchers during lockdown to help with cashflow and hoping that they would survive. So we were very much looking forward to it – and we were not disappointed.

We arrived a fraction after our 1.30pm booking time to find a waitress at the door expecting us. Stories about “no-shows” at restaurants since they have re-opened are shocking, so perhaps they were concerned.  Welcomed with hand sanitizer and a forehead temperature check, we were then shown into the dining room. They had taken out some tables, but it was still pretty full. We were shown to a lovely table at the back, with the sunlight beaming in from the skylights.

We’d pretty much gone expecting to order the 5-course tasting menu, and looking at it decided to stay with that decision. The lead waitress described their special starter – raw salmon with kimchi – which sounded great, but we still stuck to our guns.

As we ordered the lunch, we also had a kir each, lighter than many, maybe with strawberries rather than framboise. We also opted out of the wine pairing options, and instead chose the Viognier from Pays d’Oc, at £28.  They do have a good range of wines by the glass or 500ml carafe.

Our waitress was struggling a bit with the new rules - delivering cutlery in a basket rather than laying it out, not topping up our wine - but they didn’t bother us.  Home-made bread included cheese, sun-dried tomato and olive.

First up was an extra amuse bouche, strawberry gazpacho.  With half a strawberry floating in it, this was a delicious rich, peppery soup, served in an attractively shaped little bowl. First designated course was scallops with a chorizo crust. This comes served in a dish surrounded by seaweed, which we are sternly warned not to eat – a bit pointless really. But the chorizo gives a really lovely boost to the perfectly cooked scallops.

The second starter is a terrine of duck and ham hock. This came with a sharp piccalilli and lovely walnut bread. Good but perhaps not that unusual.

Fish course is hake, with tomatoes and a chilli pesto.  The balance between the fish and the sauce is excellent, the fish skin being really crispy.  Obviously, in the tasting menu the portion of fish is fairly small, but it’s plenty to get the flavour.

The meat course was guinea fowl – roast breast, and confit leg in a raviole. The contrast between to the two parts of the bird is so interesting.  It comes served on a bed of pearl barley risotto and wild mushrooms in madeira sauce, which is probably the low point of the meal. Although the flavours are rich, the overall effect is rather cloying and salty. Actually, the hake had been pretty salty too.

Finally dessert was chocolate “moelleux” with blackberries, blackberry ice-cream and honeycomb crust (”Crunchie” without the chocolate). The chocolate aroma hit you immediately, before you even touched it. On contact with the spoon, it broke to reveal flowing molten chocolate. Blackberries provided a tart contrast. Lovely.

The full restaurant has buzzed with the contented murmur of comfortably fed diners. Admittedly it was generally a narrow demographic, though the table next us was a family of five.  Background music included Miles Davis, but was very low and unobtrusive. The various waitresses were all charming and friendly, only getting irritated with a walk-in customer who wanted to book a table but didn’t know what day for!  M. Patron and M. Patronne were in evidence, the latter chatting to us at the end – the restaurant had been pretty full since re-opening and not suffered from “no-shows”.

Admittedly the bill at £159 (including a second bottle and 12.5% service) was not cheap.  A place for celebrations and special events rather than a weekly regime, but somewhere wonderful to have within walking distance.