The French Table – French restaurant
A family-run, independent French restaurant in Surbiton in Surrey, which has won numerous awards for its contemporary fine dining, including Surrey Life’s Chef of the Year 2016.
Whenever I come to a truly inventive fine dining restaurant, I love to go for the tasting menu if one’s available, as not only is it a great way to try things that you might not necessarily choose normally, but it’s also likely to include the most interesting seasonal ingredients, as well as a combination of the chef’s trusted favourites and new experiments.
The French Table offered a “five course” tasting menu, but including the complementary appetizer and palate cleanser, it was more like a seven course meal. I also went for the wine pairing option, given that (a) I know very little about wines, and (b) this option gives me a perfect amount of matched wine for each of the different courses.
Appetiser: Crab ceviche with crispy fish skin
A clean and refreshing start to the meal, the ceviche of crab was light but with intense flavour, and was accompanied by a crispy fish skin that was more like a prawn cracker than normal fish skin, albeit without the slightly greasy feel. A little too big to be considered an amuse-bouche, this complementary appetiser was more like an additional course in its own right.
Crab ceviche with crispy fish skin
First Course: Seared scallop with scallop ravioli & crustacean consommé
This was genuinely one of the nicest scallop dishes that I’ve ever had. The scallop itself was so succulent that it just melted in the mouth, while the crunchy julienne of Asian vegetables provided a nice contrast in texture. The single ravioli, containing a light scallop mixture, was perfectly cooked, and the whole dish was tied together with probably the nicest seafood consommé I’ve had, which had all the intensity of a great lobster bisque but without the rich creaminess.
This was served with a glass of Portuguese Casal Mendes Vinho Verde, which was a very nice and light white wine which went really well with the seafood flavours.
Seared scallop with scallop ravioli & crustacean consommé
Second Course: Ravioli of oxtail with foie gras ballotine
If the first two dishes were all about lightness, this dish was the polar opposite, with plenty of rich, deep, meaty flavours. The two ravioli were filed with an oxtail ragout that was full of robust, beefy intensity, and the bite to the al dente pasta worked as a great contrast to the melt-in-the-mouth tenderness of the oxtail. Further rich intensity was added to the dish by the two slices of foie gras ballotine, which practically melted on the plate, combining with the oxtail ravioli and the accompanying red wine jus. The icing on the cake was a dollop of black garlic puree, which added a sweet, almost smoky, hit to the dish.
This course was accompanied by a glass of 2015 Domaine Jean-Maurice Raffault from Chinon in the French Loire valley, which had a bold, fruity/cherry flavour which complimented the richness of the dish.
Ravioli of oxtail with foie gras ballotine
Fish Course: Cod with leek & potato gratin, broccoli sprouts and matelote sauce
The cod itself was cooked to perfection, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to get too excited about cod – so what really elevated this plate was the lemon crumb on top of the cod, which added an intense citrus hit and crunchy texture to the fish. The leek and potato gratin was a nice accompaniment, as were the broccoli sprouts, radish cress and cauliflower puree, but the highlight of the dish (other than the lemon crumb) was the drizzle of matelote sauce, a sweet sauce made with red wine that goes surprisingly well with fish.
The fish course was served with a glass of 2015 Bellotti Bianco, Cascina Degli Ulivi from Piedmont in Italy, which was a very unusual white wine (in a good way), as it was so fruity, at times it almost reminded me more of a pear cider than a white wine! Needless to say, it went perfectly with the citrus flavours of the dish itself.
Cod with leek & potato gratin, broccoli sprouts and matelote sauce
Meat Course: Saddle of venison with spiced crumble, celeriac puree & venison ravioli
The venison was everything you would hope for – succulent, full of gamey flavour, and cooked to perfection. The spiced crumble, which provided a nice contrast of texture, was served on the side (rather than as a topping, like with the fish course), together with a flavoursome (and incredibly smooth) celeriac puree, and a single chestnut and a single baby turnip, both of which added to the interesting flavour and texture combinations. The main focus of the dish (aside from the venison itself) was the ravioli (a central theme to the current seasonal tasting menu), which was filed with a venison ragout and which was as well-cooked as all the previous ravioli dishes. The sauce was described as a green peppercorn sauce, but there was no risk of the peppercorn overpowering the rest of the flavours.
The meat course was served with a glass of French 2012 Chateau de Retout, Haut-Medoc, Cru Bourgeois, which was a deep, rich red wine with blackberry flavours.
Palate Cleaner: Cherry sorbet and crumble
A complementary palate cleanser followed, which was just what was needed to refresh the taste buds before moving on to dessert. The cherry sorbet was refreshing but light (and the cherry flavour wasn’t too intense, which was a bonus as I’m not a huge fan of cherries), and the biscuity crumble added a nice bit of crunch.
Dessert Course: Sharing plate with a selection of desserts
The dessert course was, in fact, a selection of five desserts on a sharing platter (decorated with a personal message, as this was a celebratory birthday meal). There was a ginger bread & butter pudding, which was an interesting spin on a standard bread & butter pudding, and which was served with an fruit puree; a rocher of milk ice cream; a rocher of vanilla ice cream; a passionfruit and white chocolate mousse; and a chocolate tarte with chocolate curls and toffee shards, all of which was accompanied by a wide selection of sauces, chocolate crumbs, crumbles and gels. There was definitely something for everyone, and all of it delicious.
The desserts were accompanied by a glass of 2013 Passito, Cantina Paolini from Sicily, a dessert wine that was not (to my tastes, at least) too sweet, and which went with the various desserts perfectly.
Sharing plate with a selection of desserts
“…the quality of the food is equal to some of the best fine dining I’ve had…”
Overall impression: The quality of the food served at The French Table is equal to some of the best fine dining restaurants I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a fair few), yet The French Table hasn’t lost any of the welcome, warmth and vitality that comes from being a family-run restaurant. The staff go above and beyond at every stage (including the booking stage) to ensure that your meal is an amazing experience, which makes this the perfect venue for celebrating special occasions.
Whilst it is on the pricey side (the tasting menu, with wine pairings, was £82 per person), when you consider the quality of the food you are getting, and the price you would pay for a similar quality meal in central London, it’s an absolute bargain. And for those looking for a cheaper alternative, the restaurant runs a café/patisserie/boulangerie next door called The French Tarte, which not only serves its own afternoon teas and light bites, but which also does weekly “supper club” nights where the restaurant team cook up classic French dishes in a £12 set menu.
All in all, The French Table deserves all of the awards and recognition it has garnered over the last decade, and hopefully this attention will ensure that this delightfully welcoming independent restaurant will be here for years to come.
