There were many highlights in my 2018 calendar, though the one that stands out is without a doubt Sorrel. Steve Drake is someone whose been round the block, yet because he has operated outside of London for most of his career as head chef, he has remained relatively under the radar, even though this seasoned, talented Chef is anything but when it comes to his cooking chops. A Roux scholar, he has trained under many a legend in British gastronomy, including at Chez Nico, The Oak Room with MPW and has had stints with Alain Passard and at L’Auberge de L’Eridan in France.
You might be familiar with Steve’s previous restaurants, Drake’s and on the Pond before that, though I’ve been to neither. His new digs in Dorking is however an absolute wonder. This is his kitchen, robed in natural sun light and encased in glass.
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Richard Giles is Steve’s Head Chef, and the pair are regularly seen cooking rather comfortably in their kitchen (as is also seen above). The rest of the restaurant has this cottage feel to it, with low hanging wooden beams, the ambiance here reminds me very much of the charm that The Fat Duck’s dining room possesses.
The talent pool appears to be spreading outside of London, where I speculate that rents and rates aren’t as relentless, and Chefs have a little more breathing space to develop their cuisine without constantly having to chase the bottom line month to month.
I particularly like the fact that these guys try to source as much as they can locally. They serve Dorking ale and source their duck from Etherly Farm, a stones throw from the restaurant and is of stellar quality.
Steve won (back) his star for the 2019 guide and given the class of his cooking, it is well deserved.
I should also mention that he uses Difference Coffee, specifically the Hawaiian Kona champion beans and other fancier ones like the Blue Mountain, and offers them as drip/filter. Well worth going for that to finish.
I’ve been three times and I adore the restaurant. The team work as a cohesive unit like clockwork to make the show more than worth the price of entry. Steve and team continue to cook with supreme confidence in delivering elegant and harmonious dishes, meanwhile Miguel and FOH work hard to make sure people feel right at home. As we are at the transition from Spring to Summer, I definitely recommend a trip to Dorking on a sunny Saturday morning – it would be nourishment for the soul.
There are ALCs and Taster menus here, starting from £45 for lunch and his ‘Discovery’ taster menu tops out at £95 for 9 courses.
Pictures and descriptions below, from three lunch visits for their lunch ALC menu, all as table of two. Average bill per meal was around £70pp including half bottles of wine and coffee.
Feb 2019
Binchotan bbq mackerel, pork belly, ponzu, beetroot, and a just of roasted mackerel and lovage.
Oils of the sea meeting oils of the land, flavours abound, tied together with charcoal and brightened up with controlled use of acidity. Banging dish.
Venison tartare
With blood orange, chicory marmalade, with beef fat toast topped with Cornish Gouda cream and winter black truffle.
And a stunner of a sauce made from oyster and lemon thyme.
Aromatic duck from nearby Etherley farm, served three ways.
Roast breast with tamarind, slow braised leg with ras el hanout, a little duck sausage, with saffron carrot purée and romanesco broccoli. Beautifully roasted bird accompanied by plenty of umami.
Caramelised mango, basil cannelloni, passion fruit cream.
Difference Coffee – drip
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Oct 2018
Canape: Beetroot crisp with oyster and horseradish cream and wild bream tartare.
This was spot-on. Incredible fresh and lively flavours.
Amuse: Pumpkin, parmesan, spiced praline with a mandarin surprise.
Served with featherlight house made brioche witha ripple of red pepper puree.
Scallops two ways. Pan fried and tartare. With smoked cauliflower, curried oak granola and cucumber ketchup.
Chicory, Welsh ham, pickled plum, Italian autumn truffle, Cornish Gouda, samphire
I really liked this one, an understated, intelligent study of flavours that go together hand in hand. The endive I’m told has been firstly cooked in some local Dorking ale, and presumably charred to finished. Ive always found that browned endive’s flavour is very close to that of truffle, and it really went a long way to pump up the -let’s say- more humble tuber of the season, together serving as the earthy backbone of the dish. The rest of the dish provides the salt, and those plums brought the fireworks in the acidity department. Sophiscated stuff for sure.
Soft poached Burford brown, Pied de Mouton, lamb juices, kohlrabi, miso and rosemary
Pollack,smoked bone marrow, coconut foam, carrot, mussel and lovage oil.
On cuisson, this was as perfect a Pollack as I’ve ever seen and tasted. Glimmering nacre, and beautiful translucent flakes all over. I love the disc of smoked marrow, it adds meatiness to compliment the fish’s clean flavour. This being the prime example of the exemplary work which Steve and team are doing here. A true spectacle.
Of course, this is only possible with immaculate day boat catch from the South West. A fish with flakes that are as firm as the noblest in the sea, and when it is cooked as well as this, I can hardly tell the difference between it and say, turbot. It remains an underpriced gem, which is a good thing for us all I suppose.
Pear.
Hibiscus poached pear, goats yoghurt, cardamom, crystallised ‘tablets’ of Poire Williams with liquid centre, shortbread crumble and incredibly snappy and shiny tuiles of thinly sliced pear. deceptively simple, but it’s so well made and balanced that the entire thing simply floats on the palate.
Blackberry “Waldorf” 2018.
A pudding with clever use of ingredients, that I found to be highly impressive.
The parfait is made with walnut, praline and celeriac, giving the cold parfait earthy depth and body, akin to say sweet potato or yam puddings. Blackberry added a burst of jamminess, and all of it rounded off with the Bramley apple and sorrel sorbet. Very slick work, clean but also satisfying.
Like my first visit, puddings were a highlight, and going by photos on IG, it certainly looks a very capable pastry chef runs the section here.
Aug 2018
BBQ ratte potato, trout roe and seaweed butter.
This dish was ok. Good potato, not unlike what Claire Smyth is doing, though she started first.
Etherly farm roast duck breast, morrocan spiced parsnip, gem, smoked yoghurt and green elderberry.
Tender and moist with crispy glazed skin – a lovely cook.
There were many highlights in my 2018 calendar, though the one that stands out is without a doubt Sorrel. Steve Drake is someone whose been round the block, yet because he has operated outside of London for most of his career as head chef, he has remained relatively under the radar, even though this seasoned, talented Chef is anything but when it comes to his cooking chops. A Roux scholar, he has trained under many a legend in British gastronomy, including at Chez Nico, The Oak Room with MPW and has had stints with Alain Passard and at L’Auberge de L’Eridan in France.
You might be familiar with Steve’s previous restaurants, Drake’s and on the Pond before that, though I’ve been to neither. His new digs in Dorking is however an absolute wonder. This is his kitchen, robed in natural sun light and encased in glass.
Richard Giles is Steve’s Head Chef, and the pair are regularly seen cooking rather comfortably in their kitchen (as is also seen above). The rest of the restaurant has this cottage feel to it, with low hanging wooden beams, the ambiance here reminds me very much of the charm that The Fat Duck’s dining room possesses.
The talent pool appears to be spreading outside of London, where I speculate that rents and rates aren’t as relentless, and Chefs have a little more breathing space to develop their cuisine without constantly having to chase the bottom line month to month.
I particularly like the fact that these guys try to source as much as they can locally. They serve Dorking ale and source their duck from Etherly Farm, a stones throw from the restaurant and is of stellar quality.
Steve won (back) his star for the 2019 guide and given the class of his cooking, it is well deserved.
I should also mention that he uses Difference Coffee, specifically the Hawaiian Kona champion beans and other fancier ones like the Blue Mountain, and offers them as drip/filter. Well worth going for that to finish.
I’ve been three times and I adore the restaurant. The team work as a cohesive unit like clockwork to make the show more than worth the price of entry. Steve and team continue to cook with supreme confidence in delivering elegant and harmonious dishes, meanwhile Miguel and FOH work hard to make sure people feel right at home. As we are at the transition from Spring to Summer, I definitely recommend a trip to Dorking on a sunny Saturday morning – it would be nourishment for the soul.
There are ALCs and Taster menus here, starting from £45 for lunch and his ‘Discovery’ taster menu tops out at £95 for 9 courses.
Pictures and descriptions below, from three lunch visits for their lunch ALC menu, all as table of two. Average bill per meal was around £70pp including half bottles of wine and coffee.
Feb 2019
Binchotan bbq mackerel, pork belly, ponzu, beetroot, and a just of roasted mackerel and lovage.
Oils of the sea meeting oils of the land, flavours abound, tied together with charcoal and brightened up with controlled use of acidity. Banging dish.
Venison tartare
With blood orange, chicory marmalade, with beef fat toast topped with Cornish Gouda cream and winter black truffle.
Cod roasted to immaculate porcelain flakes, Lollo Rosso, cheeky caviar, nips.
And a stunner of a sauce made from oyster and lemon thyme.
Aromatic duck from nearby Etherley farm, served three ways.
Roast breast with tamarind, slow braised leg with ras el hanout, a little duck sausage, with saffron carrot purée and romanesco broccoli. Beautifully roasted bird accompanied by plenty of umami.
Caramelised mango, basil cannelloni, passion fruit cream.
Difference Coffee – drip
Oct 2018
Canape: Beetroot crisp with oyster and horseradish cream and wild bream tartare.
This was spot-on. Incredible fresh and lively flavours.
Amuse: Pumpkin, parmesan, spiced praline with a mandarin surprise.
Served with featherlight house made brioche witha ripple of red pepper puree.
Scallops two ways. Pan fried and tartare. With smoked cauliflower, curried oak granola and cucumber ketchup.
Chicory, Welsh ham, pickled plum, Italian autumn truffle, Cornish Gouda, samphire
I really liked this one, an understated, intelligent study of flavours that go together hand in hand. The endive I’m told has been firstly cooked in some local Dorking ale, and presumably charred to finished. Ive always found that browned endive’s flavour is very close to that of truffle, and it really went a long way to pump up the -let’s say- more humble tuber of the season, together serving as the earthy backbone of the dish. The rest of the dish provides the salt, and those plums brought the fireworks in the acidity department. Sophiscated stuff for sure.
Soft poached Burford brown, Pied de Mouton, lamb juices, kohlrabi, miso and rosemary
Pollack,smoked bone marrow, coconut foam, carrot, mussel and lovage oil.
On cuisson, this was as perfect a Pollack as I’ve ever seen and tasted. Glimmering nacre, and beautiful translucent flakes all over. I love the disc of smoked marrow, it adds meatiness to compliment the fish’s clean flavour. This being the prime example of the exemplary work which Steve and team are doing here. A true spectacle.
Of course, this is only possible with immaculate day boat catch from the South West. A fish with flakes that are as firm as the noblest in the sea, and when it is cooked as well as this, I can hardly tell the difference between it and say, turbot. It remains an underpriced gem, which is a good thing for us all I suppose.
Pear.
Hibiscus poached pear, goats yoghurt, cardamom, crystallised ‘tablets’ of Poire Williams with liquid centre, shortbread crumble and incredibly snappy and shiny tuiles of thinly sliced pear. deceptively simple, but it’s so well made and balanced that the entire thing simply floats on the palate.
Blackberry “Waldorf” 2018.
A pudding with clever use of ingredients, that I found to be highly impressive.
The parfait is made with walnut, praline and celeriac, giving the cold parfait earthy depth and body, akin to say sweet potato or yam puddings. Blackberry added a burst of jamminess, and all of it rounded off with the Bramley apple and sorrel sorbet. Very slick work, clean but also satisfying.
Like my first visit, puddings were a highlight, and going by photos on IG, it certainly looks a very capable pastry chef runs the section here.
Aug 2018
BBQ ratte potato, trout roe and seaweed butter.
This dish was ok. Good potato, not unlike what Claire Smyth is doing, though she started first.
Etherly farm roast duck breast, morrocan spiced parsnip, gem, smoked yoghurt and green elderberry.
Tender and moist with crispy glazed skin – a lovely cook.
Herdwick lamb saddle, braised shoulder, jerusalem artichoke, sherry jelly, Barbot-esque Nasu dengaku.
Classic late summer pairings of lamb and aubergine, classy, precise and cleanly executed plate of food.
restaurant details website • instagram