restaurant review Modern Fine Dining in the Surrey Hills!MICHELIN STAR
Surrey super chef Steve Drake and team at his new restaurant SORREL have a lot to celebrate this Christmas as they enter their second year with a Michelin Star!
Veyrat, Nico Ladenis, Marco Pierre White at The Oak Room, Steve was a past winner of the Roux scholarship. He went on to be head chef at ‘Drake’s on the Pond’ and owned the Michelin-starred ‘Drake’s’ in Surrey, beginning his long association with the area. After closing Drake’s, he opened SORREL last year, and, over the past 11 months he has been working to bring on board a team of talented chefs, keen to learn and create with him and head chef Richard Giles.
A Located in a striking 300-year old
character building bursting with charm in the heart of Dorking in the Surrey Hills, SORREL took rather longer to complete than anticipated due to the complexities of renovating this listed building, and the
fter ten years in London, starting in the kitchen at The Ritz, and working with chefs such as Marc
luxurious and welcoming reception area where we were greeted by the front of house and quickly got our first glimpse of the deliberately open-plan kitchen! Provenance is something that is of huge importance to the team at SORREL. They are lucky enough to be surrounded by bountiful countryside and the chefs work closely with some excellent British producers,
including Etherley Farm, a
small supplier based down the road at Leith Hill, as well as Kingfisher Farm Shop in
to the greenhouse.
Abinger Hammer, who tend Marion McBurney
of Kingfisher Flowers provides weekly variable table arrangements in individual glass domed cloches, combining displays of seasonal flowers, foliage and vegetables from the changing menu, further highlighting
the strong relationship between the restaurant and its suppliers.
table revealing the inspirational menu serving dishes with unusual twists. The name SORREL came about when Steve realised it was a subconscious ingredient that was repeatedly echoed in many of his dishes time and time again! Our first and last taste of the meal was Sorrel - starting with trio of ‘snacks’ including a mouth-watering liver parfait with curried meringue garnished with sorrel to a final sweet marsh mallow treat with sorrel, to go with our coffee!
After being seated, we enjoyed a pre- dinner glass of perfectly chilled Nyetimber and were invited to go into the remarkably calm kitchen and speak to the chefs as they prepared our meal. The total opposite of ‘Hell’s Kitchen!’ In this kitchen everyone knows their job and what they need to do. A varied menu offers a traditional a la carte option, alongside a £65 per person for a five course or £95 per person for a nine course ‘Discovery’ tasting menu with optional fantastic wine pairing, taking you on a longer journey through chefs’ favourite dishes. SORREL offers intimate dining, seamless service and exceptional food. Steve can cleverly transform the most ordinary ingredients into a master dish with intriguingly brilliant combinations and exceptional depths of flavour. Best example was his “Green, Green, Green” vegetable creation.
We loved everything
about SORREL, and having met Steve, his passion and intuition shine through a splendidly memorable menu and through his team’s attentive, amiable service which brought his food to life. A unique and inspirational dining experience, in an elegant setting. The only catch is that you will need to book in advance to guarantee a reservation!
meticulous attention to detail by the designers and architects. One of Steve’s dreams was to design a functional but aesthetically pleasing state-of-the-art kitchen in a modernist glass cube on the first floor of the building preserving the original features by extending out from the tastefully exposed timber beams in the main dining room. I couldn’t wait to see how this plan had fallen into place!
As you enter, there’s an unexpected “living greenhouse” of vegetables, fruits and fragrant herbs, leading into a more
78
surreymagazineonline.co.uk
Décor is cool, calm and luxurious; neutral colours
the historic beams of the dining room. Interiors elegance
and lighting and comfort,
are all about by Alexander
Waterworth. Stunning silver-mint velvet corner banquettes to sink into and tables with velvety comfy armchairs in delicate subtle tones of lavender lilacs. Downstairs is a private dining room and bar area, more cosy and casual, perfect for autumn and winter months. Each detail tells a story – from the fine art photography on the walls and the bright mint green origami on our
and white linen showcasing
77 South Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 2JU Dinner, Tuesday – Saturday Lunch, Thursday – Saturday 01306 889414
www.sorrelrestaurant.co.uk Instagram:
@sorrel_restaurant_dorking
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
