Top Table
The French Table in Surbiton is one of only a few fine-dining outlets for miles around, says first-time owner Eric Guignard. Gaby Huddart ventured into affluent west London suburbia to find out more.
Having always worked as an employee - most recently as head chef of the White Onion in Islington, London - Eric Guignard took the decision to go it alone earlier this year. At the beginning of June, he opened his own restaurant, the French Table in Surbiton, Surrey, with his wife, Sarah, taking charge of front of house.
"We decided to open in Surbiton because we wanted to have a neighbourhood restaurant rather than being in central London," says Guignard. "Sarah is originally from nearby Shepperton, which is why we were drawn to this area. And it also seemed a good place to be because there's very little in the way of fine dining around here, other than Monsieur Max, which is 10 miles away in Hampton Hill."
Target market
With Surbiton being an affluent area, the 48-seat restaurant's target market is local residents aged 30-60. Guignard is already attracting 30-40 such people for dinner on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with numbers rising to 50-55 on Friday and Saturday nights and 40 for Sunday lunch.
In the evenings, the à la carte menu features six starters, seven mains and four desserts plus cheese. Guignard changes this menu every four to six weeks to reflect new ingredients as they come into season.
Currently, the best-selling starters are pan-fried foie gras on warm mozzarella and roquette salad (£8.50), and a gratin‚ of crab, mussels, spinach and cherry tomatoes with ginger and Gruyère (£6.20), which "flies out the door" according to Guignard.
Popular mains, meanwhile, are deep-fried scallops in a light tempura batter on fennel risotto with a carrot and coriander froth (£14.50), and caramelised pork belly with confit cabbage, crispy bacon and girolle craquelin, and a red wine sauce (£12.80). And at dessert, the clear winner with diners is a marshmallow mousse with raspberries (£4.50).
Guignard also offers a daily-changing lunch menu from Tuesday to Friday, with two courses for £12.50 and three for £15.50, designed to boost daytime custom. The choice of four starters, four mains and three desserts or cheese, includes such dishes as risotto of goats' cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and almonds; magret of duck on crushed new potatoes with parsley and a red wine sauce; and chocolate mouelleux with vanilla ice-cream.
A separate lunch menu, offering three courses for £14.95, is available on Sunday. This boasts five starters, such as celeriac soup with pan-fried cèpe; salad of squid, Jerusalem artichoke and persillade; and marinated chicken in harissa oil with merguez and almond couscous.
Five options are on offer for main course, including steamed salmon with leek, ginger and coriander sauce; and pan-fried lamb chop with fresh chorizo sausage, red pepper ravioli and rosemary jus. To finish, there are three sweet options - including chocolate brownie and lemon tart with blueberry sorbet - or cheese.
The French Table, 85 Maple Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 4AW. Tel: 020 8399 2365
A selection from the à la carte menu at the French Table
Pumpkin soup with almond sabayon, £3.95
Roasted quail in honey and pepper, with fresh figs and celeriac, £5.80
Millefeuille of Jerusalem artichokes, Parmesan tuiles, wild mushrooms and chives, £5.50
Pan-fried red mullet with anchovy brandade and tapenade, £12.80
Escalope of salmon with a beetroot and potato gratin, beetroot sauce, £12.20
Petit salé of Barbary duck with Puy lentils, glazed root vegetables and truffle, £12.80
Chocolate mouelleux with apricot sorbet, £4.50
Home-made waffles with mixed berries and chantilly, £4.50
Tulip of home-made ice-creams with fresh fruits, £4.50
Menu of the month
Baltic restaurant in London (Caterer, 16 August 2001, page 50) has been named Menu of the Month winner for August. It automatically goes forward to the shortlist for the 2002 Cateys Menu of the Year award.
