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Sam's Brasserie, Chiswick, no longer with us

It was that awkward week between Christmas and New Year when London is half shut and there isn’t a great deal to do. We were keen to do a bit more with baby G than the usual trip to the park or shopping so we caught up with Big Matt and his family for a play in a park in Chiswick and then lunch. The park didn’t quite work as we parked in the wrong place and once we got to the park it started raining. Baby G was most upset at being dragged away from the slide. This didn’t fill us with great hopes for his behaviour at lunch. However in choosing “Sam’s brasserie” Matt and Kathy had made a sound choice. It’s tucked down a little lane off Chiswick High road by Turnham Green so nice and quiet. Inside is industrial restaurant refit 101 but it works well as there is loads of space. We were shown to a big round table with lots of room for the boys to play at the table without knocking over anything.

The menu is classic brasserie style with some old favourites and some with a new twist. I decided to go a bit alternative and go for the fish curry which came with rice and pickles. The curry sauce was very nice as were the rice and pickles but the fish less so. One of the drawbacks of London at this time is some of the produce is not that fresh so alas my fish tasted a bit old. Having said that everyone else enjoyed their meals and it all looked nice with good portions so I think in this case I chose wrong. Baby G in particular loved his pasta, which was nicely seasoned and tasty. He also liked the bread pinching most of mine. However when it came to dessert Sam’s really won me over with a superlative banana split. I shared it with my lovely wife and it was delicious, top stuff. Baby G was kept busy with some ice cream.

The food wasn’t that quick coming out which is usually a problem when dining with our boy but it didn’t matter here as all 3 boys were really well behaved. Happy to be in a big spacious restaurant with lovely food. In fact a party of elderly diners at the next table came up to us and complemented us on the behaviour of the children, I can tell you that’s never happened to baby G before. The chaps were driving but the girls got through bloody mary’s and a bottle of wine so by the end of our lunch there was a very happy atmosphere. The bill was about £80 per family which wasn’t bad. All in all a very successful lunch in very nice surroundings. It offers hope that the long leisurely lunch may not be an activity of my past.

Monday, January 23, 2012
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8

Maxim, Northfields

Mews of Mayfair, Mayfair, a very bad & expensive meal