Dorking | Ladies Who Lunch in Surrey

I’d heard rumours of The Stephan Langton on the fabled Friday Street in Abinger Common and had been saving it to take a Canadian houseguest to. Finally my first guest of the year arrived and so off we went.

Our drive became more and more rural until we finally turned onto Friday Street, a beautiful single lane track constrained by impossibly growing trees. A little way along and you reach a tiny hamlet with a pretty mill pond. About as middle of nowhere that Surrey gets, The Stephan Langton is on the lane that runs alongside the pond.

There are a few outdoor tables in front of the pub.

Inside is a different vibe to most Surrey pubs, neither gastropub nor old man’s pub, the Stephan Langton is still and welcoming, seemingly without notice of the outside world.

There’s a pleasant dining room. I suspect reservations are necessary on weekends, my tip is to request one of the two tables in the little alcove room with nice views to the outside.

There’s a small bar area full of rural charm and dog walkers. You can also reserve a table in this area, wise even on weekdays.

Service is informal, chatty and welcoming. We had a great laugh with our server, who was keen to help my carsick daughter’s mood.

The menu changes constantly and promises the use of fresh and local ingredients, sometimes even including pheasant shot on the estate. There were many interesting items on the menu, including tuna lasagna and venison sausages. Prices were fair.

We both elected to have two courses from the starters menu, beginning with the pea and mint Homemade soup of the day (V) £4.95 Fresh bread & butter This was so yummy that my daughter, who had previously rejected any lunch on the basis of having a sore tummy, took one taste of mine and then demanded her own bowl – which she gobbled up.

For the next course, Canadian Vikki selected the Smooth chicken liver & whiskey pate £6.95 homemade chutney and toast. It was highly enjoyable and the chutney was very tasty.

For my second dish, I went for the Roast beetroot, chorizo & pancetta salad £7.25 Roasted with local honey as I can’t resist beetroot on a menu. It was very nice, a larger portion than I had expected, it alone would have been filling enough for lunch.

Friday Street in Abinger Common is a perfect spot for a walk in the countryside and the Stephan Langdon is the perfect spot to relax in afterwards. This is one of the finest pub locations Surrey has to offer and the journey to it is as satisfying as the pub itself.

I love the setting. I love the atmosphere. I love the food. I love that their website still has a title page. I love this pub and will definitely be bringing all my Canadian visitors here.

Friday Street, Abinger Common, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6JR
www.stephanlangtonpub.co.uk
Small car park, there’s also a car park just before the hamlet
Dogs welcomed with biscuits in the bar area

Last Saturday was my, Marie’s, wedding anniversary and to celebrate the man and I went to dinner at Two to Four in Dorking. (Un)fortunately I left the other ladies at home so this post is a singular lady who dines.

Located in an old timber framed building in the centre of Dorking, the interior is full of character yet decorated in a modern way. The dark wood beams have been painted a very up to date French grey, as have the walls, and the result is fashionably charming.

There are dining areas on the ground and first floors, as well as a small private room for hire on the second floor. The rooms are smallish but the spacing between the tables provides a good feeling of privacy.

When we visited each table had an extra large lemon as a centrepiece which, as well as adding a splash of colour to the room, became an object of discussion.

The menu is interesting and ambitious. The service welcoming and unpretentious.

Some appetizers arrived after placing our order. We would normally refer to these as an amuse bouche but apparently that’s not the Two to Four lingo. Perhaps because they were heavier than a regular amuse bouche. Nevertheless they were tasty though neither of us can remember what they actually were.

For starters he had the soup from the daily specials menu, curried parsnip with apples. He seemed unsure of it with the first few spoonfuls, but was raving about it by the time he found the apple chunks at the bottom.

I had seared scallops, sweet corn puree, caramelised wild mushrooms, chive oil and celery cress. I love scallops, they’re one of those items I will always order if it’s on the menu. These ones did not disappoint. In addition to the scallops being perfectly cooked, the wild mushrooms were delicious. There was a bit too much sweet corn puree for my liking.

For mains he had baked fillet of hake, carrot & coriander puree, cauliflower, pine nut & raisin salad with raz el hanout dressing. By this point he was getting tired of me making him wait to tuck into his food while I took photos. With the whole blog idea wearing thin the best I could get out of him about the dish was “It’s good.”

My main was crispy aromatic duck confit with wasabi mash, pak choi & miso sauce. It’s rare I finish every morsel on my plate and this had me wanting to lick the plate, I even ate the skin! (Skin normally creeps me out.) I would have liked a teensy bit more mash but overall the dish was superb.

We saw some enticing looking crispy courgettes on another table and ordered some for ourselves. The size of our main would have been sufficient without any sides but they were quickly gobbled up regardless.

By this point we were pleasantly full and decided we didn’t want desserts and were going to hurry home to watch the rest of Eurovision (yes we’ve been married a long time.) In the interest of the blog I thought I’d have a quick look at the dessert menu just to see what they offer. Our plans were quickly abandoned, everything sounded so intriguing we decided to share a dessert. When the waiter came to take our order our curiosity got the better of us, we both ended up getting our own.

He had the baked crunchy pear with peanut brittle, butterscotch sauce & vanilla ice cream. He inhaled it, which I assume means it was excellent.

Mine was the vanilla & yoghurt pannacotta with strawberry soup, mixed berries & basil sorbet. It was good though heavier than I’d anticipated, plus I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t also had basil at lunch.

What a perfect choice for a romantic dinner.

It’s always a treat to find such a wonderful restaurant in Surrey. Considering it took us less time to travel to Dorking than it would have for us to get into central London and cost a fraction the price as a similar meal, a visit to the Two to Four is a real contender for your next special night out.