July 28, 2014

Nikki’s

Formerly Il Siciliano, the Weybridge cafe has been refreshed and revamped and reopened in January as Nikki’s. On our to do list ever since, we managed to sneak in one last lunch sans kids before the schools broke up for summer.

The interior is delightfully surprising. Calm and graceful, it’s a marked difference from the bustle of the town.

The front section is an eclectic mix of comfy seating.

The rear section has proper tables and chairs for those who prefer dining upright.

It’s a chilled out atmosphere regardless of where you sit. Owner Nikki is very friendly and provides a personalised service that makes you feel like a guest rather than a customer.

The menu changes fairly regularly and the specials are unique week by week, with whatever Chef Ollie fancies creating. He makes everything fresh from scratch onsite, save the bread (see all those baked goodies along the top of the counter?)

The menu offers a variety of dishes and you’re sure to fancy more than one.

Order at the counter.

A steamy hot day, Marie chose the butternut squash spicy soup and focaccia bread £5.95 from the specials menu to test out the theory that drinking something hot will cool you down.

It was light, fresh tasting and had the perfect amount of fieriness (unfortunately it didn’t cool her down.)

Ann resolved to be healthy and ordered the Dante salad mixed lettuce & rocket, feta cheese, mint, courgette £7.95. It was super enjoyable with a tasty dressing.

She then threw her healthy thoughts out the window and ordered a bucket of chips £2.50.

The guilt over the chip bucket restrained us from the baked goodies, though they were quite tempting.

We lingered and savoured our last moments without kids until September at Nikki’s. It’s a great place to sit, relax and enjoy great food with friends.

Menu	4
Food	4
Decor/Ambiance	4
Service	4
Value	4
Total	20/25

1 Balfour Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8HE
www.nikkiscaffe.com
Town car park

July 14, 2014

The White Orchid Cafe

Following in the trend of putting cafes in boutique shops, The White Orchid has expanded beyond (and behind) flowers and now features a small cafe.

Tucked away behind its old location on York Road, the cafe is access via a small gravelled alley.

Still primarily a florist, your are greeted at the door by the beautiful scent of flowers.

The high ceiling gives lots of character to the space and the rows of skylights let the sunlight flood in. The front, where the tables are located, is open to the outside. Additional tables are located in the little courtyard in front.

Although here for the food we couldn’t resist having a poke around. The place is huge and has giftware, cards of course lots of flowers. Several racks of clothing hang in the back room. Then we spent way too long smelling scented candles. Our olfactory senses were working overtime.

The menu is small, with a selection of quiche and or salads plus a soup of the day. Although there was no soup on our day. There were several tartlet quiches to choose from as well as two types of salad.

Lynn selected the mushroom with a side of carrot, cabbage & mango salad. It was super yummy, particularly the salad.

Marie went for the carrot quiche, again with the carrot, cabbage & mango salad. She wasn’t sure what to expect, given the small selection, but it was very enjoyable. The carrots tasted caramelised and the salad nicely flavoured (if a bit inelegant to eat.)

It was very quiet when we went – we’re not sure if this is from the lack of awareness of the cafe or lack of selection on the menu but one thing is for certain, it’s not for the lack of atmosphere or taste.

Menu	2
Food	4
Decor/Ambiance	4
Service	4
Value	3
Total	17/25

10 York Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 9DT
www.thewhiteorchid.co.uk
Street parking or town lot on York Rd.

June 20, 2014

Giro Cycles

We were so impressed with Giro Cafe during the Surrey Classic Bike Ride launch party that we hurried back for lunch.

Bringing the London trend of coffee cafes for cyclists to Surrey, Giro acts as a meeting place for cyclists passing though Esher. It has plenty of cycle parking and also sells replacement parts.

But Giro is just as enjoyable for non cyclists.

It’s a laid back, stylish cafe, the kind of place you could easily wile away the day.

Each sitting area is different, even the two on the pavement in front. Yet they flow so seamlessly the differences aren’t immediately apparent. They’ve successfully transformed a boring high street location into a charming spot with character.

Bottles of water with glasses are on every table, waiting for you on arrival – a nice touch whether you’ve cycled here or not.

Being in a former men’s shop, Giro has no kitchen. So they wisely arranged to have the magnificent Pinnock’s provide their food for them. This has somewhat limited the lunch menu though it does change daily. They also have gluten free lunch & cake options.

To satisfy your need for caffeine they serve both slow drip and espresso style organic coffee as well as loose leaf tea.

We both decided to go with the chicken pesto & rocket panini (£6,) which doesn’t make for good blogging but did make our tummies happy. It came with a proper salad as a side and on super fresh and tasty seeded bread.

We were having such a nice, relaxing lunch that we didn’t want it to end. So we ordered cake.

Lynn was immediately drawn to the millionaire shortbread. All baked goodies are £2.50.

After much hemming and hawing Marie decided on the (gluten free) carrot cake, £2.50. It was moist, crumbly and yummy.

We were so pleased we’d hurried back for lunch, Giro did not disappoint. Giro has done everything right, we don’t think we’d change anything about it. It’s a fabulous and much needed addition to the Esher high street.

Menu	3
Food	4
Decor/Ambiance	5
Service	4
Value	4
Total	20/25

2 High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9RT
www.girocycles.com
Town or Sandown car parks.

May 29, 2014

The French Tarte

We love The French Table so when Ann’s car needed an MOT in Surbiton we decided to lunch at its baby sister, The French Tarte. It’s snuggled up against big sister on the elegant Maple Road in Surbiton. Street pay parking.

Opened by the owners of The French Table in 2011, The French Tarte is a stylish cafe that bakes its bread, pastries and cakes on site every morning.

The pavement in front is broad with mature trees and provides a pleasant setting for some outdoor tables.

Once we drooled our way past the display case full of goodies that greets you at the door, we took a seat at one of the marble topped tables. It’s a fairly basic interior but pleasant nonetheless.

When we visited there was a nice amount of buzz, without it being overly loud or crowded.

Service is good. As a bonus we had a real live French waitress.

The menu features many interesting twists on the standard fare. In true European style, each menu item has two prices, to stay or take away.

Marie opted for a baguette with tuna, sweetcorn and wasabi nuts. It arrived cutely wrapped in a bow. The bread was lovely but the wasabi was difficult to detect. She got halfway through before remembering they were there. Overall at £3.55 (for the eat in price) it was worth every penny.

Ann had the quiche of the day, vegetable and blue cheese. She wasn’t sure if that’s a garnish or a salad. It either needed more greens or a smaller plate. It tasted good, only a hint of blue cheese.

The treats on display were too tempting for our willpower. Everything looked so yummy we struggled to choose. In the end we elected to share an eclair and an apple & apricot tarte. Delicious! They really hit the spot as we were still a bit peckish after our mains.

If you’re in the neighbourhood The French Tarte is a great spot for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon treat. The residents of Surbiton (and now also Teddington) are lucky to have such a nice local cafe.

Menu	4
Food	4
Decor/Ambiance	3
Service	3
Value	5
Total	19/25

83 Maple Rd, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 4AW
www.thefrenchtarte.co.uk

May 7, 2014

Pinnock’s Coffee House

We were out to celebrate Lynn’s birthday and with miserable weather forcing us indoors we opted for one of our favourite cosy spots, Pinnock’s. Located in one of Ripley’s ancient buildings, on the high street near the intersection with Newark Lane (beside the Thomas Ford and Sons.) It’s easy to miss as the sign can be hard to spot. Street parking is usually easy to find.

Downstairs is a perfectly nice (big wood) tables and chairs cafe but upstairs is the real treat. Set in the rafters, the beams divide the area into roughly six sections. Each has its own individual comfy sofas, chairs and low tables, think charity shop chic. A book exchange corner and boardgames to add to the charm.

It’s super cosy and sweet and quirky. It’s hard to feel stressed inside Pinnock’s, as it’s such a relaxing environment. The service is welcoming and jovial. A visit here is a bit like wrapping yourself in a warm blankie.

For days that are too nice to sit inside, there’s a cute little patio area out back (we couldn’t get a photo because it was chucking it down.)

This is your proper coffee house and consequently they take their coffee seriously. You won’t find any of the bog standard dark roasted joe here. For each cup, beans are ground fresh and brewed using the slow drip method. Pinnock’s is all about the subtle flavours of the bean. Too bad we don’t drink coffee, but we had Clare with us to give a verdict. She approves.

Tea drinkers don’t despair, they do a proper cup served in a proper cup. The selection of leaves is as wide as the selection of beans.

The food menu here is more interesting than your standard cafe fare and everything is homemade, which automatically makes things more appealing. The portions are generous and the side accompaniments are tasty.

For her celebratory lunch, Lynn chose the Smoked Mackerel Pâté – Homemade pâté served with a marinated tomato salad, potato salad, green salad, coleslaw and brown toast. It did not disappoint, the pate was lovely, fresh and vibrant with nice sides.

Even before we arrived Ann was craving quiche. Fortunately the quiche of the day was brie and roasted vegetables, flavours Ann loves. It was deee-licious.

Marie and Clare both opted for wraps. Both looked identical so we only took one photo.

Marie had the roasted vegetables with homemade houmous finished with balsamic vinegar. Basically Marie orders anything on a menu with balsamic vinegar (including ice cream) but it was hard to detect it in the wrap. It and the sides were still yummy.

Clare had the free range egg mayonnaise with rocket salad. A good egg salad is underrated, but it’s the kind of thing you (or at least we) don’t bother to make at home so it’s a real treat to find a good one. We’ve decided that next time we come we’re all ordering the egg salad wrap.

If you have any room left (we didn’t) they also sell a variety of homemade cakes and treats. Poor Lynn, no cake for her birthday.

Pinnocks is such a special spot that we may well regret sharing it. Whether you come for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon treat, it’s sure to give you a break from the daily stresses of life and a chance to recharge your batteries.

Menu	4
Food	5
Decor/Ambiance	5
Service	4
Value	4
Total	22/25

High St, Ripley, Surrey, GU23 6AF www.pinnockscoffeehouse.com/
dogs are welcome inside in the upstairs and on the patio

Ladies Who Lunch in Surrey

No nonsense Surrey restaurant, pub and cafe reviews

Surrey Cafe Review

Nikki’s

The White Orchid Cafe

Giro Cycles

The French Tarte

Pinnock’s Coffee House

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