Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Dorking
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Dorking restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 95 restaurants in Dorking and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Dorking restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Dorking Restaurants
1. The Anchor
British, Modern restaurant in Ripley
High Street - GU23
“Terrific food in a nice old pub” sums up the straightforward winning formula of this highly popular venture from chefs Mike Wall-Palmer and Dave Adams, who worked together at top chef Steve Drake’s former restaurant in the village. Their cooking is “totally reliable and reasonably priced”, with the set lunch in particular offering “exceptional value”.
2. The French Table
French restaurant in Surbiton
85 Maple Rd - KT6
“A high-quality find on a suburban parade!” – a “comfortable and highly competent neighbourhood gem” that’s 10 minutes walk from Surbiton station; and which has long been a “mainstay” of sophistication for many local residents. “Eric Guignard in the kitchen provides excellent cuisine and first-class service is overseen by Sarah, his wife”. Other key features are a “very good wine list with a wide selection of reasonably priced as well as special bottles” and “a set lunch that’s outstanding value for food of this quality”. (“I‘ve been coming here for 20+ years and TFT is consistently brilliant with Eric and Sarah remaining at the very top of their game and continuing to develop the great food and wine they offer”).
4. Mezzet Dar
Lebanese restaurant in East Molesey
39 Bridge Rd - KT8
Tapas Inspired by Spain and Lebanon
What does Dar mean? It’s Lebanese for “lounge” and Spanish for the verb “to give”.
And that’s a perfect combination with Spanish and Lebanese-inspired tapas as well as fine wines in a relaxed and convivial ambience.
This new restaurant is un...
5. Sorrel
British, Modern restaurant in Dorking
77 South Street - RH4
“Whilst the travails of hospitality in these challenging times have reduced the opening times and menu options (notably the previously excellent-value set lunch), absolutely no compromise has been made by chef-owner Steve Drake in the quality of the cuisine” at his smartly presented Surrey HQ, and all reports say “he continues to provide succulent and splendid culinary masterpieces with exemplary service”… “cutting-edge and well worth the investment”.
6. The Grumpy Mole
British, Modern restaurant in Brockham
Brockham Green - RH3
This “nice pub” close to Box Hill in the Mole Valley is known for its “good-quality food” – which means you need to book ahead for Sunday lunch. From the five-strong local Grumpy Mole group, it is known as ‘The Inn on the Green’.
7. The Dining Room, Beaverbrook
Japanese restaurant in Leatherhead
Reigate Road - KT22
“There’s no finer way than a visit to impress a business colleague or, indeed, anyone for that matter”, according to fans of “the magnificent Beaverbrook estate – a wonder to behold and with a Dining Room featuring the very best in Japanese food”. The dining room itself has been super-tastefully updated; and in it Wojciech Popow (founder of the Polish Association of Sushi Chefs!) creates a menu of sushi, sashimi and the finest surf ’n’ turf robata’d on the Josper grill. “Before and after dining, the spacious grounds are a joy to take a leisurely stroll in”.
8. Fetcham Tandoori
Indian restaurant in Fetcham
248 Cobham Road - KT22
2022 Review: In a village near Leatherhead, this well-established Indian (opened in 1983) – nowadays run by the son of the founder – is strongly applauded by its local fans.
9. Kinghams
British, Modern restaurant in Shere
Gomshall Ln - GU5
“Set in a charming cottage” in an “attractive Surrey Hills village setting”, this red-brick restaurant is “a class act from the off”, beginning with the “warm welcome” from Jack Forrest Foster, who purchased the restaurant alongside chef Mohssine El Faddi in 2019 (the venue having been in existence for over three decades). “The modern British food has a North African influence which adds to the interest and taste” and invariably “draws you back”.
10. Hurtwood Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Peaslake
Walking Bottom - GU5
2021 Review: “Good Italian food in the Surrey Hills” is to be found in this substantial village pub, now operated by an Italian team that ran restaurants in Guildford for three decades. The bar menu of pizzas and pasta is complemented by a more formal menu in the restaurant.
11. The Cricketers
French restaurant in Cobham
Downside Common - KT11
There’s no doubting the “fantastic location” of this link in Raymond Blanc’s Heartwood Inns collection – a nook and cranny-filled boozer on pretty Downside Common with a heated outdoor tent and beer garden for added measure. Its victuals aren’t fancy but are “generally good” by common consensus, and continue to be of note for their moderate price tags (especially now they’ve relaunched their bargainous seasonal set menus).
12. Grill at The Old Plough
Steaks & grills restaurant in Stoke D'Abernon
2 Station Road - KT11
This “popular gastropub stalwart” is “always busy, even if you were to go on a Tuesday lunchtime”. It occupies a listed 300-year-old former courthouse which featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’. The food here is consistently well-rated and commented on as being “better than average”.
13. The Black Swan
British, Modern restaurant in Ockham
Old Ln - KT11
2023 Review: “Good solid food” and a “large outdoor space for eating” makes this country pub a handy refuelling spot for visitors to the RHS gardens at nearby Wisley.
14. The Victoria Oxshott
British, Modern restaurant in Oxshott
High Street - KT22
Taken over by Simon King and Matt Larcombe, ex-head chef of The Crown at Bray, three years back, this smart red-brick former beer house in the Surrey ‘burbs enjoys a “lovely setting” (“the opening of the beautiful garden last year is a lovely addition for warm summer evenings”). At the pass, “new chef Dan (Lee) has done brilliantly to retain the standards of this ‘fine-dining’ pub”, turning out “outstanding” and modern takes on British pub grub – though a visit can get “pricey” (especially if you avail yourself of the rarer vintages on the wine list).
15. The Ivy Cobham Brasserie
British, Traditional restaurant in Cobham
48 High St - KT11
This Surrey branch of The Ivy’s stylish national brasserie offshoot is an “incredibly popular” sort of place, where the most appealing location to eat is the Orangery. From providing one reporter’s “worst dining experience of the year” to another’s “dazzling delight”, it continues to split opinion, but the majority verdict is that “the atmosphere and ambience (which “exude fun and enjoyment”) excel more than the food” (which is “acceptable but nothing special”).
16. The Plough Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Cobham
Plough Lane - KT11
This red-brick steak restaurant and bar is part of the carnivorous, three-strong Rare Breed Dining group, with its own in-house smokery and butcher overseeing prime cuts of meat (part of a trendy package that also includes on-site wreath- and candle-making classes); results from the menu (relayed via daily specials boards) are “tasty” and there’s a “lovely outdoor area for al-fresco dining in summer”.
17. Coppa Club Cobham
British, Modern restaurant in Cobham
13-15 Between Streets - KT11
This comfortably decorated national chain feels akin to dining in a hotel, but minus the bedrooms; and its two London branches – near the Tower and in Putney – benefit from attractive Thames-side locations, where “it’s lovely to sit outside on a warm day by the river, or year-round in one of their igloo pods”. “There’s a warm fire inside with cosy armchairs”, too, which make the venues “fine for coffee or snacks”, although for more substantial meals “the food is only OK”.
18. The Onslow Arms
British, Modern restaurant in West Clandon
The Street - GU4
“A very well-run and vast pub/restaurant which has managed to balance itself between the two”. Between the “reliable and fresh” British grub, “well-kept beers” and “friendly and efficient team” (plus a lovely garden) it’s “always a delight to visit”.
19. José Pizarro at The Swan Inn Esher
British, Modern restaurant in Esher
2 Hare Lane - KT10
“Yes, just a local pub – but owned by José Pizarro”, godfather of Spanish cuisine in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the maestro’s first gastroboozer-with-rooms (and first venture outside the Big Smoke) is “mainly tapas” and by most reports it’s “well worth a detour” to the Surrey ‘burbs, with “very good outdoor spaces” a further boon. Top Menu Tip – “especially good pork rib paella”.
20. Prince Of Wales
restaurant in Esher
48 West End Lane - KT10
“Newly reopened after an extensive refurbishment” (to the tune of £2m) in December 2023, this 140-year-old pub in a “lovely setting overlooking the West End green” now boasts a glamorous 48-seat orangery, outdoor bar, firepit and heated terrace amongst the gardens. The “interesting and varied” cuisine focuses on sharing-style plates (but not just), and there’s a “buzzy but not noisy atmosphere” that adds to the fun of a visit.
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