French Restaurants in Old Woking
1. The French Table
French restaurant in Surbiton
85 Maple Rd - KT6
“We LOVE this restaurant. Use it for weddings, anniversaries, special occasions… it never disappoints!” – Eric & Sarah Guignard’s Gallic stalwart, 10 minutes walk from Surbiton station is “just the best neighbourhood restaurant” for its army of dedicated fans drawn from the inner London burbs, Surrey and beyond (some of whom have been coming since the place first opened in 2001). It is “a long thin room as it always has been” and perhaps “rather cramped”, but “year-in, year-out” the Gallic cuisine is “excellent”, “beautifully presented” and well-matched with “interesting wines”, all delivered by a “superb front of house crew” who “are very welcoming and remember preferences”. “Brilliant value all round”… “and great bread too at their ‘French Tarte’ patisserie” next door.
2. The Cricketers
French restaurant in Cobham
Downside Common - KT11
2025 Review: 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).
3. José Pizarro at The Swan Inn Esher
British, Modern restaurant in Esher
2 Hare Lane - KT10
With its array of “silky-smooth croquetas” and other tapas favourites, backed up by “a great choice of sherries”, this popular gastropub-with-rooms in the Surrey ’burbs from Spanish maestro José Pizarro is “one of the best places to eat for miles around” – and, as you’d expect of this much-fêted ambassador of all things Iberian, “makes a decent stab at a Hispanic vibe”.
4. Gilbey’s
British, Modern restaurant in Eton
82 - 83 High Street - SL4
2024 Review: This “stylish restaurant” near the bridge to Windsor has been run for almost 50 years by co-founder Lin Gilbey, who is responsible for its interior design. Her husband and business partner Bill (scion of the Gilbey’s Gin dynasty) sadly passed away in 2022, but Lin has pressed ahead with improvements, acquiring the premises next door to offer corporate entertainment and private dining facilities. Modern British cooking is generally felt to be “solid”.
5. Le Salon Privé
French restaurant in Twickenham
43 Crown Rd - TW1
This “lovely little restaurant” of 10 years’ standing in St Margaret’s is all that a neighbourhood spot should be – “just wish it was more local!” – offering high-class French cooking from former Pierre Koffmann sous chef Gianluca di Monaco. Star of the show is the “superb chateaubriand, air-dried on the premises, that just melts in the mouth”. Note: very busy when there’s a big game at nearby Twickenham.
6. Chez Lindsay
French restaurant in Richmond
11 Hill Rise - TW10
This “long-established Brittany-French restaurant” is “much loved in Richmond for its good food – galettes, seafood and the rest”, “amazing value” and “decent (if sometimes hectic) service”. Its sale two years ago by founder Lindsay Wotton, who ran it for 35 years, has not dented its appeal.
7. Le Petit Nantais
French restaurant in East Molesey
41 Bridge Road - KT8
This “lovely, small and very French restaurant” opposite Hampton Court Palace has been wowing guests for almost 30 years with its “well cooked food (nothing pretentious)” at “not greedy prices in the now very expensive restaurant world”. Chef-patron Jean-Philippe (JP) Gravier is joined by his daughter Victoria in the kitchen, with his English wife Kim running the FOH.
8. The French Tarte
French restaurant in Surbiton
83 Maple Road - KT6
2023 Review: This “lovely local friendly coffee shop” with a French accent and pastries is a spin-off from Eric and Sarah Guignard’s French Table next door, and does a particularly good Gallic take on the English afternoon tea.
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