Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Reigate
Hardens guides have spent 34 years compiling reviews of the best Reigate restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 123 restaurants in Reigate and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Reigate restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Reigate Restaurants
1. Koyal Indian Restaurant & Bar
restaurant in Surbiton
59-63 Brighton Road - KT6
“The latest addition to the Dastaan stable” – Nand Kishor opened this new venue in autumn 2024: a debut that was not only “Surbiton’s No.1 food event of the year”, but comfortably the decade. “Every bit as good as the original (Dastaan), just in a more useful location – it’s much larger than its sibling and a bit of a noisily hectic venue – mostly because it’s so popular – the cooking is astounding (I occasionally feel like I’ve been punched in my face after a visit, and that’s meant entirely as a complement!)”. “The dining room is simple, colourful and that’s about it: very much ‘Home Counties curry house’. It’s the cooking that is very special, every sauce perfect” – “each dish is superb, the rice is world class (it’s the best Indian food I’ve ever had”). “At last, Andy Hayler has a reason to visit Surbiton!”
2. The Anchor
British, Modern restaurant in Ripley
High Street - GU23
“It’s more gastro than pub, but the ambience deliberately stops short of a full restaurant experience and so you can have great food in a more relaxed manner” at Mike Wall-Palmer & David Adams’s characterful old hostelry, which has been a feature of the high street since the sixteenth century. A feature highlighted for praise is the “exceptional value set lunch” (“delightful carpaccio of beef, sea bream in a delicious mussel sauce and a scrumptious dessert… top value!”). There’s also a simpler offering in the bar and courtyard.
3. Chez Bruce
British, Modern restaurant in Balham
2 Bellevue Rd - SW17
“A superb destination full of generosity and honesty” – Bruce Poole & Nigel Platts-Martin’s “faultless”, “neighbourhood” restaurant, just across from Wandsworth Common, is voted London’s No. 1 favourite in our annual diners’ poll for an amazing 20th year. How do they do it? First off, consistency – a typical report will often start: “we’ve been eating here twice a year for about 20 years and it’s never been other than a brilliant go-to for a special meal”. Secondly, nothing about the enterprise is pretentious or showy: it’s “quietly refined but never pompous”. Chef Matt Christmas’s modern British cuisine is “unfailingly excellent” but impressively straightforward – “there’s nowhere for the chef to hide and he doesn’t need to”; impeccable ingredients are “cooked to perfection”, “every single thing on the plate has a taste, and nothing is just there for colour or decoration”. Thirdly, the service. Bruce is a “sympathic owner and he’s in the the room”, along with his staff who are “friendly but not overbearing and extremely well informed (if you’re a wine buff – there’s an extensive list – they’ll happily advise and discuss. But equally they won’t be snooty if you just want the ‘house red’”). Fourthly, the “plain (in a good way)” dining room, which is perfectly in keeping with the un-forced style of the proceedings. Its “lively buzz (as it’s practically always full)” can occasionally seem “noisy”, and for the odd thrill- seeker it “lacks excitement”. But if your taste veers towards “‘mature dinner party’ rather than ‘wild night out’” it feels for all the world like a “proper grown-up restaurant”. Fifth and finally, the final bill – prices are not give-away, but taken as a whole – with the generous little extras like parmesan biscuits to start, excellent breads and butter, a little truffle at the end – it’s “still astonishing value for money”.
4. Spice Village Tooting
restaurant in
121 Upper Tooting Road - SW17
At Spice Village, we claim that every meal has a story. Interestingly, Spice Village itself has a fascinating story.The story of Spice Village is a story of taste, passion, and excellence exhibited by Nasir & Suleman, two immigrant brothers who journeyed to Lo...
5. 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...
6. 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.
8. 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’.
9. The Dining Room, Beaverbrook
Japanese restaurant in Leatherhead
Reigate Road - KT22
The high-end Japanese-style dining at this splendiferous country-house hotel is “a special treat from start to finish: every visit fulfils your salivating expectations and appetite” – innovative Polish-born chef Wojciech Popow combining Nordic influences with his sushi-master skills in dishes like red bream nigiri with Cornish ants; or rice with young pine shoots foraged from the estate. There’s also the slightly bonkers option of eating a Japanese yakiniku barbecue in your own hot-air balloon – not flying, but tethered in the Italian Garden. It’s all “great fun and great food, but be prepared to sell a kidney to cover the cost”.
10. Sorrel
British, Modern restaurant in Dorking
77 South Street - RH4
“Exceptional food in a calm and unpretentious setting” has carved a big reputation for Steve Drake’s Surrey HQ which, say fans, is “the perfect haunt for a special occasion or at which to make an impression with a business client” thanks to its “exceptionally balanced atmosphere” with “exemplary” service that’s “not too attentive, but there when you need them”. “Succulent” dishes are “carefully constructed dishes to delight the eye as well as the palate” and “adventurous enough to push you to try new things without being ‘weird’”. We have continued to rate it based on our spring 2025 annual diners’ poll on the basis that Steve remains as owner: but in June 2025, he stepped back from the stoves and appointed Alex Payne (who came to prominence running The Tudor Pass restaurant at Great Fosters hotel near Windsor) as the new head chef.
11. 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.
12. Chez Vous
French restaurant in Warlingham
432 Limpsfield Rd - CR6
2022 Review: The French cuisine may not be cutting-edge, but it is both consistent and highly accomplished at this ten-year-old restaurant with rooms in north Surrey. Chef owners Laurent Pacaud and Martin Bradley ran the business as a catering company for ten years before that.
13. The Haycutter
British, Modern restaurant in Oxted
Tanhouse Road - RH8
2023 Review: This “lovely” mid-Victorian boozer (believed to be the only ‘Haycutter’ in the country) earns solid ratings for its “good old-fashioned pub grub” and “brilliant” all-round performance. It is now part of the Brunning & Price group.
14. The Victoria Oxshott
British, Modern restaurant in Oxshott
High Street - KT22
Taken over by Matt Larcombe, ex-of The Crown at Bray, in 2021, and with a kitchen helmed by chef Daniel Lee – this red-brick boozer by the Surrey roadside carries its high ambitions relatively lightly (although they are apparent when you open the heavyweight wine list, with some vintages in the £1000s). Its modern, seasonal British cooking is – by most accounts – “excellent” as is the service “despite being on the pricey side”.
15. Dastaan
Indian restaurant in Ewell
447 Kingston Rd - KT19
“Outrageous value” is not the only reward of a journey to the outer-limits of the metropolis and this “small”, “top-notch Indian” in a trafficky parade of shops in Ewell. You will also discover “Indian food the likes of which you have not previously experienced, full of such a variety of delicious flavours that it’s hard to limit your choices” – “rich but so tasty”. (Food commentator, Andy Hayler, who has visited every Michelin three-star on the planet, is a major fan – he’s reviewed the place 13 times!). Top Menu Tips – “best are the starters”: “super pani puri”.
16. Grill at The Old Plough
Steaks & grills restaurant in Stoke D'Abernon
2 Station Road - KT11
“Consistently good food” that is “more than just pub fare” ensures this “upmarket outfit in Stoke D’Abernon” is “very popular with the locals” – as well as green-fingered visitors to nearby RHS Wisley. Once a courthouse, it featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’.
17. 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).
18. Saffron Summer
Indian restaurant in Chessington
4 Ace Parade - KT9
There’s “always a cheery welcome and super-courteous service at this distinctive and cut-above restaurant” from ex-Oberoi/Cinnamon Club chef-patron Awanish Roy – the first in a now two-strong chain, with a younger spin-off in Reigate. Its “sophisticated and delicate culinary style” is “superior to any other Indian restaurants in the area”, showcased in everything from the “tiny” and “delicious” poppadoms to “tender and flavoursome” chef’s specials, which feature on a menu spanning street food, British favourites and far more exotic fare (grilled guinea fowl, say, or wild boar vindaloo).
19. MEATliquor
Burgers, etc restaurant in Croydon
99 George St - CR0
“When you want a hipster burger dripping in your beard, this place delivers!” – Scott Collins’s “buzzy, vibey” joints are notorious for their “really good dirty burgers” with memorable names (the ‘Dead Hippie’ and its veggie cousin the ‘Tempeh Tantrum’), plus “excellent buffalo wings with blue-cheese sauce”. In early 2025 he opened spinoff venture BLOODsports in a Covent Garden basement (see also), showing live sports and horror films on large-screen TVs.
20. McDermotts Fish & Chips
Fish & chips restaurant in Croydon
5-7 The Forestdale Shopping Centre Featherbed Ln - CR0
“Extraordinary fresh battered cod and haddock and superb chips” are “savoured” at this “attentive and friendly” traditional chippy on the outskirts of Croydon that’s “still going strong after so many years”. Even a diner who feels “the area’s not the best and the restaurant looks a bit tired” says “the food’s great! – and they always take walk-ins”.
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