Finding a pub that serves decent food is a bit like looking for a boyfriend. You’ve got to go through a lot of dodgy ones before you find one that you’d actually want to go back to.
Enter The Surprise, a confidently-named pub tucked away off King's Road. Fortunately, any revelation you might encounter at The Surprise is a good one. The frontage is not ostentatious and it’s certainly channelling the neighbourhood boozer model, but inside the room is light and airy – more gastropub than spit-and-sawdust beer hole.
For those after something to go with a cold pint after work, the Chelsea pub offers proper bar snacks – scotch eggs and nuts and sausage rolls – worthy of any hardened drinker. But upstairs, there’s a dining room where you can sample The Surprise’s real foodie offering, and it’s well worth it.
The Surprise’s strength lies in its originality – there’s not a whiff of your average pub food here. The menu is almost entirely made up of small plates, perfect for sharing, which means you get to sample of whole host of tasty delights. There was one ‘main’ on offer when we visited – a great looking steak – but the small plates are so good that you wouldn’t need to bother.
We sampled four beautifully presented dishes plus two sides. Frankly, it wasn’t enough between two greedy people after a day’s work – three plates each is more realistic. There was trout pate on toast soldiers served with a runny egg, potted shrimp, pigeon breast with celeriac and hazelnuts, and roast chicken with paprika. A special mention must go to a delicious plate of green beans served with horseradish butter – side dishes of vegetables can be vaguely uninspiring but these were crunchy and buttery and incredibly moreish.
The puddings didn’t disappoint either – a wonderfully gooey chocolate fondant with damson ice cream was a great twist on a pub classic, and the pear tart tatin was also very good.
At around £6-£7 a pop for the small plates, plus £4-ish for sides, the meal was very good value. The staff bill the food as British tapas, and as such it’s perfect for picking over with friends while you enjoy a glass of wine.
It’s testament to The Surprise’s popularity that the dining room was full on a Thursday night on the wrong side of payday. If finding good pub food is like finding a good man, this is the George Clooney of pubs. We’re definitely going back.
Two course dinner for two with wine is around £60.
Rhiannion Bury
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