FOOD OF THE GODS

For the winter edition of Seymours Prestige Homes magazine, we explore some of the finest culinary experiences that Surrey has to offer.

Surrey has long been recognised as one of the UK’s premier food and drink hotspots. It has a dazzling array of eateries that criss-cross the county offering a range of produce to tempt a range of palates.

It will come as no surprise to learn that a total of eight Surrey establishments have been recognised by the prestigious Michelin Guide, with a sprinkling presented with the much coveted Michelin Star.

Here we offer a flavour of what you will find, should you fancy stepping out for a spot of fine dining at its very best.

Sorrel, Dorking

Headed up and owned by the sensational Steve Drake, Sorrel offers contemporary fine dining that combines a flavoursome mix of fresh seasonal produce. The restaurant is based within the quiet splendour of a 17th-century building nestled within the Surrey Hills where guests are treated to paired-back elegance and attentive, well-informed service.

Working alongside some of the best - at Chez Nico at Ninety Park Lane, with Marco Pierre White at The Oak Room, as well as at Pied a Terre and Aubergine - Steve earned a first Michelin star while at Drake’s On the Pond in Abinger Hammer before securing the honour for 14 years while heading up Drake’s in Ripley. His work at Sorrel has been met with great acclaim, securing that all-important star within 12 months of opening in 2017.

Details: The Discovery Menu offers a whole raft of ingredients including 36 month aged parmesan, pumpkin praline and sea purslane oscietra and Keta caviar. It is priced at £125 per person sorrelrestaurant.co.uk | 01306 88914

Latymer by Steve Smith at Pennyhill Park

This Michelin-starred eatery is housed in a cosy corner of Bagshot’s Penyhill Park, a hotel and spa that serves up a sumptuous slice of unabashed Surrey luxury. The restaurant setting is intimate, benefiting from aged beam ceilings and peppered with plush tones. Alongside its Michelin star (awarded in 2021), it also boasts an impressive four AA rosettes, immediately indicating the quality of the establishment. Under the guiding hand of celebrated chef Steve Smith, the Latymer serves modern British food that is both inventive and gratifying, focusing on seasonal produce and fullsome flavours.

Details: The Sample Discovery Menu – a three-hour tasting experience which costs £130 per person and features Brixham crab salad, Herdwick Lamb and Yorkshire rhubarb. It can be paired with six glasses of wine for a further £95 per person.

exclusive.co.uk | 01276 478300

The Clock House, Ripley

Once again blending elegant understatement with exemplary cuisine, The Clock House has held its Michelin star since it opened in 2004 as the aforementioned Drake’s.

Today, the 30-seat restaurant is overseen by managing director Serena Drake with Luke Spier - who cut his culinary teeth alongside Gordon Ramsay at various London establishment, including The Savoy - as head chef.

Dishes are very much flavour-led which leads to some interesting combinations that captivate the palate. The Clock House prides itself on its commitment to sourcing food as locally as possible with around 95% of all ingredients coming from the UK. It also boasts a fine vegetarian tasting menu that comprises Jerusalem artichoke with braised spelt and quails egg and Winter squash, accompanied with whey, fig leaf and pumpkin seed.

Details: Alongside the vegetarian menu there is a lunch option, as well as a five course variation, promising such mouth-watering delicacies as 85% Pump Street chocolate served with buckwheat and Scotch caramel. Prices start at £75 per person, with an additional Great British cheese board for £18.

theclockhouserestaurant.co.uk | 01483 224777 thevictoriaoxshott.com | 01372 238 308

Combining the considerable talents of Matt Larcombe, former head chef of The Crown at Bray, and Simon King of Igniting Hospitality, The Victoria offers some fantastic food that can be enjoyed in a friendly pub setting. While the restaurant opened its doors just over 12 months ago, its signature Mushroom Parfait (which takes 36 hours to prepare) has already become the stuff of legend.

Alongside these three ‘starred’ institutions, another five restaurants have been deemed worthy of inclusion in prestigious Michelin Guide, which has been the gourmand’s bible since it was first published in 1900.

Dastaan, Epsom

Founded by friends Sanjay and Nand, this relaxed restaurant serves some of the finest Indian food for miles around. According to the Michelin Guide: “portions are generous, spicing is superb and there are many layers of flavour”. What more could you want?

dastaan.co.uk | 0208 786 8999

The Garden House Restaurant at Beaverbrook, Leatherhead

This simply stunning location is truly one of Surrey’s best. Tucked behind the walled garden, the restaurant offers a range of homecooked dishes designed to warm the heart and fill the tum! One of the few openly family-friendly on the list, it offers its own children’s menu. Meanwhile, grown-ups can sample starters that include carpaccio of candy beetroot and pear, alongside mains of glazed Scottish salmon and roasted pheasant.

beaverbrook.co.uk | 01372 571300

The Anchor, Ripley

Proving quite the culinary capital, The Anchor is another outstanding eatery that can be found in Ripley. Again situated in historic premises, it offers a relaxed, rustic vibe that enables you to fully enjoy the delights placed before you. Diners are welcome for casual lunches, as well as more formal dining with dishes that include: braised beef brisket accompanied by watercress mayonnaise, onion ring and pumpkin veloute; and cauliflower fritters served with masala sauce, lemon and coriander couscous and raita. ripleyanchor.co.uk | 01483 211 866

The Bailiwick, Egham

Serving classic British cuisine, this pretty pub in Englefield Green just scrapes into Surrey, despite being on the edge of Windsor Great Park. While lunch offers a great selection of traditional fare, the evening’s a la carte menu is well-worth sticking around for. Offering the best from ‘nature’s larder’, produce is sourced from local fishmongers, butchers and gamekeepers. Starters include pig trotter terrine, while mains boast Isle of Gigha Halibut and 48-day aged Boston chop steak.

thebailiwick.co.uk | 01784 682 888

Standon Lane - Ockley

A detached bungalow with a wonderful garden positioned on 7 acres of land with a double garage, sand school, four spacious stables with tack room, storeroom, several barns, converted outbuilding and converted summer house/annexe. Located in a peaceful setting on the edge of Ockley and Walliswood, surrounded by miles of open countryside yet is still within easy access of the nearby towns.

GUIDE PRICE £1,500,00x0 - Similar Properties Required

Gorse Lane - Chobham

Ackworth is set in a quiet corner of Chobham and is one of just five exclusive homes set in a stunning gated development built by Latchmere, a multi award-winning developer of luxury homes.

GUIDE PRICE £2,150,000

This first class location is just a stone’s throw from the beautiful green open area that is Chobham Common, as well as local pubs and the High Street. Impressive wrought iron automated security gates announce the entrance with further wooden gates leading to the private driveway. The property offers generous driveway parking and a double garage.

The property is entered via a magnificent reception hall, which has been adorned with a set of exquisite cupboards and space for the baby grand piano. Doors flow from the hallway to all rooms including the ground floor cloakroom, family room and beautifully appointed, sociable kitchen/dining/living room.

Although originally designed and built to have five double bedrooms, the layout has since been reconfigured to offer four sumptuous suites all flowing again from the spacious central landing, flooded with natural light thanks to a number of ceiling light tunnels. Three bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms, while the huge master suite has a striking bay window and free-standing bath in the bedroom area.

Created and installed by Thomas Ford and Sons, this high end kitchen offers a real wow factor with features you would expect including a fabulous central island with bespoke copper lights above, top-of-the-range Aga, wine fridge, boiling water hot tap, well designed, integrated units and appliances. Further downstairs accommodation includes a double aspect drawing room with feature fire place which opens into a south facing a sun room, separate utility, downstairs guest bedroom with an adjacent w/c & shower room and a recording studio which is currently set up as a separate room in the garage space.

In addition there is a luxurious ensuite, which features a double shower/steam room, his and hers hand basins and dressing room, with fully fitted walk-in wardrobe and dressing area. The whole property offers a “boutique hotel” feel, which includes high specification features, such as Bang & Olufsen and Sonos systems, and tastefully styled interior designer finishes.

The ground floor wing of the property could easily be converted to be used as a separate annexe, if required. Above the garage/recording studio there is generous additional space, currently used as a cinema. This and the space downstairs could be ideal for someone wishing to work from home, older teenage children or be separated off for multi-generational living.

Sovereign Mews - Ascot

Demonstrating a commendable understanding of light and space, this executive abode beautifully blends the warming timber tones of wood floors and discerningly chosen finishing touches with cool whites and soothing greys, while the greenery and foliage of the setting lends an enviable backdrop.

GUIDE PRICE £5,000 PCM

Sleek, stylish and sophisticated luxury four bedroom town house with impeccably landscaped gardens, idyllic vistas from a west-facing balcony and the convenience of an integral garage/gym. In a coveted bespoke gated development directly across from Ascot Racecourse and just a leisurely stroll from the high street, this exemplary residence is a stunning turnkey home with easy access to Charters School. Filled with light, a considered three storey layout proffers every opportunity to enjoy al fresco entertaining.

A simply stunning kitchen/dining room connects seamlessly with the garden via an expanse of bi-fold doors, a wonderful first floor reception room has a twin sets of French doors to the balcony and two of the enviable bedrooms have deluxe ensuites. Available now unfurnished on a long term basis.

Demonstrating a commendable understanding of light and space, this executive abode beautifully blends the warming timber tones of wood floors and discerningly chosen finishing touches with cool whites and soothing greys, while the greenery and foliage of the setting lends an enviable backdrop. Sitting directly across from Ascot Racecourse in a prized gated mews, it instantly engenders a feeling of exclusivity whilst having the convenience of the historic high street and highly regarded schools nearby.

Step inside and discover a fluid layout cleverly designed to be both ideal for family life and evenings spent entertaining friends. On the ground floor a superbly sized hallway entices you into an exceptional kitchen/dining room where an expanse of bi-fold doors connect seamlessly with a landscaped garden that comes with optional access to a hot tub.

Underfloor heating flows beneath your feet, and the more than generous proportions easily accommodate space to relax and unwind. Supremely wellappointed with notably crafted cabinetry housing a first class array of integrated Siemens appliances that includes that all important coffee machine, the kitchen area is at once both stylish and functional.

Illuminated by a trio of copper pendants that add a pop of colour, a brilliantly broad central island gives delineation to the space, while the bi-fold doors make it irresistibly easy for daily life to filter out into the sunshine.

An adjoining utility room keeps laundry hidden discreetly from view and gives access to the integral garage/gym with its electronic door. A cloakroom completes the ground floor. The sense of style and space is echoed cohesively upstairs where double doors make a grand entrance into a fabulous reception room with a focal point fireplace.

Across the hallway a marvellous principal bedroom is a heavenly escape from the hubbub of the day with its fitted dressing area and sumptuous ensuite shower room. Versatile to your needs, three equally impressive bedrooms pepper the third floor giving ample opportunity to have a dedicated home office/ study/playroom if needed. Whilst a large second bedroom has the added benefit of a dressing room and deluxe ensuite shower room, the others share an excellent family bathroom.

Pull back the bi-fold doors of the kitchen/dining room and allow a beautifully landscaped westfacing garden to add an easy flowing extension to this outstanding home.

Clappers Lane - Chobham

Beautifully refined and nestled within a breath-taking setting of capacious south-facing English country gardens, this detached period property sits tucked backed from a prized leafy lane on the edges of Chobham village.

GUIDE PRICE £2,500,000

Spoken For

Lissant Close - Long Ditton

Seymours Prestige Homes are delighted to offer to the market this exceptional detached family home built circa 2000 by Crest Homes. The property is tucked away in a small gated development in the Lovelace area of Surbiton.

GUIDE PRICE £2,850,000 - Similar Properties Required

The Lane - Plaistow

Prestigious, luxurious and completely fossil fuel free, The Lake House is an undeniably stunning example of an exceptional family home. In a hugely private setting that allows you to truly escape from the world outside, this commodious detached residence sits nestled within 21 acres of grounds that offer an unrestricted helipad, ancient woodland, wild flower meadow, tennis court and a 3 acre rainbow trout lake.

GUIDE PRICE £4,500,000 Similar Properties Required