Shambles Bar & Restaurant

We are locals and I usually eat in the bar with friends and excellent bar meals.

Yesterday my husband and I decided to eat in the restaurant for a change. We paid £98 for two starters, two mains and two puddings, a glass of rose and two G&Ts. Service included. The starters were average and the mains excellent. The puds were just ice-cream. We had a nice time but it wasn't worth £98. And no basket of bread left on the table to mop up juice which always annoys my husband.

There is a lot of competition in Teddington, though a number of restaurants close in August. I think Shambles is going to have to drop its restaurant prices particularly when the new Raymond Blanc opens. Shambles is a very nice place and it would be a pity if it priced itself out of the market.
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Friday, August 27, 2010

My patner and I visited this restaurant yesterday evening and we had a great night. Food is excellent as well as the service. I had the pleasure to meet the head chef Massino and the manager, his sister Margarita, who are lovely friendly people. The waiter who served us, Alessio was very helpful and he showed us around. At the back they have a marvellous rear garden, a patio area where people can go and smoke cigars, a "bocce" area (bocce= ball sport belonging to the boules sport family) and an allotment with apple trees, figs, cubbage, tomatoes, olives trees... Everything was just perfect and we shall certainly go back again. We are planning to go on a Sunday and try their special roast with an Italian Taste.

Oops...forgot to mention that they serve their own made pasta and bread!
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alessia
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, July 17, 2010

A cold wet horrible night in Teddington, when we got off the bus and decided to pay Shambles a visit, (long time no see). The warmth of our greeting and the (new ) ambience of the place soon made us feel great. Massimo the chef patron was soon fussing round and offering tips on what to try. I loved the anchovy butter with the home baked bread, wasn't thrilled with the ox tongue but could have eaten a plateful of the acompanying verde pesto. I chose fillet of lamb with pureed potatoes the like of which I haven't seen since my apprenticeship days, a great touch, a bit of chilli in the cabbage. My partner was swooning over the fresh crab chili garlic and tomato pasta, or was it the lovely bottle of Cesari Delle Venizie Pinot Grigio. The sicilian blood orange and lychee sorbet were we thought the stuff to die for but no.......that must be the home made amaretti biscuits. Wow. Agreed not the cheapest caff on the block but excellent value for what we had. We will be back.
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Brian Williams
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Shambles is a wonderful restaurant. The staff are always friendly and attentive, and the food is to die for! There are lots of classic Italian dishes but the chef is always experimenting - we had a really fun apricot tart with rum and popping candy on fire for Guy Fawkes night.

It's lovely and comfortable inside and we always end up spending about four hours there chatting, eating and drinking wine! I have taken my two year old who was taken by one of the waiters for a tour in the kitchen. Highly recommended!
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Anna
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Some comments listed here are very mixed so i thought i would go and have a look for myself. My husband and i went to shambles with our two children on Monday eve and had a lovely time. We were given children menus but our boys insisted on ordering from the main menu. The young man that served us was a delight and he told us of some interesting specials. Slow cooked ox tongue with salsa verdi, delicious... even our two children had a taste.

All in all Shambles ambience was lovely. It was very quiet but it was only 18:30. The service was attentive but not intrusive and the food delicious.

So to end, not sure where these bad comments came from but i don't think they were in the same restaurant that we were.
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Lauren - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

We recently went to Shambles for dinner and had a great time. Yes we can agree that the food is slightly more expensive than some other local restaurants but definately well worth it. Compared to london restaurants the quality of food is up there with the best. Having spoken the the head chef(he was walking round the restaurant speaking to the customers) he explained that only the best ingredients were used and he was very passionate about what he does, that definately showed in our meal.

We had a lamb shoulder special slow cooked in Chianti and it was to die for!!

We would definately recommend it!
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B - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 23, 2009

There is a great ambience at Shambles. Moreover, the food has improved since Massimo took over the kitchen. However, it is a very expensive place to eat in comparison with other good (but French) restaurants in the locality. And while the food has improved, the menu is getting long again and it is not possible to offer so many different dishes and maintain the sort of quality the prices warrant. At lunch the other day, we were given three menus!! A lot of the items were banal eg pitta with taramasalata and hummus (shop bought) and a far cry from the regional Italian cuisine in which Shambles specialises. We paid £34 excl tip for an omelette (v good) and a chicken salad(uninspiring and small), with three glasses of wine and an espresso. That is verging on rip-off terrtitory. The number of waiting staff out-numbered the diners, so there is a large element of head-count in your bill! Could do better.
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6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Our experience was very different from that of previous writer. We (a group of 3) had an excellent dinner chosen from a most interesting and varied menu. Service was good as was the atmosphere. It was clear that other diners were also enjoying their evening. We will certainly return
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, October 17, 2009

Enjoyed the food here on a recent visit but it was a very expensive night out.

The 2 cheapest wines on the menu were both "not available, we forgot to order" and the next cheapest was £20 a bottle and tasted like £3.99 from Tescos.

I would expect a wine bar to be able to offer a decent house wine at an affordable price.

Probably won't return.
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Nick
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Monday, September 21, 2009