Shambles Bar & Restaurant

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
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
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
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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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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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
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Monday, September 21, 2009

We have eaten many times at Shambles, it is our local 'secret' and we love the great food, atmosphere and service. Sometimes we eat in the bar, on a more casual basis and on other, special occasions, eat in the restaurant. Both are excellent. We know we should advertise this great place but are scared that too much open publicity will spoil our local, friendly and slightly 70's wine bar! P.S.We love the piano player too!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, December 21, 2008

We were interested to read these comments on food quality and price as we went to Shambles last week and then soon after to the Glasshouse in Kew. We commented, after visiting the two so close together, that the prices were much higher in the Glasshouse but the quality of the food in Shambles was at least its equal if not a little better. The wines were also much cheaper in Shambles. We understand the Glasshouse has a much higher profile and reputation but we both agreed that the meal at Shambles was as enjoyable and much better value. The scallops were melt in the mouth, the pidgeon very tender and Massimo, the head chef, came out to show us the special mushrooms we'd asked the waitress about. We are not regulars, although have been a couple of times before and yet we were treated with as much warmth as others there. We think it's a hidden gem and we will be taking friends there again...!
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Carol and Nick B
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, December 04, 2008

I dont believe some of the comments on this particular restaurant. I frequent Shambles at least once a week and have done so for more than 10 years. Everytime friends come to Teddington I take them to Shambles as the welcome is warm and the food is great. Contrary to an earlier review the menu is flexible and you can still order bar food in the wine bar. Which is consistently good and very varied!! As for the choice of wine, the wine list is extensive, well thought out and varied. If the previous reviewer wants to go to a supermarket and buy his own wine, I think it would be a great idea. Lets just hope he takes it home and drinks it there rather than spoiling our enjoyment of a great local restaurant.
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stephen
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, October 18, 2008

The restaurant,at the back, is fine. and is particularly good for special occasions. There used to be an excellent wine bar at the front. It had a great informal atmosphere and you could get a steak frites and bottle of plonk without breaking the bank. It was a nice contrast to the restaurant. Unfortunately they tried to turn the wine bar into restaurant with prices to match, and now it doesn't work either as a wine bar or a restaurant -it's lost the wine bar atmosphere and it's not as comfortable as it needs to be to merit expensive restaurant status. Also the price of the house wine is truly extortionate. We still go, because the staff are nice and the food reasonable. But don't go as much as before and we always feel slighted cheated because of the price of the wine.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Saturday, October 11, 2008