Sam's Brasserie & Bar

We visited Sam's Brasserie for a birthday meal at the end of last month. The restaurant itself is a nice, relaxed space with plenty of room between tables. Service was nice and friendly and food was good, with notable mentions for some nice plump oysters, fantastic scallops with risotto and salsa verde, and some irony rich lamb's kidneys on toast. Cauliflower fritters as a side were delicious and not oily - I could easily see myself devouring them on their own if stopping in for just a couple of drinks!

Brown paper style place mats with the printed menu for the day on were a nice touch too.

Only negative came with dessert - sorbets were lovely and refreshing however, sticky toffee pudding had obviously been warmed up in the microwave and had ended up dry around the edges with the slight acrid taste of burnt sugar in the background as a result.

Overall though, a good value, nicely laid out local restaurant which I would happily go to again, perhaps on one of their live music nights which sadly for us didn't coincide with our visit this time!
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SJP - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 16, 2012

It was that awkward week between Christmas and New Year when London is half shut and there isn’t a great deal to do. We were keen to do a bit more with baby G than the usual trip to the park or shopping so we caught up with Big Matt and his family for a play in a park in Chiswick and then lunch. The park didn’t quite work as we parked in the wrong place and once we got to the park it started raining. Baby G was most upset at being dragged away from the slide. This didn’t fill us with great hopes for his behaviour at lunch. However in choosing “Sam’s brasserie” Matt and Kathy had made a sound choice. It’s tucked down a little lane off Chiswick High road by Turnham Green so nice and quiet. Inside is industrial restaurant refit 101 but it works well as there is loads of space. We were shown to a big round table with lots of room for the boys to play at the table without knocking over anything.

The menu is classic brasserie style with some old favourites and some with a new twist. I decided to go a bit alternative and go for the fish curry which came with rice and pickles. The curry sauce was very nice as were the rice and pickles but the fish less so. One of the drawbacks of London at this time is some of the produce is not that fresh so alas my fish tasted a bit old. Having said that everyone else enjoyed their meals and it all looked nice with good portions so I think in this case I chose wrong. Baby G in particular loved his pasta, which was nicely seasoned and tasty. He also liked the bread pinching most of mine. However when it came to dessert Sam’s really won me over with a superlative banana split. I shared it with my lovely wife and it was delicious, top stuff. Baby G was kept busy with some ice cream.

The food wasn’t that quick coming out which is usually a problem when dining with our boy but it didn’t matter here as all 3 boys were really well behaved. Happy to be in a big spacious restaurant with lovely food. In fact a party of elderly diners at the next table came up to us and complemented us on the behaviour of the children, I can tell you that’s never happened to baby G before. The chaps were driving but the girls got through bloody mary’s and a bottle of wine so by the end of our lunch there was a very happy atmosphere. The bill was about £80 per family which wasn’t bad. All in all a very successful lunch in very nice surroundings. It offers hope that the long leisurely lunch may not be an activity of my past.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 23, 2012

Absolutely LOVE this place!

We've lived in Chiswick for 2 years now and for some reason only discovered this restaurant a few weeks ago BUT how happy were we to find this little gem.

It was a Friday night and we were ravenous and too lazy to cook. So we took a walk down Chiswick High Road and for the first time noticed the little passageway next to the Barley Mow pub. Not ever having been down there before we decided to explore and find out where the 'glowing' was coming from from down the other end.

Then we found Sam's Brasserie. As we entered the place was buzzing and absolutely packed. The manager greeted us almost immediately and with a big beaming smile said that they didn't have a table for us right now but if we wanted to wait in the bar for 20 minutes then they should have something.

So we moved over to what we found out was their beautifully newly refurbished bar. The barman, I think his name was Ben, was fab! Very friendly and efficient. He made us the most fantastic lemon vanilla martinis - hands down the best cocktails in Chiswick.

After a short wait we were asked to move through to the restaurant. I thought I'd be experimental and try the bone marrow and toast to start and then the whole plaice for my main. Both dishes were absolutely delicious. It was my first time trying bone marrow and I have to say I was blown away with how yummy it was. The plaice was cooked to perfection- the balance of butter and capers and lemon all finely tuned to create a taste bud explosion!

We decided to 'share' the banana split for pudding but I should have ordered my own as my hubby ended up gobbling up the whole thing. To quote him "that salted caramel ice cream is to die for"- and I'd have to agree!

All in all, we had the most fantastic evening and will be back again, again and again.
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Chiswick_gal
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Living in Hammersmith we are lucky to have so many brilliant and varying places to go.

But there isn't anywhere that strikes me as a good modern brasserie. Except here.

It's tucked away so often you forget it's there. But I will deffo make a mental note now.

It was our second visit after a first visit we thoroughly enjoyed many moons ago.

Lovely spacious room. solid, cool concrete floor. diners are able to peek into the busy kitchen

All sorts of people there. A good mixture of young and old. Lovely menu. Loads of simple things done really well.

A great plate of English charcuterie and a lovely squid salad to start. The charcuterie was delicious. Well chosen meat, a cut above the norm, with perfect accompaniments and most importantly good bread.

I just had a steak for my main but it was everything a good steak should be. Well seasoned, generous, cooked to perfection, presented well with some good fresh watercress. And stiff, fluffy chips to go with it.

But the best thing of all...£18. Well worth it for the food and the surroundings and the service.

That's what you want from a good brasserie. Simple food. a menu that absolutely everyone will find an old classic they love on. All cooked without fuss or pretention but to the highest standard nonetheless.

Sam's benefts from being on a quiet side street in an industrial looking building which gives it a certain something too.

Top marks for this place. I must remember to go back for sunday lunch with the family for a treat. It's that kind of place.
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benjamin163 - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Had dinner here last night - food, service and price were all spot on! Will be sure to come back here very very soon. Such a great place.
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Fred
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

This is an excellent good value restaurant - always reliable for very good food and a great atmosphere - would recommend it to everyone as it suits all ages - do go
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, December 11, 2010

What a treat! We got taken here for our Xmas party this year. Love it and will definently be back in the New Year to try on my own. Fantastic food and service and then cocktail afters in the bar. Lovely evening
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, December 07, 2010

I have to say how disappointed I was with this restaurant after reading all the good reviews. We ate there last Saturday night. I had a terrine for starters which was good.

For my main course I had a rib eye steak which was 5mm thick, so not much chance of serving it rare, which is how I like it. The worst part about the steak was how it was over seasoned. Just about inedible with the amount of salt on it. The chips were McDonalds style which if I wanted chips like this I would go to McDonalds. The broccoli was not just over cooked, but soggy in 2cm of water, and again inedible.

For my dining companions...The oyster starter was good but not attached to the shell. They were smaller than the shells they were in.

The Globe artichoke starter was good.

For the mains...The roasted cod was cooked well but far too salty.

The fish pie was also salty and disappointing, and tasted like it had been microwaved.

It had far too much potato in it and not much fish.
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4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Saturday, November 27, 2010

Visited Sam's Brasserie for the first time a couple of nights ago. We were very impressed by the quality of food and the friendly but not over bearing service. I had the most delicous scallops with saffron risotto to start- some of the best i've ever tried! Will definitely be returning- found out they do BYO wine on Monday nights so I think I might treat my boyfriend for his birthday in a couple of weeks.
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Sarah Davies
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, October 07, 2010