Eating out: Two to Four, Dorking
Browsing among the antiques in Dorking's ancient West Street, we discovered this inviting restaurant one lunchtime – and it turned out to be the best find in years.
Housed in a building several hundred years old sporting uneven steps leading up to the main door, I was intrigued to see how the interior looked.
Seating 65 over three floors, the restaurant boasts a simple décor. Having been painted in pale tones of beige-grey, the oak beams have lost any oppression, creating instead a light and intimate interior with the pale walls.
On each table amid the sparkling glasses and cutlery, as a variation from fresh flowers there was placed an apple. Just something different that indicated we were in for a fairly unique experience.
A special set menu – two courses for £12 and three for £16 – is available Tuesday to Saturday lunchtime and Tuesday to Friday evening. There's also the option of the a la carte and daily blackboard offers.
Chef Rob Gathercole has been with the company for years, working here since it opened four years ago and previously for six years, eventually as head chef, at Reigate's prestigious Dining Room.
His menus are sparkling with originality and we learn he reads cookery books "all the time".
He said: "Any new book that comes out I'm there reading the recipes for further inspiration. This is my life and I love it."
In his kitchen Rob uses only the best of fresh local produce. Etherley Farm supplies free range turkeys, chicken and eggs. Veal is free-range and organic and only the best beef, pork and lamb from Surrey farmers is bought.
Most vegetables and salad are also organic.
Fish from Simpsons includes diver-caught scallops.
We decided to ferry between menus and so for a starter I started light with a pear, celery, grape and watercress salad. The pair was slivered so finely that you could see light through every piece – like organza. This was accompanied with crunchy toasted walnuts, watercress and a barely discernible blue cheese dressing.
My friend had chosen from the blackboard a coconut risotto with coriander and spring onion salad topped with stunningly flavoursome and juicy chilli glazed tiger prawns. The risotto was creamy and coconut rich. So delicious that I promised myself to try at home.
Main courses of simple pan-fried Dover sole for myself, and for my friend roasted fillet of cod with tomato and ginger sauce, were mouth-watering and beautifully presented too. This was such a treat, especially when a generous bowl of the restaurant's most requested crispy courgette strips were added.
"These are a fiddly thing to do, but everyone adores them, so we are always cooking them," said Rob who is helped in the kitchen by sous chef Den and assistant Tracy.
Rob's forte is desserts (he is an advanced pastry chef) – and my friend's choice of banana almond Bakewell tart with honeycomb ice-cream and vanilla caramel syrup went to prove that.
The lemon tart I chose was crisp with a deep citrus filling and was accompanied with blueberries. It made a perfect dessert.
The wine we chose, a medium late harvest wine from Italy with refreshing citrus undertones, was from an extremely comprehensive and exciting list. And we were not unduly surprised to find Two to Four has a special relationship with its wine suppliers.
So much so, that the restaurant arranges Gourmet Evenings when for a set price of £55, diners get to meet and talk to the grower and wine-maker for each of the different wines sampled with the half dozen tasting dishes on the menu. I'm told "the wine flows" on these sell-out occasions. At such remarkable value for money no wonder they get booked up quickly. The next, is on November 25 so get in now. We have!
Also, the restaurant is introducing a special Christmas special lunch and dinner menu throughout December with two courses for £15 and three courses for £20.
Patsy Payne
At a glance
Reviewer's rating: Five stars
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Two to Four
West Street
Dorking RH4 1BL
Telephone: 01306 889923
Comments
by Chris C, Leigh
Friday, October 09 2009, 9:35AM
“Having tried every restaurant in the area two to four stands head and shoulders above the others. The food is always superb and the staff manage to walk the fne line between relaxed and attentive. It is hard for a much visited restaurant to maintain its allure, T24 never disappoints.”