RESTAURANT REVIEW
Surrey’s Premier Lifestyle Magazine
Return of the native
Food writer Laura Scott recently visited The Emlyn Restaurant situated at the foot of Box Hill in Dorking, a renowned Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
As someone born and brought up in London, I still see myself as a reluctant Surrey dweller. Before writing for essence, my idea of a good meal would always involve hopping on a train back into London to try out the latest of many exciting new openings which seemed to happen on a weekly basis. But things are changing for the better in Surrey.
It is so much more of a food destination now than ever before. I’m slowly coming around to the idea that ‘good chefs’ and ‘Surrey’ are words that belong in the same sentence together, especially having just enjoyed a memorable night of feasting at The Emlyn Restaurant, Box Hill.
Surrey-born chef Nick Sinclair has recently returned to The Emlyn after an absence of four years determined to make his presence known on the Surrey food scene. He brought most of his kitchen team along with him from Brooklands Hotel so they could grow together and collectively make their mark on the food. The Emlyn is set within The Burford Bridge Hotel in an area of outstanding natural beauty within the Surrey Hills.
Nick says: “I look out of my windows onto Box Hill itself as The Emlyn is situated literally at the foot of Box Hill – what can be more inspiring than that? There is unlimited potential here. Surrey is in effect an agricultural economy and we want to work with the best of the local producers, showcase their products and grow their visibility together. We have taken the first step in establishing our kitchen garden and will have four beds over around a quarter of an acre of land here at the hotel. Our plans are to start bee-keeping here as soon as we can too, and who knows what else we might find ourselves doing!”
Nick and his team are on the right track and the restaurant is only going in one direction – upwards. It won the best restaurant category at Surrey Life’s Food and Drink Awards this year and I wonder whether Nick may just be in the running for best chef category within the next couple of years, along with other Surrey talents Daniel Britten (The White Horse),
Matt Worswick (The Latymer) and Matt Edmonds (The Grantley Arms).
What impressed me most about Nick was the fact he was the only chef (in the time I’ve been writing this column) to come out and have a proper chat with me, introducing himself and letting me know what he has been doing for the last few years. As a chef myself, I always appreciate how hard other chefs work, so it was a treat to meet someone with a genuine love for what he is doing.
For the meal, my guest and I sampled The Emlyn’s six course tasting menu with wine flight at £90 per person. The restaurant is spacious: the tables spaced well apart from each other with velvet banquettes as well as armchairs in hues of blue and grey reflecting a tasteful, understated style which follows the same theme in the lounge bar area of the hotel.
It is so much more of a food destination now than ever before. I’m slowly coming around to the idea that ‘good chefs’ and ‘Surrey’ are words that belong in the same sentence together, especially having just enjoyed a memorable night of feasting at The Emlyn Restaurant, Box Hill.
Surrey-born chef Nick Sinclair has recently returned to The Emlyn after an absence of four years determined to make his presence known on the Surrey food scene. He brought most of his kitchen team along with him from Brooklands Hotel so they could grow together and collectively make their mark on the food. The Emlyn is set within The Burford Bridge Hotel in an area of outstanding natural beauty within the Surrey Hills.
Nick says: “I look out of my windows onto Box Hill itself as The Emlyn is situated literally at the foot of Box Hill – what can be more inspiring than that? There is unlimited potential here. Surrey is in effect an agricultural economy and we want to work with the best of the local producers, showcase their products and grow their visibility together. We have taken the first step in establishing our kitchen garden and will have four beds over around a quarter of an acre of land here at the hotel. Our plans are to start bee-keeping here as soon as we can too, and who knows what else we might find ourselves doing!”
Nick and his team are on the right track and the restaurant is only going in one direction – upwards. It won the best restaurant category at Surrey Life’s Food and Drink Awards this year and I wonder whether Nick may just be in the running for best chef category within the next couple of years, along with other Surrey talents Daniel Britten (The White Horse),
Matt Worswick (The Latymer) and Matt Edmonds (The Grantley Arms).
What impressed me most about Nick was the fact he was the only chef (in the time I’ve been writing this column) to come out and have a proper chat with me, introducing himself and letting me know what he has been doing for the last few years. As a chef myself, I always appreciate how hard other chefs work, so it was a treat to meet someone with a genuine love for what he is doing.
For the meal, my guest and I sampled The Emlyn’s six course tasting menu with wine flight at £90 per person. The restaurant is spacious: the tables spaced well apart from each other with velvet banquettes as well as armchairs in hues of blue and grey reflecting a tasteful, understated style which follows the same theme in the lounge bar area of the hotel.
Nick Sinclair
Service is exceptionally good. Joao, our sommelier, talked us through the wine pairing choices for our meal highlighting flavour notes along the way. There were two tasting menus on offer, a meat and a vegetarian, and we went for both.
To start, we were served warm soda bread rolls and a milk bread (both made in-house) with a smoked sea salt butter, a Marmite butter and an ajo blanco (a Spanish garlic and olive oil dip), setting us up for the meal ahead.
The tasting menu was based around flavours and ingredients. To start ‘Maple Bacon’ - Scallop, Pineapple, Black Pudding, Liquorice Yoghurt and ‘Jersey Cow Curd’ Basil, Black Olive, Heritage Tomatoes. The black pudding in the ‘Maple Bacon’ is supplied by Butcher of the Year, Surrey Hills Butchers (based in Oxshott) and it was outstanding. Owner Simon Taylor provides all of The Emlyn’s meat and has a good working relationship with Nick. They work together to bring a range of superb quality meat to this restaurant.
The ‘Jersey Cow Curd’ made a refreshing take on what could be seen as a tried and tested salad, and the tomatoes were served at the right temperature, which brought out their sweet flavour and balanced perfectly with the soft delicate curd cheese.
‘Celeriac’ – Apple, Walnuts, Cider Apples, Norbury Blue Cheese – served to us both, was a celebration of one of my favourite vegetables, the celeriac. It was my favourite course of the meal. Caramelised walnuts, with salt baked celeriac, celeriac purée and remoulade, chunks of salty local Norbury blue cheese with sweet apples was a dreamy combination of flavours.
‘Red Mullet’ – Coconut Broth, Squid, Carrots, Ink Gnocchi and ‘Asparagus’ Egg Yolk, Brioche, Beurre Noisette formed the third course. The mullet was bathed in an aromatic spicy coconut broth both rich and decadent, while the asparagus was beautifully refined in taste and looks, disappearing in a few heavenly bites.
To start, we were served warm soda bread rolls and a milk bread (both made in-house) with a smoked sea salt butter, a Marmite butter and an ajo blanco (a Spanish garlic and olive oil dip), setting us up for the meal ahead.
The tasting menu was based around flavours and ingredients. To start ‘Maple Bacon’ - Scallop, Pineapple, Black Pudding, Liquorice Yoghurt and ‘Jersey Cow Curd’ Basil, Black Olive, Heritage Tomatoes. The black pudding in the ‘Maple Bacon’ is supplied by Butcher of the Year, Surrey Hills Butchers (based in Oxshott) and it was outstanding. Owner Simon Taylor provides all of The Emlyn’s meat and has a good working relationship with Nick. They work together to bring a range of superb quality meat to this restaurant.
The ‘Jersey Cow Curd’ made a refreshing take on what could be seen as a tried and tested salad, and the tomatoes were served at the right temperature, which brought out their sweet flavour and balanced perfectly with the soft delicate curd cheese.
‘Celeriac’ – Apple, Walnuts, Cider Apples, Norbury Blue Cheese – served to us both, was a celebration of one of my favourite vegetables, the celeriac. It was my favourite course of the meal. Caramelised walnuts, with salt baked celeriac, celeriac purée and remoulade, chunks of salty local Norbury blue cheese with sweet apples was a dreamy combination of flavours.
‘Red Mullet’ – Coconut Broth, Squid, Carrots, Ink Gnocchi and ‘Asparagus’ Egg Yolk, Brioche, Beurre Noisette formed the third course. The mullet was bathed in an aromatic spicy coconut broth both rich and decadent, while the asparagus was beautifully refined in taste and looks, disappearing in a few heavenly bites.
‘Lamb’ – Peas, Baby Spinach, Jersey Royal Terrine, Sweetbreads, Girolles and ‘Courgette’ Artichoke, Lemon, Basil and Ricotta formed the main course of the meal. The quality of the lamb was outstanding with the sweetbreads adding another surprise element to the dish and something we don’t see enough of on menus outside of Michelin restaurants. The courgette stuffed with a delicate lemon, basil and ricotta mousse demonstrated how this chef doesn’t see vegetarian food take second place to meat.
‘Strawberry and Clotted Cream’ – Hibiscus, Black Pepper, Strawberry Sorbet. Presentation should only matter if the food lives up to its looks. This pink and white splash of a dessert could not have highlighted the essence of strawberry with more success, an absolute winner.
‘Dirty Vicar and Ale’ – Cheesecake, Chocolate and Ale Cake, Malt Purée, Granola, Ale Ice Cream. Another local cheese, Dirty Vicar, was made into a softly scented cheesecake that crossed both sweet and savoury borders at the same time. The stand-out part of this last course was the incredible beer flavoured ice cream. It brought together the dish with a depth of flavour that is hard to define.
The wines we enjoyed with every course were well judged, if a little sweet on one occasion, and it would be fantastic if the restaurant could expand its British wine selection as my favourite wine of the evening was a ‘Bacchus’ by Denbies Vineyard, just over the road from The Emlyn.
The Emlyn definitely deserves to be put on the food map in a way that it has not been up until now. With a team this good in the kitchen more people should know about it. I think the lack of social media presence is part of its problem. Whether this is a good or bad thing, let’s face it: businesses need it to be in on it. The future is looking bright for Nick and his team, they simply need a helping hand in the marketing of this gem.
‘Strawberry and Clotted Cream’ – Hibiscus, Black Pepper, Strawberry Sorbet. Presentation should only matter if the food lives up to its looks. This pink and white splash of a dessert could not have highlighted the essence of strawberry with more success, an absolute winner.
‘Dirty Vicar and Ale’ – Cheesecake, Chocolate and Ale Cake, Malt Purée, Granola, Ale Ice Cream. Another local cheese, Dirty Vicar, was made into a softly scented cheesecake that crossed both sweet and savoury borders at the same time. The stand-out part of this last course was the incredible beer flavoured ice cream. It brought together the dish with a depth of flavour that is hard to define.
The wines we enjoyed with every course were well judged, if a little sweet on one occasion, and it would be fantastic if the restaurant could expand its British wine selection as my favourite wine of the evening was a ‘Bacchus’ by Denbies Vineyard, just over the road from The Emlyn.
The Emlyn definitely deserves to be put on the food map in a way that it has not been up until now. With a team this good in the kitchen more people should know about it. I think the lack of social media presence is part of its problem. Whether this is a good or bad thing, let’s face it: businesses need it to be in on it. The future is looking bright for Nick and his team, they simply need a helping hand in the marketing of this gem.
essence info
Emlyn RestaurantBox Hill, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6BX
Website: www.emlynrestaurant.co.uk
Telephone: 01306 884561
Laura Scott: www.howtocookgoodfood.co.uk
As a chef myself, I always appreciate how hard other chefs work, so it was a treat to meet someone with a genuine love for what he is doing.