Restaurant Review: Left Bank, Runnymede

Left Bank, Runnymede, Egham, Surrey

Dine Online - the UK Restaurant guide

A chic riverside revamp

At last restaurateurs are waking up to the obvious: people love to eat on the waterside, whether it's by the sea, a lake or even dear old Father Thames. There's always something to look at, other than one's dining companion, who on this occasion was no less than Michael Hepworth, one of Dine Online's reviewers. We had had some heavy rain in January and the river was flowing strongly over the weir just at the end of the Hotel's carefully manicured lawns. On balmy summer days you could tie up your launch at the landing stage while you enjoy lunch, dream on...

The previous River Room restaurant was quite pretty, all chintzy drapes and very much a hotel dining room. The recent transformation has been really startling: it's now a very chic modern room, light and airy with fittings that are reminiscent of a luxury yacht. The menu is also modern, and the wine list is particularly impressive, complete with friendly little tasting notes. Each month there's a special promotion, so in January you can enjoy a bottle of Pomerol from Chateau Rouget (one of my favourites), the splendid 1990 vintage, no less, for £22.00.

Starters are all priced at £6.50, except for the foie gras and chicken liver terrine which even at £8.25 I just couldn't resist. There wpu;d have been more than enough for two to share, it was very rich and delicious. It's often the little touches that are most memorable: in this case a Sauternes and grape timbale. This was a clear jelly made from Sauternes with grapes suspended in it - a perfect accompaniment and a lovely idea that I can't wait to try out myself. Michael had Bang Bang Chicken, which was a Malaysian inspired chicken salad, dressed with a chili peanut sauce. He was very taken with it.

The theme at Left Bank is appropriately watery with rather beautiful aquaria cleverly integrated into the design of the room. Normally I think fish tanks in restaurants look incredibly naff. But here they work wonderfully well, I don't quite know why or how. There is also a fish bar, where undoubtedly the bargain is native oysters for ś#163;7.50 a half dozen. This is an amazing price these days. I had the chef's seafood platter £15.00, which was sheer greed after such a large portion of paté! There were enough slices of smoked salmon to have made a more than adequate centrepiece to a a salad in its own right. Then there was cold smoked marlin, two great steaks of it; three different types of prawns - all very flavoursome; some dressed crab (almost spoiled by heavy handed application of not very good mayonnaise) and some delicious tasting smoked monkfish. Oh! I nearly forgot, the whole thing was topped with a juicy native oyster, fabulous!

Main courses from the a la carte menu cost £12.50. Fish dishes sounded very interesting - dry roasted cod, mash, glazed shallots and red wine gravy reminded me of Sonya Kidney's cooking at the Marsh Goose. Exotic herbs and spices are used, so you could have crispy skin salmon with spinach and wasabi sauce and saffron potatoes, or seared tuna, ginger, jalapeno, horseradish and pak choi. For meat eaters there's braised lamb shank, puy lentils and red wine reduction or duck confit with stonefruit chutney and champ, to name but two.

At lunch you can choose three courses from the a.l.c. - see prices below - not including any supplements which are neither many nor excessive. Michael chose one of the special dishes of the day, a chargrilled fillet of lamb in a mint and tarragon jus. This was nicely presented, though it could have been pinker considering the waiter warned us carefully that unless Michael wanted it cooked otherwise it would normally be served rare.

I struggled a bit with a pudding, but even if I'd been hungrier I might still have found the brulée artificially stiff. It was sort of a cross between a crême brul&ee and a tatin, but the roasted apple base made rather a good contrast with the blow-torched caramelised topping. There is a nice selection of cheeses with interesting hand made English cheeses such as the Emlett made by Mary Holbrook who farms her sheep on the Mendip Hills outside Bath.

I know what I'm going to do for an early summer Sunday treat in May: Hire a day boat from Datchet, just a few miles upstream towards Windsor. Poddle down the river in the late morning, opening the odd bottle of Champagne as we go. Drift back to Runnymede for lunch at Left Bank. Arrive at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in time for the Sunday evening session - the firework finale after the breathtaking ride of the King's Troop Horse Artillery is simply spectacular against the backdrop of the castle. Finally, we'd spend the night in luxury at the Runnymede Hotel so that we could play about in the pool and spa. Anyone feel like making a party of it?!!

Update August 2000: Lunch prices Ł18.95 Monday - Friday and Ł19.95 on Sundays

Left Bank, Windsor Road, Egham, Surrey TW20 0AG
Entrance at The Runnymede Hotel & Spa
Left Bank Freephone 0800 121515 Direct 01784 437400
http://www.runnymedehotel.com

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