Here on Bell Street in Reigate, you'll find La Barbe, a 'truly French restaurant' as stated proudly…read moreon their website
The Gallic flair extends from chef Romain Havard's food leaving the kitchen through to the friendly and knowledgeable service from the front of house team through to my lovely waitress Caroline conversing avec moi en francais
I had received enthusiastic comments of approval from local friends when I mentioned that I was dining at La Barbe. Certainly, a lot of their business seems to be repeat customers, always a good sign and the staff all work hard to make everyone seem special. From the bits of conversation I heard around me, the staff had fantastic memory about when guests were last in the restaurant, who they were with, what they ate and what they said, which is nice to see that they have a genuine rapport with their customers
They were very kind to seat me at a prime table near the window. I had a good view of the entrance and no arriving guests had to wait more than 30 seconds before a member of staff would come over to welcome them and show them to their table. It's these little touches that make your dining experiences memorable
La Barbe's menu is in a set menu format. You pay a set amount for 2 or 3 courses and there is a choice of 8 regular items in each of the starter, main course and dessert sections. There is also a daily special in each section and you can add extra vegetables to your main course
Chef Havard's is classically French, reflecting his upbringing and training in Normandy and Brittany. Although there are old classics like snails in garlic butter on the menu, I think it would be doing the food a dis-service to call it bistro cooking. There is a modernity to the menu and some inventive twists to pique the foodie's interest though you can definitely recognise the French background and technique underpinning the menu
I started with foie gras creme brulee with pear chutney and brioche toast. It's the sort of dish that makes sense the moment you see the words on the menu and you wonder why no one else has thought of it. The foie gras was of the lightest and smoothest parfait consistency and yet had that satisfying depth of foie flavour. The richness needs a sweet foil to offset it and the brulee topping is a partner made in heaven. Top thinking by Chef Havard. The pear chutney also lent a lovely sweet and sour element to complement the foie. The best thing about dining in this little corner of France in Reigate was that it wasn't bad table manners to use my bread to mop up every last smear of foie gras from my ramekin!
Talking of bread, I've heard on a TV food program that the main difference between bread in the UK and on the continent lies in the crust. The bread here had the prefect crunchy crust, leaving the fluffy inside for foie gras mopping up!
My main course was the pan fried fillet of venison served with Madeira sauce and sweet potato mash. Nice to hear the staff asking diners how they would like their meat cooked and my venison came out medium rare as requested. The dish may sound simple but its simplicity is what makes it difficult to execute perfectly - with only 3 elements on the plate, every single one has to be perfect and I really enjoyed my main course
I found myself with space for dessert and after a short period of indecision, I opted for chocolate soup, moëlleux chocolate cake and marshmallow. The cake was moist, gooey and chocolatey, slightly little less dense than a brownie. The chocolate soup was a dipping sauce made with good quality dark chocolate and there were 2 homemade marshmallows and some fruit to dip. A chocoholic's idea of heaven on a plate
Allied to the fantastic food, the service also sets La Barbe apart. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble for guests. Caroline, my waitress was happy to explain the dishes in more details. The maitre d' Gorvan really indulged the foodie in me once he found out that I was a food enthusiast - amongst other subjects, we discussed our favourite restaurants, his mum's secret twist on Coquilles St Jacques which I hope to see on the menu one day and his experience with entering MasterChef
This is a special restaurant and I look forward to a return visit. My next mission is to find out why it's called La Barbe (the beard in French)
