I admit it, I am a bit of a food snob. I would rather stay away restaurants that are part of a…read moregroup and frequent the smaller, more individual places. But last Saturday evening me and my friend were hungry, we had both had bad days, and we wanted food pronto. I didn't particularly care to drive around for an hour while I found the most authentic place to eat - I'm not stupid! So this is how we ended up at Red Peppers, my choice of sophisticated dining back when I was a teenager. I was actually quite pleased to be back; it was lively and fun, packed full of families and groups of friends - it seems Red P is the place to be for a celebration in Esher on a Saturday night. The moment we sat down our helpful waitress brought us a dish of free olives - you should know that I get disproportionately happy when I get free food, however small. We ordered a couple of glasses of Cabernet Sauv, nothing to write home about but perfectly decent to wash down dinner. The menu is huge, almost a bit too much choice. A lot of it is quite generic - starters are things like nachos, garlic mushrooms, baby back ribs, mains (which are huge), are foods like steak, burritos, fish, pizza or pasta. There are lots of side dishes as well. We ordered the Calamari to split as a starter which was very good, although my friend said that her main of fish cakes was 'so-so'. I had a small salad of roasted halloumi cheese over cous cous and roasted veg, which was perfectly decent, but didn't make me ooh and ahh in delight. The garlic pizza bread with caramelised onions and goats cheese that I had as a side was much tastier. I walked out completely stuffed, and the amount of carbs consumed had raised our serotonin levels sufficiently so that our bad day had been revised to a good evening, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that the food was responsible for that.

Very nice and friendly restaurant that is perfect for a family night out. We went with son and his…read morefamily and had a wonderful experience. The young girls (ages 7 and 4) of course ate pizza. I had the Lamb Moussaka. There were no complaints whatsoever with the food. What was the best thing about the evening was how friendly the service staff were, and that we were not rushed at all. We will be returning again in September, and Red Peppers will be included in our culinary itinerary.

I am traveling with my girlfriend and family from the US and we ate here on our first night in…read moretown. Our server was SO nice and generous. He advised us on the menu, even gave us different sauces to try with pita, and was overall just very nice and funny. Very relaxed atmosphere inside combined with the excellent service means I will be back before my trip ends!!!

This place is very nice~ i was surprised by the restaurant lay out. It looks very English^^ i liked…read morethe interior design/ lay out. The food was great! It was cooked good and great on fleek ;). The protion was not too much, i asked what was the most biggest plate, they answered, full english breakfast. The plate was great with eggs, bacon, hash brown, mushroom, beans, sausage and tomato: with two toast. Dont get me wrong, the food was amazing but not enough. Hehhee i do love to eat! The tea was good too! You get one cup of tea for complimentary. ;) i will go again for breakfast

If you're fond of Turkish, Greek and Italian cuisines, you're in luck…read more We ordered several dishes to share. The Halloumi salad (main) was lovely to look at as well as to consume. The cheese wasn't too rubbery and its saltiness contrasted well with a sweet balsamic syrup. I also enjoyed the additions of grapefruit and walnuts. Calamari is always a risky choice, but this one, happily, turned out crispy, fresh and tender. No tug of war here. Chips were a little too soft on the outside. But well cooked nonetheless. And courgette cakes were a little non descript. My friend enjoyed her generous helping of pesto linguine. It looked pretty, with flecks of green balanced with flashes of juicy cherry tomatoes. They dim the lights after a time and it gets rather romantic in the latter part of the evening. During daylight hours, having been before, it's also busy and chock full of local families. With so much choice, you'll be hard pressed not to find something to your taste. Go forth and try this exciting Mediterranean-inspired menu.

Continuing my quest to try every restaurant in Barnes, Sonny's was a place I always seemed to…read moreignore when walking by. Yee Gan is right; it's utterly forgettable from the outside, and almost seems to hoity-toity and exclusive to be a nice place for dinner. However, inside, Sonny's has a whole different feel. It is much larger than it seems! You come in through the bar, and find that there are tables that stretch waaaaaay back inside. We were able to get a table without a reservation on a Friday night. Everything is done right, in a simple way. There is nothing overly snobby or fancy about Sonny's or its food; they've just done their homework and gotten an A. I had the sardines with chickpeas to start. (I can never remember the frill words on menus, so I can never convey the full excitement of the dish!) It was absolutely delicious and much better than you'd expect from a simple sardine dish. For the main course, I had sea bream (with spring onions and salsa verde). Yumsville. Everything was melt-in-your-mouth good, served piping hot, with freshly baked bread. Service was excellent and attentive without being overly so. Dessert: poached peaches with raspberries. Although the menu said it would be served with sorbet, I didn't see any on my plate. Still, it was a very nice simple dessert and a good change for me from the old fruit salad or sorbet that I'm used to ordering. Oooh and we had a Vina Chocolan (red wine) from Chile. Highly recommended for chocolate lovers!! All in all, for a special meal out without the fuss, try this place. It seems to be a locals' favourite where pretentiousness is left at the door.

Sonny's many professional reviews descibe it as a well-established, well-loved locals' restaurant…read morein Barnes. Judging from the well-heeled clientele dining there this evening, I would guess that Sonny's must be doing something right to keep customers with such high standards happy. The restaurant has an unspectacular facade but opens out inside - it extends way into the building and takes a lot of covers. Service was smooth throughout the evening. The menu offered 6-8 courses in each category. I started with the white crabmeat tortellini with potted shrimp, caper and parsley butter sauce. Four plump tortellini duly arrived, packed with white crabmeat and well made pasta though I could have done with a touch more seasoning in the crabmeat itself. The sauce was finely balanced with the sea salty potted shrimp playing against the capers and lemon. My choice of main course had no competitor once I had spotted it on the menu. The humble poussin was being given some illustrious partners - foie gras and morel sauce. It duly arrived as a whole stuffed bird with legs removed and arranged alongside and on top of a bed of spinach, 2 slabs of seared foie gras on a giant crouton and the morel sauce in a separate pot for pouring. All these elements were served with great flourish at the table, all in a giant copper-bottomed saucepan. With such great elements, it was a most enjoyable dish. For dessert, I enjoyed a technically accomplished chocolate fondant with gooey centre, which was nicely complemented with a suitably tart raspberry sorbet. Sonny's does deserve its good reputation.

We we're invited as guests of Her Ladyship's nephew. She loved it, and if "she who MUST BE obeyed,"…read moreis happy, you'll be happy : ) I started with the house salad, and was pleased. They ordered a lot of tapas plates. I admit, I was not familiar with many of the plates, they ordered, so I made the mistake of ordering the CHICKEN QUESADILLA.That was the only let down. They do serve beers on drought now. I had a very tasty pint, we all had either wine or beer, and were very pleased. Service was great. There were quite a few plates,but our server/s, managed to keep every thing in order without being intrusive. We kept the drinks coming and they were amazing at keeping us well hydrated : ) Hot, trendy place, that serves anyone with good food, and service. Definitely, try it!

Bar Estilo is a chain, albeit a small one. I've been to the Teddington branch a number of times…read more(I've also been to the Richmond branch), most recently on 31 October 2008, when all the staff were dressed for Halloween. Bar Estilo is one of those places which you enjoy, but don't enthuse over. The food is fusion Mediterranean/Iberian. There's tapas, salads, Paella, burgers, along with main courses such as fish cakes, and Tagines (for example). They also serve cocktails and wines. They have no beer on tap. The food is good, but not outstanding. There is a family atmosphere, especially early in the evening, though it does tend to attract a more adult crowd in the evening. The prices are reasonable (between £7 - £15 for a main course), but again, not notably frugal (nor, for that matter, notably expensive). What IS notable is that the espresso martini is to die for (yum). Because of all the hard surfaces, it can get very loud in there, especially when it's busy (as it was on Halloween Friday). The staff are friendly and reasonable efficient. I wouldn't rave about Bar Estilo, but I would recommend it.