There's going out.
And there's going out out.
Going to Sam's is going out out.
It's going out out without hoards of soho pukers.
It's going out out without groovy word benders on scooters bouncing you off the pavements of Shoreditch.
It's going out out without also taking a mortgage out out to pay for your Mayfair meal.
Sam's Riverside Is your ticket to go out out in Hammersmith, and before you tell me to do one, take a moment to read on.
Sam's resides on the river. Now this isn't 'on the river' like their famous neighbour The River Cafe. You really are on the river here, right by the beautiful old suspension bridge that divides the bustling Hammersmith Broadway from leafy Mortlake.
It's romantic and picturesque. If Turner was alive he'd have a window seat and he'd be busily slapping oil on canvas.
Although if he stopped to survey inside he might phone his mate Toulouse Lautrec because this place has all the glamour, pizazz and energy he captured so brilliantly.
For all its gold trim, velvet banquette seating and statement lighting the place retains a relaxed, friendly air and a hell of a buzz.
Maitre d' Sam isn't here to greet us tonight - 10% off the final bill please - but his philosophy of genuine hospitality is evident wherever you turn. Well spaced tables, friendly staff who make you feel at home and a brasserie menu that pushes you without sending you over the edge. When restauranting is in the blood, this is what you get.
Are there artists in the kitchen?
The best thing a chef can do with fresh shellfish is not much at all and they duly oblige. Plump oysters served on ice slip down very nicely. Shellfish is obviously a thing here and it adds to the luxurious feel. Diners tuck into fruits de mer with aplomb. White shirts ruined, but boy that prawn head needed to come off quick so he could devour the sweet meat below.
Oysters need a bed so we order some Parmesan churros. Melt in the mouth unctuousness each stick. Fluffy delights. Delicious, dangerous stuff.
One starter to share after that. Scallops, again with little done to them but a burnish on each side, accompanied with a seaweed beurre blanc and artichoke. A wonderful combination well put together. A good example of lifting the menu above normal brasserie fare.
I ordered the aptly named brill as a main. A whole fish served with braised endive. Showstopper.
The better half went for chicken, mushroom and broccoli. No surprises there. Just great ingredients very well executed.
No room for pudding. Puddings bore me anyway. Much more interested in people watching over another bottle of too easily quaffable house white.
A couple of familiar faces in tonight. Maybe they've been filming at the Riverside Studios which is part of this complex and adds to the razzmatazz.
There is an air of elegance to everything here. The menu, the room, the view. Even we feel elegant here and I spilled brill sauce down my front and the missus has broccoli in her teeth. Nobody cares. They're all having a whale of a time.
We're all out out and we may be here some time. read more