Valerie Elliott Tuesday November 5 2007
Dress for dinner? How provincial
The rules of fine dining have been turned upside down. There is no longer any need for dressing up or a starched tablecloth, and eating out in British restaurants is now officially an informal occasion.
This is the verdict of Harden’s UK Restaurant Guide 2008, the popular, food-lovers’ directory, which is published today.
It has even turned away from traditional Michelin-starred outlets to crown a modern bistro in Reigate, Surrey, as the winner of this year’s excellence award from Rémy Martin, the cognac producer, which is chosen in association with the guide.
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Michael East Thursday November 8 2007
Top honour seals restaurant's recipe for success
A RESTAURANT has the culinary world licking its lips after it was announced as the winner of the Remy Martin Restaurant Excellence Award 2008.
The Westerly, in London Road, Reigate, won the title traditionally handed out to Michelin-starred restaurants after more than 8,000 independent reviewers judged it to be "the restaurant which has shown itself to be the most outstanding rising star of the UK restaurant scene". Read full story»
Humayun Hussain September 22 2007
The Westerly Reigate
Up until earlier this year, there was only one culinary big gun in this well-heeled town, in the guise of TV chef Tony Tobin at The Dining Room restaurant. Then came this bistro newcomer, with ex-Michelin rated Stephen Langton chef-patron, Jon Coomb, at the helm. It blew away the critics and locals alike with its well-honed modern European cooking. Read full review»
Jay Rayner Sunday May 13 2007
Resistance is futile
There are few people less yielding than a food critic on a diet. But when Jay Rayner tested his willpower with lunch at the stunning Westerly, there was only ever going to be one winner . Read full review»
Clifford Mould May 2007
Chef Jonathan Coomb’s new restaurant in REIGATE, Surrey
There are some gardeners whose love of plants seems magically reciprocated by the plants themselves which flourish and flower with joyful profusion. We call those lucky gardeners green fingered. So what do we call those specially gifted chefs who seem able by some magic to transform raw ingredients into an elevated amalgam that is somehow more than the sum of its parts? Sticky fingered? I’ve been following the fortunes of Jon Coomb for several years now, and I can vouch for the fact that he is seriously sticky fingered. Read full review»