<a target="_blank" href="https://kinghams-restaurant.co.uk/">Kinghams
Restaurant</a>&nbsp;Oak Cottage

Gomshall Lane

Shere, UK

GU5 9HE&nbsp;

BY NEAL MARTIN | JANUARY 31, 2025 The Food:Hibiscus
and Gin-Soaked Trout with Trout Roe and Crème FraicheSeared Sashimi-Grade
Tuna with Pickled Fennel and Poached ClementineSurrey
Hills Beef Fillet and Melted Croquette with Jerusalem Artichoke and Confit LeekRhubarb
and Ginger Oat Crumble with Vanilla Ice CreamThe Wines:2020 Domaine
Marc Colin et Fils Saint-Aubin Le Chatenière 1er Cru -&nbsp;932016
Pichon-Baron - 962009
Sigalas Rabaud - 94I doubt
you have heard of Shere. But I bet you have seen it. You just didn’t realize.
Shere is one of this sceptred isle’s most picturesque villages, one that boasts
34 listed buildings, many of them centuries old. Three-quarter-sized,
tailor-made for our vertically challenged ancestors with miniature doors and
wonky chimneys, it is architecture warped by time. Besides Shere’s splendid
public houses, babbling brooks and tearooms, people come here to take a selfie
in front of the cottage where The Holiday was filmed. Starring Cameron
Diaz, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, this 2006 rom-com has become a Yuletide staple
alongside It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf. However, that was not Shere’s
film debut, since it can be spotted in Four Weddings and Bridget
Jones, thereby giving the false impression that every single English
village is unchanged since Henry VIII. Located just a ten-minute drive from my
front door, I often go to Shere for a latte at the Dabbling Duck Café. Before
you ask, yes, ducks do dabble in the stream outside. I park my car
behind the community hall, turn right, and the café is just down the road…And
that is the problem. I turn right. Never left. I long assumed
there is nothing of note in that direction. Had I turned left and walked 50 meters,
I would have come across Kinghams Restaurant. In a sense, this Vinous Table has
the same theme as <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-le-lion-d-or-jan-2025">Le Lion d’Or</a> insofar that you should always
seek what lies on your doorstep. Thankfully, a friend suggested Kinghams to
chase away the January blues, and I discovered a delightful place to dine. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260250662-VT_exterior.JPG">The exterior of Kinghams Restaurant. The
restaurant occupies a two-story cottage built in 1620 by William Blackman. At
the time, this area of the North Downs was wealthy thanks to the flourishing
wool trade, but it was also notorious for local smugglers. It was once known as
Hangman’s Cottage. The local hangman would relax here after a day’s work at the
gibbet. Despite that macabre backstory, the present building is enchanting, boasting
a red brick façade with exposed Tudor beams. A small, weather-beaten side door
opens into a cozy reception, where on your left, you can still see the
wattle and daub of
the original construction. Tables occupy two fire-lit low-ceilinged rooms, and
anyone over six foot will have to mind their head. These oak beams are worth
close inspection because you notice odd markings and carvings, none of the
beams quite matching. Co-owner Jack Forrest Foster told us how these were
probably recycled from decommissioned Tudor galleons, information that evoked a
strong sense of history. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260316181-VT_interior.JPG">The warm, welcoming&nbsp;interior. Paul
Baker opened Kinghams Restaurant not in Tudor times but in 1993, naming it
after his grandfather, Paul Kingham, whose bronze bust smokes a pipe in
reception. Baker recruited chef Mohssine El Faddi in 2006, who had graduated
from the Tante Marie cookery school and worked at Mirabelle in Mayfair,
incidentally, one of my favorite restaurants of all time. Foster joined as the front
of house in 2012, and eventually the pair bought Paul Baker out, though he
still resides just behind the restaurant. The fact that tables were full on a
freezing January night after 30 years of trading, not to mention several awards
(including AA 2 Rosettes), suggests that Kinghams is doing something right.The
menu is classic European fare. Being outside London, prices are certainly more
modest, with starters around £10 and mains £20 to £25. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260383782-VT_trout.JPG">Hibiscus and gin-soaked trout with trout roe and crème fraîche. To
begin, hibiscus and gin-soaked trout with trout roe and crème fraîche. I have
to confess that I was intrigued by the hibiscus and gin infusion. It works
well, especially with the salty trout roe. Perhaps the fish could have been a
little more succulent, but this is a novel take. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260506611-Vinous_tuna.JPG">Seared sashimi-grade tuna with pickled fennel and poached ClementineThe
seared sashimi-grade tuna with pickled fennel and poached Clementine is a
combination that is actually complimentary, against my expectations. The tuna is
good rather than great (it would not get in the door if we were in Japan), but
it does match the poached clementine extremely well. More thought could
go into the presentation, each component of the dish acting as if they had just
had an argument and were distancing themselves from each other. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260620449-VT_beef.JPG">Surrey Hills beef fillet and melted croquette with Jerusalem artichoke and confit leekThe
Surrey Hills beef fillet and melted croquette with Jerusalem artichoke and
confit leek is the best dish. The beef is cooked rare to my request, and I
thoroughly enjoy the melted croquette, flavorsome and crispy. The leek is
lovely and nicely charred. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738260660034-VT_crumble.JPG">Rhubarb and ginger oat crumble with vanilla ice creamThe
rhubarb and ginger oat crumble with vanilla ice cream, instead of custard, is fine.
Maybe I would re-adjust for more rhubarb and less crumble, but nevertheless, I am
soon scraping the plate.One
aspect about Kinghams that I appreciate is that wine is an important part of
the restaurant, not just a means of increasing turnover. The short list is well
chosen, with some interesting bottles. Foster himself is a keen wine-lover,
though sadly one born in a terrible vintage (1984). The restaurant was open about
us bringing three bottles to share with friends with very reasonable corkage.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738261177828-VT_marc+colin+and+pichon.jpg">The 2020
Saint-Aubin Le Chatenière 1er Cru from Domaine Marc Colin et Fils is
delicious. It is actually more powerful on the nose than I recall from barrel, with
scents of yellow plum, Clementine and slightly less of the sea spray that I
noticed previously, Colin’s signature subtle reduction lends this Chardonnay
tension. The palate is quite intense yet beautifully balanced with admirable mineralité.
Hints of oyster shell mix with melon and (again) Clementine on the finish. My
neighbor professed not liking white wine, but five minutes later, he asked me
to refill his glass. We then move to Bordeaux. The 2016 Pichon Baron is
outstanding, powerful on the nose with blackberry, mocha and just a hint of
dark chocolate that emerges after an hour. The palate is weighty in the mouth
but delivers real elegance, graphite-tinged black fruit fanning out gloriously
on the finish. It is probably three years away from when I would advise opening
bottles.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1738335953199-Vinous_sigalas.jpg">My New
Year’s resolution is to drink more Sauternes. So, I open a 2009 Sigalas
Rabaud for the occasion. This is similar to the bottle a few months back
with orange pith, macadamia nuts and saffron on the nose. There’s perhaps a
little more creaminess in this bottle. The palate is intense and viscous with a
keen bead of acidity. This is not a subtle Sauternes, but it delivers gorgeous
butterscotch and vanilla pod on the long finish. Give it another couple of
years. This is
a perfect dinner to start 2025. Kinghams is no culinary pinnacle, and maybe
that is partly because on this evening Faddi is not working in the kitchen. I
would like to return and see what he can do. The presentation is adequate, although
I feel it could be improved with just a few tweaks. But Kinghams is not
criminally expensive, and dining out is more than what you eat. The building
foments a wonderful rural atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of life,
and the sense of history is palpable in every nook and cranny (and there are
plenty of those). Service is outstanding from start to finish. Stepping
outside, our feet crunch into a layer of snow, as if we were walking into a rom-com.
I looked to check Cameron or Jude were not walking hand in hand down the
street.Oh, and
the location of the cottage from The Holiday?It does
not exist. That
cottage was built on a set.© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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