Sam’s Riverside is a high class ‘local’ restaurant, situated on the banks of the River Thames, next to the Riverside TV studios. It has great view of the River and Hammersmith Bridge.
London Branch held a lunch there in October 2022, and was so impressed that it decided to to arrange a repeat visit and present Sam with an Excellence Award in May 2023.
Once again we were treated to a superb meal. We were greeted on arrival with a glass of 2019 Gusbourne Brut Reserve, accompanied by salt fish croquette and a parmesan churro. The best English sparkling wines really are second to none nowadays! Our starter was Devon Crab Benedict with a lobster hollandaise and a glass of 2021 Muscadet sur Lie. The main course was Lamb Rump, served with a very tasty potato terrine, purple sparkling broccoli and wild garlic, and 2020 Nero d’Avola from Sicily. The lamb was beautifully cooked and full of flavour. Finally our dessert was Dark Chocolate and Miso Fondant, with cocoa nibs and vanilla ice cream served with 2021 Botrytis Riesling from South Australia. Perfectly prepared and absolutely delightful, if rather a lot of chocolate!
This restaurant is very well known in the locality, and its reputation is richly deserved. Sam really pushed the boat out for us both times, and fully deserved his Excellence Award.
Alan Shepherd
Chairman London Branch