The Surprise

We were determined not to do a "Valentine's Meal", you know, the ones that are cringe, start with a welcome glass of cheap fizz, have a special overpriced set menu, and are just a bit cheesy all round. Instead of that, my wife had booked a table at The Surprise, a gastropub in Chelsea that decidedly did not have a Valentine's Day Menu.

We were set in a small back room, and getting there meant wrestling through a throng of people hanging out at the busy bar.

As our starter, we shared chicken and blue cheese croquets, which came with a delicious thyme mayonnaise. We ordered a bottle of Riesling, partly because my wife didn't want to pronounce Gruner Veltliner to the waiter. It was nice and crisp, and we enjoyed it while waiting for our mains to arrive.

I chose the pan-fried cod. Unfortunately they no longer had that, but after going back-and-forth with the kitchen, it turned out they could do the same dish with monk fish, which I indeed had. It came served with mussels and prawns, some smoked tomatoes and risotto. The ingredients worked well together.

My wife picked the butternut squash gnocchi, which was a little crunchy on the outside offering a nice texture, and was served with kale and pine nuts. It also was a dish that was well put together.

We were still a little peckish, and henceforth decided we wanted some pudding. Our wine had run out though, so with our desserts — the affogato for her, an orange cake with chocolate sorbet for me — we also enjoyed a glass of dessert wine: A sauternes to go with the affogato, and for me a tokaji to go with the cake and sorbet.

The food was excellent, although the service was a little slow. The staff did apologise for this, while commenting that this was due to it being Valentine's Day. It's a great vibrant place for a meal, so we'd go again.

Chicken Croquets

Monk Fish, with Prawns and Mussels

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Orange & Almond Cake, with Chocolate Sorbet

Affogato