The Dysart, Petersham

We ventured out from Kingston hoping to add a local destination to our list of �good food pubs�. At the Drayton Arms we found good, fresh food that was well presented. Nice touches such as homemade tomato & tartare sauces were offset by the chips � why use frozen French skinny fries � and sliced supermarket baguette that did not do justice to the very, very tasty olive oil it came with. The rest of the ingredients � fresh fish and well cooked steak � were all so good it seemed a shame not to go all the way.

The atmosphere was confused like the comments noted below. Is it a pub or is it a restaurant? We would personally prefer more of a pub atmosphere. Therefore no table service, get rid of the old function chairs and put some character back into the place. The gothic feel to parts of the interior were just a bit too overbearing!

We also noted that two members of staff were off duty when we were there. One was possibly a manager who took up a table for ten people, munching on his crisps, reading his paper as he shouted jokey comments to the staff� as if there were no customers in the bar. The other chap sat at the bar having a pint and chatting to the bar staff (his mates). This is fine but it was then difficult to get their attention to pay. This sounds a bit petty, but it speaks of an operation that is not quite there, not quite slick enough, and not quite justifying the prices.

We will go back in the summer for a long, lingering lunch on the outside tables.

21 Jan 2007 15:44