Sam's Riverside

Sam’s Riverside is, as the name suggests. set on the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. The large dining room has windows with a view out over the river, and seats 80 customers. The head chef was Karol Mielczarek, who has worked at the restaurant for over six years, initially as sous chef; he has been head chef here from over three years. As well as a la carte, there was a set lunch at £31.50 for three courses.  

The wine list had 74 labels and ranged in price from £30 to £540, with a median price of £61 and an average markup to retail price of 2.96 times. Sample references were Grenache Blanc La Loupe 2025 at £30 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £12, Lantides Estate Malagousia Assyrtiko 2025 at £49 compared to its retail price of £23, and Domaine Auchére Sancerre 2025 at £78 for a wine that will set you back £24 in the high street. For those with the means there was Pommery Cuvée Louise 2006 at £250 compared to its retail price of £194, and Kistler Chardonnay 2014 at £270 for a wine whose current market value is £108.

Little duck croquettes had reasonable flavour and were nicely seasoned (13/20). I was less taken with cod roe with radishes, which was a harmless enough dish, but was one it was hard to get excited about (12/20). Chicken liver parfait had smooth texture and a decent amount of liver flavour, though the toasted sourdough it was served with was distinctly undercooked (13/20).

Steak tartare had quite good quality beef (from HG Walter) that was not chopped too thin, served with a tuile. For me it could have had bolder seasoning, but that is somewhat a matter of personal taste, and this was certainly an enjoyable steak tartare (14/20). Crab soufflé was the dish of the meal. This had risen nicely, was evenly cooked and had a good amount of crab flavour, the souffle resting in a seafood sauce (15/20). 

Coq au vin was much less successful. The sauce with the chicken was fine, as was some mash, but the chicken itself was disappointing. The bird was from Cornwall and had remarkably little flavour. Moreover the texture was rather stringy in places. This was a pity as the red wine sauce was quite rich and had plenty of depth (11/20).A side order of broccoli was fine, cooked lightly to the point of being  arguably undercooked, which is at least better than the alternative.

Amalfi lemon sorbet was served in a hollowed-out lemon shell. The sorbet had quite good texture and plenty of lemon flavour. Indeed, even for a lemon fan like me, the level of sharpness was quite high. For sure this was refreshing, but just a touch more balancing sweetness would have improved it (13/20). Basque cheesecake was nicely made, with smooth texture (14/20). Coffee was from a company called Deluxe CoffeeWorks, a roaster that started in South Africa but are based in Shepherds Bush. The coffee to me seemed reasonable rather than exceptional, roasted a little darker than my ideal coffee.

Service, led by a friendly gentleman from Catalonia, was very good. On this occasion I was a guest of an old friend so I didn’t see a bill, but a typical cost per head might be around £70. On this Friday lunch the restaurant was pretty much full, and Sam’s seems to have found a successful niche. The menu is appealing and the atmosphere is good, with cooking that was slightly variable in standard, but with the odd genuine highlight, such as the crab souffle.

Further reviews: 19th Apr 2022 | 18th Nov 2019