Sam’s Brasserie & Bar for Brunch in Chiswick

17 May 2009

So I’d got myself a date. Well done me. She was free either Friday night or Saturday morning. 10 times out of 10 you’d go for the alcohol induced end of the week soiree with the prospect of bedroom tomfoolery for afters, right?

But what about a breakfast date? A compelling argument aint necessary; you either buy into it straightaway or not at all. I figured, why not?

With my comfort zone breached once, twice would make little difference. Thus I leapt at the chance to haunt somewhere foreign to me. Chiswick – I’d heard medium to good things about Chiswick. There you have it then, one north Londoner venturing down south, armed with his A-game (not The Game) on his way to a breakfast date. She’d better not cancel.

She didn’t. Tucked away behind a very middle class(ed) Chiswick High Street sits the much talked about Sam’s Brasserie. Tucked away suited me just fine. Aware of the formalities of sitting down at a table, we/I opted to sit at one of the booths by the bar. I’d call them intimate; others might say they’re imposing. But what do others know.

Small talk over with, I’ll dive into the juicy detail. Menu scanned, I made a beeline for the blueberry compote with pancakes and crème fraiche – in that order. Yum. My date went all eggs royalé on me, and rightly so. But large instead of small? Gutsy. Even the waiter had to double check. Drinks – both the apple, carrot and ginger and orange juices lacked adventure if that’s possible. But the food didn’t disappoint.

Dubbed the best she’d ever had, my opposite was left purring at the consistency of the hollandaise sauce. However disheartening it was to be losing out to a condiment on a date, she was right to sing its praise. But with a seamless balance of sweet and savoury, my pancakes were sans doute the outright winner, and modest in victory; a Michael Parkinson to my date’s Michael MacIntyre if you will.

Happy to chatter in the corner over mutual Facebook friends and what not, the bar snacks menu couldn’t help but catch my eye. After giggling about the brasserie’s lights resembling those collars dogs come out of the vet wearing, we put our faith in maitre d’ Max to choose the best of a good bunch of snacks. And how well he did. OMG, the scotch quails egg were incredible; the Merguez sausages had a fresh spicy kick to them and mini croque monsieurs, well they were just cute.

Verdict? Good things come in threes; Sean Penn in I Am Sam; the Killers’ album Sam’s Town, leaving Sam’s Brasserie to complete the set. The boy Sam, he’s done good. Its woody interior giving the place a relaxed feel, I liked its wealth of opportunity; go there for coffee, breakfast, brunch, lunch, a drink, dinner – all equally enticing – either alone, with someone or, what prompted my departure, have a group celebration there. Like a christening. I’ll bear that in mind when I contemplate having the c-word. Children.

Do I have a second date to show for it? Usually, I prefer not to kiss and tell. But in this case I didn’t kiss.

Sam’s Brasserie & Bar
11 Barley Mow Passage
Chiswick
W4 4PH