Frere Jacques, Kingston upon Thames

Frere Jacques is an independently owned and run French brasserie right on the river bank by Kingston Bridge. The setting couldn't be nicer / better and on that note I would therefore recommned you book a table in the summer as Frere Jacques gets very busy as passers by / other diners clammer to get a seat to eat and sip a drink over a lazy couple of hours gazing at the river. We went last night for the first time for supper as a treat. You have to wait to be seated and stand by a lectern at the front of the restaurant. We didn't have long to wait at all and were pretty quickly directed to our reserved table (we had booked). The restaurant (outside terrace) was extremely busy and some people who had not booked in advance had to take tables indoors which seemed such a shame as it was such a sunny evening. However, we sat under the awning which was just lovely and as the evening progressed and the sun went down, the view of the river was gorgeous. The waiting staff at Frere Jacques are very good and were extremely efficient considering how busy the restaurant was. We were asked if we would like a drink and were provided with menus / wine list. You have quite a lot to choose from but your first decision is to either choose from an extensive A La Carte menu or from the much shorter and well priced Le Rapide menu. Glancing down the menu I had to smile as one of the items was 'Barnsley lamb chop' which didn't really correlate with the French brasserie theme! To start I had the breaded mushrooms with garlic mayo which I really liked. The mushrooms were whole flat bread ones and the mayo had chopped chive and red onion in it which was a nice touch. The coating on the mushrooms was light and very crispy and I have to say was probably the best variation I've ever eaten of this popular dish. For main I had the minute steak which came as I had asked for it to be cooked and was the ideal size. The accompanying peppercorn sauce though was a little thin and did not pack much punch and the 'frites' although plentiful, came already salted which I find really annoying. This is the second time I have been to a restaurant of late where this has happened and I wish chefs wouldn't do it as I personally don't like over salted food. The mange tout had been cooked in butter and were ok. For dessert I tried the strawberry pannacotta which was also ok but did not blow me away.All in all the bill for two people came to only about £40 so pretty good value for money for a three course meal. However, I would say that the meal was average overall and the French Table in Surbiton does very good French food which outshines Frere Jacques easily. However, the view of the river is wonderful and the staff are very good. I would be prepared to give Frere Jacques another go as the A La Carte menu does look good and the plates I saw coming out of the kitchen looked great, especially the couple of fish dishes I spotted.