Restaurant review: The Burleigh Arms' new chef

One of the pleasures of living here is having The Burleigh Arms within easy walking distance. So, with a new chef in the kitchen, we wanted to find out what’s cooking.

Many regulars will remember Kareem’s distinctive style, which blended British and Antiguan influences. He's apparently moved on to a five-star hotel in Antigua, leaving Tom with the challenge of finding a worthy successor.

Enter Sam Sturman, who took over the kitchen in May. His CV includes stints at Michelin-starred restaurants Midsummer House in Cambridge and Pollen Street Social in London, and his approach is described as “refined pub grub with technically polished seasonal British produce”.

The menu is fairly short, so it’s worth checking before you decide to go. But that’s what you would expect from a chef focused on doing a handful of complex dishes really well.

Three of us started with the tuna ceviche, which was beautifully put together: generous chunks of tuna, paper-thin radishes for crunch and delicately balanced but umami-rich dashi broth. It was small, but elegant. The agnolotti was also excellent, although the pasta itself would have benefitted from being just a touch finer.

For mains, the stone bass was outstanding: perfectly cooked fish, plenty of crab, a subtle bisque and some exceptionally good samphire – none of the woody bits that too often find their way onto the plate elsewhere. The roe added just enough salty contrast. The pork dish came beautifully presented and showed off several different cuts and preparations, while the potato and cheese pithivier was a surprise, somehow being both rich and incredibly light.

Sides cost extra but, to be honest, none of us felt the lack of them. However, we did try the Bloody Mary fries because, well, we had to know. Happily, they really do taste like a Bloody Mary – a nice bit of fun among some very serious cooking.

And yes, we forced ourselves to sample all three desserts for the sake of this review.

The berry soufflé, which takes 15 minutes to prepare, was worth waiting for – feather-light and full of flavour. The mango and yuzu tartlet disappeared before anyone thought to take a picture, which probably tells you everything you need to know. And the chocolate and hazelnut bavarois, finished with a pour of espresso, makes for a lovely end to the meal.

The surprise of the evening, though, was the wine. We took a punt on a Hungarian white that was recommended to accompany the pithivier. We were rewarded with something fresh and lively, with plenty of depth and minerality. Not a country we'd normally associate with wine, but perhaps we should, especially after our previous wine tasting at Grape Britannia challenged our entrenched attitudes towards wine-producing countries!

There is one thing that struck us, though. The food is operating at a very high level and the pub itself hasn't quite caught up yet. You're paying prices similar to places like Fin Boys or Margaret's, but the décor and service are still very much that of a friendly local. That's not necessarily a bad thing — in many ways it's part of The Burleigh's charm — but there is perhaps a mismatch between the standard of the cooking and the surroundings.

The encouraging thing is that it wouldn't take much. A smarter frontage, pictures that reflect the personality of The Burleigh’s long and varied history, and real flowers on the tables would be a simple start. They could also use the other front door as a dedicated restaurant entrance.

Overall, then, we’d say that The Burleigh is pricy and the portions are not large but the intensity of flavours means you are fully satisfied. Given a choice between Fin Boys, Margaret’s, Fancett’s or The Burleigh, our local would not top the list. However, it’s still a good quality restaurant and Tom's ambition to combine a proper neighbourhood pub with genuinely ambitious cooking is to be applauded, while Sam Sturman's food deserves to attract plenty of interest from beyond Riverside. And we're rather happy that we only have to walk round the corner.

Graham, Tony, Hilary and Lyndsay