Brasserie Vacherin

We have been a fairly regular visitor and generally have been satisfied; albeit at less busy (off-peak) times - it is somewhere to go in Sutton that is not one of the big chains. The visit yesterday on Mother's Day (organised by our son and daughter) was appalling however!

Grossly overbooked we were given a table in the bar area and not in the main resteraunt, despite having booked six weeks previously - nobody advised that could happen. There was a d.j. in the bar area and despite request to turn the volume down (to one of the staff and then the aledged manager) we were left to suffer.

They took the order for draft beer and presented us with bottled beer - "as they had run out"; the wine however was good.

The meat platter was grim, more fat the meat on the pork, the lamb was virtually non existence (a couple of bones) and the beef was v. rare and not to our taste. A request for some real lamb was met with - we have run out!

Sitting where we were there was a queue behind waiting to get into the resteraunt for their booking - clearly the resteraunt had seriously overbooked, and seeing the service counter handling the Yorkshire Puddings with bare hands and customers standing there waiting to get a table was certainly not conducive to hygiene!

Whoever organised this Mother's Day event disaster for the resteraunt needs to be held to account.

Absolutely appalling and I felt extremely embarrassed as I had suggested the Reseraunt to my son and daughter.

 

We certainly will not visit Vacherin again!

 

 

I've given half a star on each measure because it won't let me give zero. Now we're home and few hours of reflection have passed, our experience at this restaurant is actually quite funny. Without doubt the most comically terrible dining experience I've endured anywhere. This is literally the first review I've ever written about any restaurant anywhere but I felt I had to share.

Ww went in a group of 4 and had the £35-a head mothers day menu today. They'd clearly overbooked so sat us at a table in the bar area where they had an awful DJ playing loud music (Tina Turner etc!!) while we were expected to eat lunch. I don't know anyone who likes to go out to eat lunch with their family and not be able to have a conversation because of the noise but we persevered in the knowledge that on mothers day we wouldn't get in anywhere else without a booking. When we asked them to turn the music down we were told a bizarre story about how all the people in the restaurant at the back liked it and it was being played to them at the same volume through speakers - (plainly not true). But anyway they left the music as it was.

We also asked the waiting staff to clear up the half-eaten strudel that the table's previous occupants had left on the floor under one of the chairs...they never found the time..

It was always impossible to get any service and when we did the staff were rude and pretty disinterested..."in a minute" seemed to be the standard response....

We ordered the shared roast platter (some beef / pork / lamb) for 4 people...the potatoes and vegtables were bland and pretty raw in the middle but they were undoubtedly the best bit of the meal...the beef was like leather; the pork was basically just fat (not crackling sadly!) and laughably we got 2 bones with a half a mouthful on meat on each as out lamb offering ...(not even 1 each!!). We mentionned to the waiter who sort of smirked, said "yeah we're out of lamb" and then went to the kitchen and brought another plate of rancid pork and beef. Shameful. I mean surely if you realise you're out of something after it's been ordered, you just say and offer something else...you don't just chuck a couple of bones on the plate and hope your paying customers don't notice..

I personally didn't risk a desert but the other 3 did and were made to wait nearly 20 minutes for them to arrive.

I could go on but I think you get the idea.

After a bit of row and attitude we settled on no service charge and one person eating for free - so 4 set menus for £105 instead of £140 and no service chage paid...I still feel massively ripped off!

So in summary, the best bit of my experience at this restaurant was the 30 second walk to the toilet between courses...30 seconds where i wasn't eating the food and 30 seconds without Tina Turner screaming in my ear.

It is a shame as I went this restaurant 3 years ago for dinner and it was excellent...so maybe just a blip in the kitchen and some poor staffing decisions...who knows?! I won't be going back though so I guess I'll never know.

 

Food and service exemplary. Able to accommodate dietary requirements with dedication (not requested in advance, but offered an individual gluten free bread and butter pudding for dessert - an absolute treat). .

Brasserie Vacherin, a French brasserie just outside south London in Sutton has a bistro style setting. There was a great warm welcome as soon as we came in. We went a la carte and were impressed. The food was well presented and very tasty to eat. The prawns for starters were plump and tender, the braised rabbit leg in Dijon mustard sauce for the main course was delicious, and the ‘tarte aux pommes' beautifully sharp to round off the meal. Even though it was a Friday night, the atmosphere was a little lacking. Sadly, Brasserie Vacherin fails a little in the service department.

Lucky old Sutton to have this little treasure in its midst. This is a proper, fine dining establishment which would be a lot more expensive if it was in the West End.

Greeted well on arrival – we were the only ones in the restaurant at 12 noon on Sunday. Table was booked – after a 15 minute wait in the reception area I had to ask to be shown to our table. Three course set menu took 2 hours 35 minutes. We waited at least ten minutes for each course to be served, then another 10 minutes for next course to arrive after the plates were cleared. We waited 15 minutes and no one bothered to take our desert order – I had find the manager to ask her to take it. The music was dreadful. I asked three times for it to be turned down – it was, but after a few minutes it was turned up again. I refused to pay the discretionary service charge that was added to the bill. I complained to the manager and was told the slow service was because everything was cooked fresh – they had time to go out & pick the apples for the apple crumble – 15 minutes from ordering to arrival. I will not go there again. The food was very average and served on cold plates.

“Sutton its only 30 minutes on a train to some of the best restaurants in the world!” and until this restaurant opened that would have been Suttons only gastranomic claim to fame. But when Malcolm John opened up Brasserie Vacherin in November last year that all changed. Think Cote with a wider menu and you're on the right lines, very good french brasserie. The lunch at just under £15 for three courses is staggeringly good value. All the right touches, freshly baked bread on arrival served with heavenly anchovy butter, tap water in jugs. Service is friendly, well informed and attentive enough. I have been here more times in the last three months then anywhere else. Fabulous local restaurant that almost makes you wish you were local!