The Surbitonian Vine — Restaurant in London

Paid a visit here out of curiosity to Surbiton’s latest addition and it was a mixed experience, based upon how it is in the evening.

Sadly the bar staff pay more attention to women who came to the bar that they knew and served them ahead of people who had been waiting much longer. Given the cocktails are made from scratch this meant quite along wait to get served. A simple skill of a barman is to know who’s next in line and they got this all wrong. A really annoying start!

There’s very little phone signal in the venue and nowhere that says the WiFi password that is clearly visible - probably a bit of an issue given they’re appealing to the daytime crowd too.

The pints are expensive and so are the cocktails. A staff member tried to take our glasses before we’d finished and when you’re paying £13 for a cocktail you want to drink every last drop!

The decor didn’t add an awful lot more value to the place than the previous incarnation and seating was cramped in places. Possibly a missed opportunity to create more space compared to what the Blue Orchid had, but the layout still doesn’t quite work. The black surfaces in the toilets needed a wipe down too if you catch my drift.

More than a few teething problems in my opinion - would I return? Not in a hurry I dare say. Perhaps I’m being harsh with 2/5, but if I’m paying nearly £20 for two drinks the service and experience should be impeccable - it wasn’t though so the price vs experience ratio...

Great new spot in Surbiton. Really different vibe to anything else the town has to offer with cracking tunes and really solid beer and wine selection. The staff are young and could be more professional but ultimately warm and friendly and add to the overall ambience.

Dog friendly which is a plus and real mixed clientele which is refreshing for Surbiton. Two key creases to iron out:

The walls are bare. Not sure if this is because they’re new and not yet finished or the intended aesthetic they’re going for but a few additions to the walls would really tie everything together in our opinion More seats! A couple of the tables were missing an adjoining seat. Given the small space seems like a no brainer

Overall enjoyed our first experience and will be back. A few tweaks and it will be a long stay of...

I went this week to what used to be the Surbitonian Vine (this needs updating on Google) and is now Icon in Surbiton. I am not sure why this venue has such a high turnover of ownership and branding. If someone out there knows, I would be very interested to hear. They have the biggest range of matches drinks locally, if you are fan. I am keen to try the food there as it has had great reviews online from other people, I have seen. You can talk easily here without feeling others are listening. It would be a good place for business meetings or dates or meetups with friends. The decor is cheerful and colourful. It would be sad to see this place go so please give it a visit. And if you get to try the food before me, let me...