The story
Starling is the creation of Nick Beardshaw, a Great British Menu winner who brings his classical training and deep respect for British produce to this relaxed neighbourhood bistro in Esher. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star for 2026, a nod to the precision and clarity of its Modern British cooking.
The guiding principle is simple: source the best seasonal British ingredients, treat them with classical techniques, and let the flavours speak. “We create our menus using the best British, seasonal ingredients, cooked simply using classical techniques,” the team explains. Sustainability and provenance are woven into every dish.
The atmosphere is convivial and unhurried – the sort of place where a weekday set lunch (£37.50 for three courses) sits alongside a Sunday roast with all the trimmings. Sunday lunch features rib of beef or sharing sirloins with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, and gravy, plus sides like honey-glazed heritage carrots and garlic roasted hispi cabbage.
The evening menu changes with the seasons but often includes standouts like the “Comet C” dessert – a Mayan red chocolate and malt baked Alaska that won Beardshaw acclaim on Great British Menu – alongside snacks like truffle cheese crumpets and hand-dived Orkney scallop toast.
Though it holds a Michelin star, Starling remains firmly a local bistro at heart. The cooking is ambitious yet unpretentious, the service warm. Whether you’re stopping in for a quick lunch or settling in for a multi-course dinner with wine pairings, the focus stays on the best of Modern British cuisine in a setting that feels both special and welcoming.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
‘A very noteworthy addition to the Surrey dining scene,’ Starling references the namesake avian and its murmuration displays with copper-colour bird-in-flight pendant lights and an ornithological mural against a stylishly modern backdrop of half-panelled walls and blue padded booths. Staff are suitably ‘chirpy’ too, while ticking all the boxes for friendliness and well-oiled professionalism. Chef-patron Nick Beardshaw has a formidable pedigree, most notably as Tom Kerridge’s right-hand man, and his menus are peppered with ingredients from highly respected producers and suppliers. Boldly flavoured, perfectly executed snacks such as truffle cheese crumpets and honey-glazed chicken nuggets immediately set the tone before show-stopping starters have their say. Despite its rather gimmicky presentation, ‘A Moon-Shaped Pool’ (one of Beardshaw’s contributions to Great British Menu 2023 ) delivers some seriously gifted, thoughtful cooking involving a super-fresh, sweet Orkney scallop, luscious green Thai curry, ‘salty fingers’ and marinated cucumber. Mains might bring bang-in-season English asparagus with punchy glazed morels and a perfect deep-fried egg nesting on a ring of soft polenta, or West End Farm pork tenderloin served with braised baby gem, a slice of malt-glazed pork cheek, dehydrated crackling, glazed shallot and gherkin gravy – a masterclass in balanced flavours, textures and seasoning. Prime steaks also receive serious consideration (including Freedown Hills olive-fed wagyu ribeye). To conclude, there might be an English strawberry sundae or Amalfi lemon tart, but it’s hard to resist Beardshaw’s much-lauded Banksy-inspired ‘Balloon Girl’ (another GBM standout), a heart-shaped raspberry-glazed cheesecake/chocolate torte hybrid represented the 'balloon', with white chocolate-coated rice paper depicting the image itself. There's also an impressively good-value midweek lunch offer ranging from chalk stream trout pâté with a buttered crumpet to an exceedingly comforting plateful of Cotswold White chicken, soft polenta, peas and bacon. Wines served in top-quality glassware provide the final touch of class, with a cherry-picked selection of producers from around the globe and some appealing by-the-glass selections at fair prices.
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