Bridge Road is getting back to its bustling self, with the lively chatter of pavement diners enjoying a spot of Mediterranean, open-air dining. Just as well we have the sunshine to go with the cuisine as not too many people will actually make it to the Mediterranean this year. Indeed, Bridge Road dining has quite a continental flavour with a number of new additions to the mix. The Square Olive has been replaced by ‘Istanblu’, a Turkish restaurant specialising in charcoal grilled meat. It was certainly buzzing when I passed by, making good use of the outdoor seating area. Out of nowhere, Mezzet, the Lebanese restaurant established at the far end of Bridge Road, found a tiny corner over-looking the river and set up ‘Box’. A small but pleasant outdoor venue serving wraps, salads, mezze and drinks (including a nice cup of tea). You will find it opposite Zizi and will wonder why you didn’t notice this riverside spot before. There was a lively trade when I stopped by with people dropping in for take-away, while others sat enjoying the sunshine and the view. I partook of a Lebanese lemonade which was a refreshing mix of lemon and floral spices.
A little further outside the Molesey zone and you can find the best little hot dog in town. Run rather like a covert operation, you take your chances on whether this venue will be open. The chef/owner informed me that it was open when the garden was open and not when the garden was closed. Perfect logic. You will find it on the A308 Hampton Court Road, just past the petrol station on the way to Hampton. Look out for the Hampton Riviera sign along with the ‘hot dog’ board.
Finding the location is just the start of the adventure. The next challenge is to actually find the hot dogs. As you walk in there is a serving area on your left. I waited here for some time as the board outside had indicated the venue to be open. Then a fellow diner arrived who walked straight past me and disappeared through an arched doorway. I followed him through, and a wooden walkway led down to an alfresco dining area right on the river front. Here the smell of hotdogs was unmistakable, and the barbeque was ‘steaming’. You need to come hungry and get messy as the hotdogs arrive in half a baguette complete with a tangle of onion, salad, mustard and ketchup. With all that for a fiver you can see why people return. Not sufficiently hungry on my first visit I decided to return the next day to sample the wares. Confident on arrival that there would be no confusion this time I went straight through the arched door and set off down the walkway when I heard a voice call me back. ‘Oy!’. It was the same man from the day before. ‘What you want?’ he said. It seemed pretty obvious, but I said I wanted to try a hot dog. ‘Mmmm hot dog’ he mused. I asked if he was serving down by the river like before. He said, he was serving up here, indicating the closed and very cold barbeque. ‘What hot dog do you want?’ he said, as if it were a test. I recalled there was a Polish hot dog from my glance at the menu the previous day, so I asked for that. ‘Ok’, he said. ‘You sit here’, and he took me through the garden to a seat by the songbirds. I dutifully sat down and wondered just where this hot dog was going to appear from. The rumour is that the hot dog venue is open from 12.00 to 7.00 pm. Try it yourself and take a bit of time to wander round the eclectic garden while you are waiting. We have the sun, we have the venues, let’s eat.