Starling in Esher has quickly become one of Surrey’s most talked-about restaurants. Chef Nick Beardshaw opened the neighbourhood bistro in 2024, and it now holds one Michelin star, retained in the 2026 Michelin Guide. Beardshaw is also well known as a Great British Menu winner and previously spent many years working with Tom Kerridge.

Despite the Michelin star, Starling is deliberately more relaxed than a traditional fine-dining restaurant. If you’re planning your first visit, here are five useful things to know.

1. The Wednesday and Thursday lunch is a particularly good way to try it

You don’t necessarily need to book an expensive evening meal to experience Starling.

The restaurant currently offers a three-course set lunch for £37.50 on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The dishes change with the seasons, but the current sample menu includes choices such as tomato gazpacho or grilled Cornish sardine to start, deep-fried cod or courgette and artichoke quiche for the main course, followed by desserts including banana custard or Mayan red chocolate ganache.

For Michelin-starred cooking, that makes lunchtime an appealing introduction to the restaurant.

Our tip: if you’re reasonably flexible about when you visit, look at the set lunch before automatically booking a Friday or Saturday evening.

2. Don’t expect a stiff Michelin-starred dining room

One of the most appealing things about Starling is that it describes itself as a neighbourhood bistro.

Michelin itself highlights the restaurant’s lack of pretension, describing a simple but elegant dining room and seemingly straightforward dishes that require considerable skill to produce.

There is no need to dress formally either. The listed dress code is casual, so you don’t need a jacket, tie or special outfit.

It is somewhere you could choose for an anniversary or birthday, but it doesn’t feel as though you have to whisper your way through dinner.

3. Try some of the smaller dishes, not just a starter and main

It is worth looking at the snacks section before ordering.

The current menu includes truffle cheese crumpets with 36-month-aged Parmesan, duck liver parfait with French toast and a hash brown topped with Cornish bluefin tuna and avocado.

These playful dishes give you a good idea of Starling’s style: familiar British food taken in a more ambitious direction.

Prices can climb if you keep adding courses, though. On the current à la carte menu, starters are mostly in the teens, main courses are around £32 to £48, with steaks and sharing cuts considerably more. Cocktails are roughly £14 to £18.

Our tip: look at the menu before you arrive rather than deciding your budget once you’re sitting down.

4. Sunday lunch is quite different and worth considering

Starling isn’t just somewhere for an elaborate Saturday-night dinner.

On Sundays it opens for lunch from 12pm to 3.30pm, with a menu built around proper roasts. Current choices include stuffed pork loin, Cotswold lamb and dry-aged ribeye, served with duck-fat roast potatoes, Roscoff onion fondant and Sunday gravy.

There are also distinctly Starling additions, including truffled cauliflower cheese and some of the restaurant’s signature snacks and desserts.

If you want Michelin-starred cooking without quite the sense of committing to a full fine-dining evening, Sunday lunch could be the sweet spot.

5. It is right on Esher High Street, but book before making a special trip

Starling is at 3 High Street, Esher, KT10 9RL, so it is easy to combine with a visit to Esher rather than travelling into central London for dinner.

There is public parking nearby, including Esher’s Civic Centre car park, and Starling is also accessible from Esher railway station.

The restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. It opens for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Saturday and for lunch only on Sunday.

It can also become very busy at peak times, so this is somewhere where booking ahead makes sense rather than hoping for a table on a Friday night.

Starling Esher: quick guide

Where is it?
3 High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9RL.

Does Starling have a Michelin star?
Yes. Starling is a one-Michelin-star restaurant.

Who is the chef?
Nick Beardshaw, a Great British Menu winner.

Is there a set lunch?
Yes. The current Wednesday and Thursday three-course lunch costs £37.50.

Do you need to dress up?
No. The dress code is casual.

Is it open on Sundays?
Yes, for Sunday lunch from 12pm to 3.30pm.

Best for: a special lunch, date night, birthday, Sunday lunch or anyone curious to try Michelin-starred food without travelling into central London.

Our tip: for a first visit, the Wednesday or Thursday set lunch is probably the smartest place to start. You get a proper taste of Nick Beardshaw’s cooking at a much more approachable price than a full à la carte dinner.