Fine dining has arrived in Cobham, with a Provencal restaurant opening by the river.

La Rive is now welcoming diners on the High Street and its head chef is Eric Payet, a Frenchman who has worked in a number of Michelin-starred and AA Rosette kitchens since his first job at Putney Bridge in 1998.

Eric told Vibe: “We were just lucky enough to secure the site in Cobham, and that’s very fortunate because it’s a great location.

 “It’s suburban, it’s green, it’s by the river. It’s the best location we can ask for.”

The restaurant is the old site of La Capanna and Eric said it was handy to be starting where a popular restaurant left off.

He said: “We are already starting from a positive platform.

“We have to change a little bit of that while at the same time keeping a little bit similar because it was popular before.

“We didn’t do much, to be fair. The building speaks for itself.

“We refreshed the conservatory and some of the decor. It’s a beautiful building and the location is amazing so we didn’t need to do much to get it right.”

In terms of food, the refined La Rive is significantly different from the Italian offering of La Capanna.

Eric, who also runs Hare and Hounds in Lingfield with his business partner Simon Rand, said: “It’s a little bit more updated. It’s a little bit more modern – not scientific-style food – but modern twists here and there. It’s Provencal and Mediterranean.”

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The key to achieving great results, Eric said, was to focus on what’s in season and parts of the menu change frequently, sometimes even daily.

He said: “I can only do what the supplier sends to me. If they send me some good prawns today, I’ll do prawns. Tomorrow, it could be something else.

“It is very much focussed on ingredients. I’m working between two things – the customer and the ingredients. I’m just between what they want to eat and what the ingredients have to offer.

“It’s all about the food and the building.”

One example of seasonal dining is Eric’s current recommendation, the beef cheek.

Eric said: “It’s different to what people expect – it is very tender. You don’t even need a knife- just a fork and a spoon. Actually the way the weather is, it’s perfect. It’s a balance between a light dish and comfort food.”

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Eric has worked hard on the menu to make sure there is something for everyone and that includes what he terms ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ dishes. Grilled meat is cooked in a charcoal oven using oak, to give the perfect flavour.

With some many stars and rosettes on his CV, it seems inevitable that more will follow but Eric is coy on the prospect of industry recognition.

He said: “I think the best reward you can get is a happy customer and checking all the plates when they come back and if they’re empty that is the best reward you can get.

“It doesn’t matter how many stars you’ve got or how many awards you can get, if the dish is coming back half finished then you have a problem.

“The most rewarding thing is to make sure everyone is happy. That’s more important.

“It’s a local restaurant in one of the best locations in the world.

“Are we looking to get into those kind of stars and all of that? I don’t know. I think we will let the people judge. It’s not for us to say. We deserve what we get.

“If we are busy, we are doing well.”

La Rive, in Cobham High Street, is open now.