The Overview…
Dawson is a fairly new 100 seater all-day eatery, offering a comfortable, casual dining experience on Kew’s High Street.
Meal:
Brunch/Lunch
Food:
Dawson Benedict, Pina Colada Hotcakes, Matcha Panna Cotta, Sticky Pork Belly
Ratings:
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value: 4.5/5
The details…
Set up by experienced, young chefs Emily Wood and Majid Jreige, Dawson aims to bring a touch of fine dining to more everyday dishes, in a low key, relaxed environment, and I definitely feel they achieved this. We both agreed that if we were more local to Kew, Dawson would be exactly the place we’d come for a brunch with friends or a relaxing mid-week dinner. The balance of the venue is perfect – it’s fancy enough to make you feel like you are going somewhere nice, and presents a great first impression, but without giving off any pretension or feeling that this is somewhere you can only enjoy if its an “occasion”. The size of the venue works well, with space for a wide bar over to one side, and ample choice of seating – it feels spacious yet intimate. The skylights towards the back of the restaurant give some much needed day time light, and help enhance the venue’s day time appeal.
We visited for brunch and sampled a range of items from the menu. We began with the amazing smelling Pork Belly from the sharing menu, and while I would have liked a touch more crunch on this, the pork was melt in your mouth soft and the Asian flavours worked perfectly giving an amazing sensory experience from the moment it hit the table. Our second savoury dish was the Dawson Benedict – sweet potato and pecorino waffles topped with beef brisket and the usual poached eggs and hollandaise. The brisket was sweet, sticky and while it was a generous serve you just wanted to keep eating more of it. The house-made sweet potato waffles were a different choice for benny, but we enjoyed their lightness and smooth flavour. A little sweeter on the palate than a typical benedict, but enjoyably so and definitely brings together flavours in a way you probably haven’t tried before.
For “brunch dessert” we had the pina colada hotcakes and the matcha panna cotta. The hotcakes were more like a sponge cake than your tradition pancake/hotcake hybrid. They were more stripped back than many, focusing on a few key flavours. A mature, yet simple dish. M.B. enjoyed the cake texture and found them to be a filling dish. I loved the shape of the panna cotta and the stunning colours on the plate. It’s a real wow dish visually when it comes to the table. There’s a generous serve of chocolatey granola and a good range of fresh fruit. The flavour of the panna cotta is quite mild and it’s a little overwhelmed by the granola, but it has a great texture and is a satisfying, interesting breakfast dish. Dawson offer this as a dessert too and I feel it would perhaps be even better enjoyed like this.
Service was great with just the right balance between being friendly and interested in customers, but yet ensuring service was efficient for all. Dawson is easy to like and has a lot to offer – whether you pop in for brunch, lunch or dinner, for the quality of food you receive it’s an affordable well rounded venue.
Everything else…
Website: https://www.dawson.restaurant/
Visual Menu: https://www.mryum.com/dawson
Address: 241 High St, Kew
Opening Times:
7 days, 8am – late
Parking: It’s Kew, so parking can be a bit tricky. There’s a small carpark just around the corner on Peel Street. Alternatively, there is parking in many of the streets around High Street if you can find a spot – this is usually easier in the evenings than during the day.
Getting here on PT: The 48 tram goes practically to the door, just alight at the Pakington St/High St stop, or you can get the 109 and its about a 3 minute walk from the Kew Shopping Centre stop.
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Dawson Kew. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a restaurant won’t change (including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting)