Surrey Eats Summer Social At Clayton Public House
UPDATE
Surrey Eats threw our first ever Summer Social event on July 25th, a bright and sunny Thursday just right for some patio grub and beers on the patio of one of our favourite haunts, The Clayton Public House.
Surrey Eats founder Craig was on hand with social media strategist Kimiko to welcome guests and hand out the wristbands, and they spent much of the night making introductions for all the guests so everyone felt at home. Surrey Eats Summer Social was envisioned as not just a networking event, but a community-building exercise for and by Surrey foodies.
Surrey Eats stalwart videographer James was busy buzzing around the sold-out crowd of 80 plus guests that filled Clayton Pub’s patio to capacity. Look for his footage online as we build the Surrey Eats YouTube channel and let us know what you’d like to see on there: Live restaurant reviews? Interviews with local restaurateurs and chefs? Eating challenges? Mukbangs?? It’s all fair game so let us know in the comments below!
We were proud to have our favourite local yokels Russell Brewing Co. sponsor the 2019 Surrey Eats Summer Social and give away massive amounts of FREE BEER! Yes that’s right, if you were lucky enough to get your hands on a ten dollar ticket to the social before they sold out you could sample Russell’s finest summer varietals to your hearts content.
Quick recap of what was on hand:
Russell Pale Ale – see our review from Cotto al Mare’s grand opening
Lemon Meringue Pie Sour – Lives up to its name. My pick of the eve.
Peach and Apricot Hefeweizen – Fun and fruity. Tastes like summer.
Lemon Raz Radler – Light and girly, this one was a hit with the ladies.
A cold beer on a hot summer day is all fine and dandy, but what would a Surrey Eats Summer Social be without a glorious spread of food to graze on? Don’t you worry, The Clayton’s Chef Hugues Voyer’s got it covered. I don’t know which was hungrier though, the phones or the bellies! Lucky for you dear readers when the presentation is this good, it’s as much a feast for the eyes as for the stomach.
The mini Caprese Salad was a strong opener. A robust slice of marinated tomato topped with buffalo mozzarella, a dollop of salsa di pomodoro, and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic, then finished with a sprig of fresh basil. Almost too pretty to eat! Almost.
Kimiko was raving about the Pulled Pork and Pickled Onion Poutine being the best poutine in all of Surrey, and a few bites in I was nodding my head in agreement. The fried pickled onions basically serve as onion rings in the poutine which is sheer genius in my books, and instead of gravy the pulled slow roasted pork shoulder is smothered in home-made BBQ sauce that has enough tang in it to tweak your tastebuds into next Tuesday. And if you don’t know what I mean by that, well neither do I! But basically it’s tangy af.
The itsy-bitsy cutie-wootie lightly grilled ham and cheese sandwich was a feature from the lunch menu but they are considering adding it to the current lineup. I say go for it! This was another highlight and the dijon aioli it came with was to die for.
The Old Cheddar + Truffle Risotto Sticks had the right toothsome texture internally and were topped with a tomato chutney and parmesan emulsion. The breading was nice and crispy and the truffle wasn’t overwhelming or anything so I’d say this one is good for all tastes.
There’s a slice of grilled sourdough focaccia on the right, but who cares.
Curry-flavoured Roasted Acorn Squash had some ridiculously gorgeous presentation on the wooden plank they were served on, dusted with feta and drizzled with parmesan emulsion then sparingly sprinkled with fresh green chives. The cumin was strong in this one, and I saw a lot of people going back for seconds.
Later in the evening when round 2 came out of the kitchen I had the chance to sample the chicken wings, whipped up by Chef Hugues Voyer exclusively for the Surrey Eats Summer Social! The theme was creamy parmesan, lemon and basil, and O. M. G! These were absolutely delectable. I hope these wings make their way onto a menu someday.
The Confit Duck Drumettes were absolutely drenched in Guiness BBQ sauce and literally falling off the bone. Like you would pick one up and it would just fall right off the bone on its way to your mouth! These were so addictive I actually polished off another guest’s plate when they got up to use the restroom 😅
Unfortunately I missed the boat on dessert but rest assured everyone was raving about it. The Clayton put out quite the spread considering tickets were only ten measly dollars. As icing on the cake all the Surrey Eats Summer Social ticketholders received a $10 gift card to use on their next visit to The Clayton, so everyone broke even and then some!
Craig holding court 
Dj Johnny Love on the 1s and 2s 
Cheers from Surrey Eats writers Erin and Matt 
Walker from Russell Brewing Co. 
Selina and Atsumi from VancityNoms 
Craig with Big Ridge’s head brewmaster Jason Armitage 
SQUAD! 
SQUUUUAAAAD! 
Surrey Eats Surrey Eats Surrey Eats Surrey Eats. Brrr! 
Handing out the swagbags 
Summer stylin with Surrey Eats’ social media guru Kimiko and Daman from Surrey604 
Shoutout to Chef Hugues Voyer for all his hard work at Surrey Eats Summer Social!
Surrey Eats Summer Social was an evening filled with music, laughter, drinks and prizes galore, and of course all the glorious food. Not to mention perks like the shuttle running to and from the skytrain so that everyone could get home safe after a bit of imbibing!
Hope those of you who were sitting on the fence or waited til it was sold out this time will make it out for the next round of our Seasonal Socials in the Fall.
Credits to Daman from Surrey604.com, Winnie from FatPantsForever and Annie from The Heart for sharing their photos of the first ever Surrey Eats Summer Social with us, Russell Brewing Co. for generously sponsoring the event, The Clayton for graciously hosting, and most importantly thanks to all who came out and supported Surrey Eats, we love you guys!
Original article
Nothing says summertime like good food, fun people and a patio! If you enjoy checking out all that Surrey has to offer in the culinary scene, meeting new friends and gorgeous views of the Fraser Valley, we are your people.
Click here to purchase tickets from Eventbrite
Join us for an evening of delicious appetizers by Chef Hugues Voyer from The Clayton Public House, awesome door prizes and one of the best patios Surrey has to offer. Surrey Eats would love to meet all the people who make living, eating, playing and eating… did we say eating? – in and around Canada’s fastest growing city.
Bring your friends, bring your family and bring your taste buds, to enjoy an evening of pure summertime goodness at Surrey Eats Summer Social.
- Event – Surrey Eats Summer Social
- Date – July 25th 2019, from 6-9pm
- Location – The Clayton Public House
- Price – $10 – includes door prizes and appetizers provided by Chef Hugues Voyer
Click here to purchase tickets from Eventbrite
Author: Matt
Prior to joining the Surrey Eats crew, Matt's love of all things edible and passion for writing led him to long-running food blog Eat 'n About where he penned articles under the nom de plume Hitman Howdy for several years. Matt's also been published in various local magazines, and is an extremely adventurous eater who has dined on things that would make Anthony Bourdain blush. Matt enjoys the melting pot of international cuisine on offer in Surrey and hopes to help put his beloved stomping grounds on the map as a smorgasbord for food-lovers of all ethnicities. SURREY WHAT!!
