stephen wall

Heinz winkler in aschau ,near munich as well although thats probably the furthest of the lot from Frankfurt

You didnt make it to any of our michelin starred restaurants did you?(2 star)Patrick Guilbauds,Thorntons (1 star)The Commons.Thorntons in particular is fantastic and has just moved to The Fitzwiliam Hotel on Stephens Green with its eyes firmly fixed on a 3rd star

Try Relais De Bracieux-Bernard Robin.Its 2 star in the michelin and about a half hour from Blois, in Bracieux.Not exactly cutting edge,but exquisetly prepared food,great value wine and fairly good value food for 2star level

Thanks very much Cabrales :biggrin:Looking at the menu it seems to be extremely expensive, even compared to some of the other 3 stars i.eGordon Ramsay.From your experience,do you think it'd be worth it or would the money be better spent elsewhere?

Thanks for all the replys Cabrales,if its not too much trouble that menu would be great

I've been thinking about going to this place for a while but I can hardly find any information on it.No website,hardly any hits on Yahoo and no result when searched for here.Could any members who have dined there or have any information on it ie menus, availability of reservations etc please reply.Thanks in advance

The Horn Of Plenty does have a star,and its a 7 in the GFG so i'd imagine you could rely on a good meal there.

the brasserie in the chester grosvenor is pretty good, offers fairly decent value and is open all day

You could either have the full version or the condensed sommeliers choices .We actually got a glass with each course,which is always nice with a degustation menu. The actual list was extremely comprehensive with every area of France well served.But it also, to its credit, had many fine wines from Italy, SA , America and from further away (Romania,Moldova etc.It ALSO had AN extensive selection of old champagnes,ports,armagnacs etc.It also seemed to be quite good value.If you enter the chefs name on Yahoo, you can get their website(dont know how to give the link)

It was like a book!

I ate there last summer, after seeing it in the R+C, in which it said that "reservations would have to be made months in advance".As is often the case,we just turned up and they managed to get us a table without much fuss.Four of us had that degustation menu, and it was something special.It was about 9 courses and 7 small desserts.Thank god we didnt have to go far after the meal, as they have 5 or 6 reasonably priced rooms as well.

Pound for pound,La Trompette in Chiswick has to be one of the best value lunches in London.3 courses,choice of 4 at each, for £19.50?When you add in the relaxed ambiance and slick,French service, its hard to believe why it didnt get a star this year.I must have been there 10,11 times in the last couple of months,for lunch and dinner, and its food is considerably better than many other 1starred establishments in london(1 lombard streetand glasshouse come to mind).Considering the good food,value,and wine list possibly a good place for the next Egullet dinner.

is that guy a temporary replacement?

another big difference between the two guides is that where Michelin still has La Tour d'Argent and Paul Bocuse at 2 and 3 stars respectively,Gault Millau has relegated them both to "institutions", labelling La Tour d'Argent as "pathetique"...That can only be a good move as both are well past their sell by date.

How expensive was the meal at Le Grand Vefour?Is there extra courses if you order 3 courses from the a la carte,and is there a set menu?

sure,I just didnt want to bore you with them.We started off with an appetiser of cauliflower puree in a round,on top of which a dollop of Avruga caviar was placed.Lovely,clean flavours.Then we were brought a small copper pan of confit duck with the bone removed,with a balsamic reduction,lying on a bed of sweet,sweet onion shavings.The skin of the duck had that beautiful crackle to it,and the dish came off nicely.Next we had the soup,which I described in the last post.Then came for me probably the most disappointing dish of the night.It was a small piece of monkfish,gently spiced.lying on a bed of pak choi wit ground almonds and a saffron broth.Although the dish was by no means bad,and it had a nice contrast of textures, there was no burst of flavour to it.That nights specialty followed:rolled rack of lincolnshire lamd in a red wine and wild mushroom reduction,with small glazed turnips and tender baby potatoes.It was a lovely dish,the lamb being perfectly pink and tender,and the sauce was magnificent,with a shimmering glaze on it.Then came the cheeseboard.I have to say that the GFG are almost certainly right when they say this is "probably the best cheeseboard in the UK".It has almost 40 varieties, from France,England,Italy,Switzerland,Holland and even my native Ireland.Each cheese was described at length and came with celery,dried fruits,warm fruit bread,waterbiscuits and of course grapes.Before dessert,a small pre-dessert was brought :a passion fruit souffle,with a small scoop of vanilla inside,into which a small caramel cone was placed at the table.I could have settled at that beautiful offering,but their was still one more to come:Mille Feuille of nougatine and chocolate,confit of kumquatand grapefruit,orange and vanilla sauce.Innovative,decadant,and thoroughly enjoyable.The wine list is comprehensive but perhaps a bit pricey:we got the sommelier to bring us a glass with each course in which he excelled himself by bringing us enjoyable but keenly priced wines.Andy,gladly your concern about the service did not materialise and it was highly trained and efficeint without being stiff.(The night before we had terrible service in a place called Riverside House in Ashton on the Water).Coffee and waves of petit fours were served in one of the cosy drawingrooms where the chef and his wife engaginly talked with us for almost an hour.The final bill came to £185 for the two of us with wine,which I think is good value,especially for some of the best food in England.

We made it up to Winteringham last Saturday,and remote doesnt begin to describe its location.Service from the outset was impeccable,from the moment we drove in a charming young Frenchman greeted us to take our bags to our room.At dinner two menus are offered:Menu De Jour at £36 for 3 courses and a 6 course menu suprise at £66,along with a short a la carte.We opted for the Menu Suprise which begins with waves of small appetisers and then 4 courses,cheese and dessert.Without going into all the details, the best course of the night had to be the asparagus and oyster soup with a salmon roe,a plump king scallop and just a touch of coriander.Exquisite.After the meal,the chef,Germain Schwab ,came out and talked with us for about an hour.He was one of the most down to earth, unassuming chefs we'd ever met,especially for one as excellent as him. When asked,he told us that he is working 17-18 hours a day,breakfast,lunch, and dinner and that he's never missed a service.The rooms are spacious and comfortable, 6 in the main house and 5 in the courtyard.A truly impressive place,it comes highly recommended,but if your thinking of going, bookings need to be 4/5 weeks in advance,as people are travelling from far and wide,being GFG restaurant of the year.

cabrales,how did you find out about these changes so early(please post relevant link)

Is Gordon Ramsay doing something at the Connaught

Thorntons in Portobello is also a very fine restaurant.Its expensive, but not as expensive as Patrick Guilbauds and its food does credit to its 2 michelin stars.The room is cool and modern and the wine list is extensive and for this type of place, quite fair.Location is slightly out of the centre on the Grand Canal and because of this you can park right next to the restaurant.Worth a visit,dinner is Tuesday to Saturday with lunch only on Fridays.

I accept that GR at Claridges has had initial problems, but recent meals at RHR, where we mustn't forget his 3 michelin stars are from, have been of a consistently high standard.

i'm thinking about making the trip up from london as a special treat for myself.Has anyone else dined there and is it as good as GFG and Michelin would have you believe?

Aren't Maine lobsters supposed to be the best?Also the ones from Brittany are supposed to be good.On the question of Lobster restaurants,Le Divellec in Paris is exceptional.

how can you seriously slate Ramsay's food like that?Its just plain wrong, not to show at least some respect for the quality of food he's producing. P.S(Are you actually a Lord)

perhaps Simon,but in what way were others better value?Somehow whenever I come out of GR, I feel immensly satisfied.