circeplum

i absolutely loved it. thought it was a sexy space with great staff and truly interesting and accomplished cooking. and there's a lovely garden, too. but i remember jay rayner's review said something like 'is this the worst restaurant in britain?' (is that right, jay?) go figure. m

and since they don't have a 'not being sarky or snide' emoticon, apologies if that came over as such. m

aargh. i'm scandalised. i know i can never begin to have the background in indian food that you have, but we (me and very picky date) had a truly brilliant meal (apart from the chicken). the 'kebabs' were fabulous. i might not know authentic, but i do know delicious. and what we ate (including gooseberry and kumquat solecisms) was just that. i'll be running in the opposite direction next time i see you, then m

it was called 'wadi aloo aur hare pyaz ki tarkari'. phew. and described as 'crisp lentil dumplings with spring onions and potatoes'. it was a lot soupier looking than i expected, but had a brilliant mix of crunchy bits and squidgey bits with waxy new potatoes and loads of aromatics. m

sheesh...

went there last night. bloody lovely. mixed 'kebabs' of salmon, lamb, giant prawn and chicken beyond gorgeous. crispy lentil dish awesome. naan breads a fabulous mix of toated crispiness and pillowy lightness. great rice. stunning chutneys. i could go on ... no wonder he won a michelin star at tamarind. not even that expensive (mains about £12.50. m

ms illey (sp?) does write restaurant reviews for publications like in-flight magazines. and nobody in the business (with the possible exception now of jay) knows what i look like. and i always book under an assumed name. also, it wasn't intended as a slur, simply an observation. m oh yeah, and there are lots and lots of booths!

would that be me, then? liked it very much, though you'll have to get your (free!) copy of the paper to find out just how much. what i didn't say is that i was sitting tete a tete (the arrangements of the booths mean that you're surprisingly close to the people at the next table) with alan coren who was pretty unscintillating conversation-wise in the flesh. (had given up attempting to listen to date by this time). also, was corralled into a journo ghetto with chrissie iley (big kisses from marcus wareing; so much for journalistic anonymity) and our own mr rayner whom i accused of stealing my sausage. (it's a long story.) otherwise it was suits-a-go-go. previous atmosphere remains, though brushed up and burnished. altogether an improvement. plus a truly reasonably priced lunch menu, the dishes on which, to be honest, i'd have preferred. call me reactionary. m

c list? C LIST???? our joanie is a+ ...

and, at close quarters, she looked ....

... and if it's anything as good as embassy, it should be pretty damn' fine.

i liked it too. any 'weirdness' was just down to my lack of knowledge of native aussie foodstuffs. the food was good. and i agree: great bar. m

as an aside, times must be hard in the biz. i got a table at the grill for dinner no problem at all, no waiting, straight through to a human being. whereas when gr at claridges opened it was queues and bunfights.

who's heated? i'm having fun. m x (in any case, anything we post here will have no effect on the c&w's business. we're talking sooo wrong target audience ...)

i wouldn't dream of suggesting that you're wrong, merely deluded. after all, if you like eating in a spot where they can't actually cook, the clientele has difficulty with their inherited teeth and toilet seats are acrylic with an inlay of shells and seahorses, that's entirely your prerogative. m

as usual, peter dearest heart, you're talking through a hole in your ... head. the crab and winkle is the most derided restaurant in the area. the preserve of the blue-rinse coach trips. i had almost the worst meal ever there, a kedgeree which defies description. still, even they can't cock up the local seafood too badly. and yes, wheeler's is divine. if you want a table in the tiny dining room at weekends, be prepared to book months in advance. the food and the location of the oyster stores is perfectly brilliant. the attitude (big fish in small town) is the downer. i've given up on it for that reason. the sportsman is fabulous, as is the dove in nearby dargate (about 10 min drive away). i had the most amazing lobster salad there, with samphire, baby peas, mint and a touch of walnut oil. just gorgeous. but then, of course, you've been there for the afternoon, so you should know.

it is the savoy! marcus wareing's new lunch menu (that's why it was sneaky). the dinner's a whole lot more elaborate ... m over to you, jackal.

rats. was hoping you wouldn't notice. ok: this is really, really sneaky (and it's from the lunch menu) but there are hints there, honest - omelette arnold bennet traditional steak and kidney pudding with braised root vegetables, guinness and onion gravy (poached oyster optional) selection of desserts from the trolley. (p.s. at £21 for three courses, it's also damn' fine value.)

ok, i've taken the bait. is it the three chimneys in skye? m

it's been bought by marco pierre white who's about to turn it into madame prunier's (july-ish) m

someone else has eaten at 5 cavendish square! what did you think of it? (i thought it was diabolical ...) did you know it's supposed to be owned by cheryl barrymore, ex of michael?

i ate at pharmacy just after hywel jones went into the kitchen and loved it. the guy can really cook and i found the unusual combinations stimulating rather than offputting. i find it quite funny that a chef can reap 100% rave reviews in other kitchens (lola's, foliage) and then be damned due to a change in location. especially when several dishes are virtually identical.

thanks, vanessa. now do i get to know your secret?

nope.

i can only talk for my paper's editorial policy (london metro. andy insisted i 'out' myself. bapi, i can't apologise enough). and it's review new restaurants. in no uncertain terms. i don’t rely purely on pr (i’ve never been to a pr party, launch, freebie bash or whatever in the three years i’ve been doing the gig, though I could paper my walls with the invites.) press releases often tell us what we already know about. we find our information everywhere – one we did recently, we unearthed in the pages of ok magazine! my remit is london only as, with a few ‘away fay’ type exceptions, is the standard. and even here there are not squads of new openings every week, especially in these dodgy restauranting times. so there’s bound to be repetition. but, since every reviewer has a different outlook and different hot buttons, every one will read differently. I guess you just find one whose tastes you identify with and follow their recs. sadly, i'm not in a position to choose to revisit old faves unless, like in the recent sonny's review, they have a new chef who used to be head chef at la tante claire and is finnish & female - hence story. i also, like tony and steve, think the new films, new books, new plays analogy is fair. after all, our brief in newspapers is to provide, erm, news. m p.s. in addition to the other 2 london openings you’ll be bored to tears reading about, watch out for benares (atul kochhar who won tamarind's michelin star).