circeplum

surprised - but very pleased - to see le vacherin in there. x

i went once and thought it much ado. went back and absolutely loved it. worth another try if you've made your mind up on the strength of one visit. x

sweetings in the city is about the closest you'll get to the old school oyster bar experience in london. x

foie with ham hock and picallili (sp?) - nice quality but not a good match. sardines with piquillo peppers - the fish were good but the peppers tasted as though they came from a bottle. a pigs cheek with sauerkraut dish and a guinea fowl (i think, it was a while ago) with a 'onion and sage tarte' - actually a disc of prebaked pastry with some softened onions on top, really disappointing. also, both these dishes weirdly looked and tasted the same, as though they'd been doused in the same demiglace. anyway, i have to confess to having hijacked your thread to draw attention to tooks, sorry! their cooking is so good and their business nous so rubbish that i have developed a weird maternal concern for them. apologies again (but i still didn't rate the chancery!) x

i'm afraid i found it deeeeeeply ordinary. but i'd like to direct egulleteers to the peculiar little tooks virtually next door. you might be put off by the diabolical decor (first thing you see when you go in is a table football game ...) but the food, from an ex-roussillon chef is astonishingly good. as is the wine list. as is the cheese board. cheaper and better than the chancery, but you'd never know it to look at it. x

they could've always used ros out of monsters inc x

i've been reviewing since 1998. so many dinners.... and conor: x

is there a shorter/cheaper menu at lunchtime? x

it's actually rather marvellous. new-ish (there a year or so, i think) chef - the gorgeously monickered nana yaw nitri akuffo - gave it a real shot in the arm. news doesn't seem to have spread to many people under pensionable age, though...

or there's the newly opened rasoi vineet bhatia which is damn' fine. bhatia is the chap who earned the michelin star for zaika and has now set up on his own. x

if you mean maroush, it's a pretty formulaic chain, not bad but not earth shattering. ishbilia round the corner on william st on the other hand ....

the white swan is very, very good indeed.

everyone stares at you in the wolsely in case you're a celeb... x

you've just reminded me of another favourite: the chocolate tart with orange ice cream at the sportsman in whitstable/seasalter. awesome. sophisticated. perfect. and astonishing in these surroundings. x

mutton pudding at rhodes twenty four. gooooood... x

because hakkasan stops serving dim sum at conventional (early evening) times whereas yauatcha just keeps on dumpling. x

that was really interesting ai leen. what did you write it for? am also interested in hearing more about the kowloon takeaway - what kind of range does it do, and why is it better than others in chinatown. thanks. x

sunday lunch yesterday at a great wee number in chiswick, the devonshire house. (devonshire road, same one as la trompette). food was ace - gran reserva pata negra ham, a stunning fresh pea risotto with undyed smoked haddock, roasted free range chicken, and the best sticky tarte tatin i've had ...oh, in years. x

yes. x

oh, and to borrow some phraseology from our american pals: you go, girl! x

more clearing throat. second coco de mer. there is also a woman-only sex shop in hoxton called shhh. men only allowed in when accompanied by a gal! x

we went to casablanca too, but became paralysed in the absence of anything resembling a tapas menu (the barman smiled wryly when we asked for 'la carta'). so we left after only a drink. the restaurant proper looked absolutely vile - like the inside of a cheap sauna. but the food must've been fabulous because the place was buzzing with wealthy-looking locals. x

are you writing a report on the awards, andy? x

just back from seville and would like to say thanks to roger for his tapas recs - really, really useful. particularly liked the atmos of rinconcillo: expected it to be hideously touristy, but there were plenty of locals. poncio was a real experience, too. some pretty imaginative stuff going on from the classically trained chef, especially a gazpacho blanco rich with garlic and almonds, studded with cured tuna ham (mojama) and topped with melon sorbet. weird room, though - dried blood colour, like sitting inside a slice of morcilla. yebra is totally worth a trip to the less glamourous part of town. be blown away by the gorgeousness of la macarena then hit this rather bland-looking but buzzing tapas bar. the quality of the food is what's the draw. i particularly liked a dish of boletus with goose foie gras. thanx again. x