howardlong

MW's wine list is more substantial than Number 1's, but sadly the markup at MW's is astronomical. So bad that I stick to the wines by the glass matched with the menus. If you go to Number 1 in late January sadly you may miss meeting the delightful Sam, the sommelier at #1, who I believe will be heading to Perth on a Margaret River wine junket. Oloroso has a great winelist, a shame neither the food nor the service is up to it. Cheers, Howard

In my experience, I don't understand is how the Waterside Inn beats Le Gavroche. OK, so the views over the river are nice at WI, but the service at WI is amateur compared to Le Gavroche. Food is, of course, awesome at both. Cheers, Howard

That's strange, because the one thing that was a negative on my trip there yesterday (Sunday) at 5pm was the pretentiousness of some of the waiting staff, in particular those at the upper echelons. Let me elucidate. It reminded me of both Hakassan and Oloroso in Edinburgh in this respect. Some staff were more interested in their own self importance and preening than providing an enjoyable and efficient service to their (wait for it) *customers*. When we arrived, rather than coming over to us as we entered to check our booking, we were bellowed at from fifteen feet away by a chap in a black roll neck jumper and jacket. The black roll neck and jacket combo is important: right away this is normally a signal for pretension in my book! After picking ourselves up back to our feet, the chap came over to us with his clipboard of bookings, and we were taken straight to the table. Now why didn't he come over to us at the beginning rather than announcing our entrance to the entire restaurant and half of Piccadilly? When it came to ordering, when asked what the Crab Hash was like, and what the Merguez was all about, the response from the waitress was so short and curt that my fellow diner and I looked at each other wondering if she'd said anything at all. We asked again but the response was still very lacklustre. Hardly like they were trying to sell us anything. We wondered if we were getting in her way. Once we'd had our order taken, I should note that the South African chap who did most of the rest of the service was good - he was friendly and chatty, and rather than pretend he didn't know something, he came right out and said it: "I've never poured from a decanter before". He didn't need to worry, he was doing pretty good. He made up for the disappointing opening of the others. OK, but what about the food? We arrived while Afternoon Tea and the Cafe menu were still being served. We took the Cafe menu: it's not a large menu, but there should be something there for most people. I had the large steak tartare with fries and salad (16.75) and my dining friend took the Crab Hash (£12.75 once we'd crow-barred the little information about it we were going to be allowed). What's interesting is that there isn't a great deal more on the full dinner menu compared to the Cafe menu. The menu made me think more of a production line style kitchen than a Michelin starred establishment. For dessert my partner took one of the sorbet/ice creams, and I took the sheiterhaufen. Luckily there were some Germans next to us so I took great delight in attempting the schoolboy double entendre pronouncing my dessert as many times as it took my fellow diner to kick me under the table. Food quality and taste was good, although the fries made me immediately think McDonalds. The desserts really are the business - save space for these, or, better still, go in just for dessert. The wine list is slightly limited but what there was, was good: after a glass each of house Champagne, I chose a 2000 Guimberteau Lalande de Pomerol (£33) that I couldn't get enough of. OK, this may age, but it's drinking so well now I just couldn't resist. With the desserts I took a 37.5cl 1998/1999 Austrian Pinot Noir Trockenbeer sweetie (£37.50) that was just divine - gimme more! I was particularly pleased not to see table-turning going on. Whether this is a side effect of their policy of holding back tables for folks coming off the street, I don't know, but it was welcome. I really liked the decor and layout. The atmosphere was conducive to chats between diners on other tables, which sometimes can be entertaining (or not: it can be akin to sitting next to someone on an aeroplane and indulging in unsolicited chat if you're not careful). So, apart from the attitude of some of the staff, it won't take much for me to take another slightly boozy Sunday afternoon in there. Cheers, Howard [edited to try to correct my atrocious spelling] [and again - is there no limit to the number of times I can mis-spell dessert?]

Agreed - but y'all know why? If we all kept to EEC regs and wanted our cheeses at the right temperature, you'd need to throw out and replace the entire cheeseboard every hour. Cheers, Howard

Went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night for dinner. Called up at lunchtime to make a reservation, and I was repsonded to with a sharp intake of breath, and 6:30pm was all that was offered - so I took it. Arrived at 6:30pm, and guess what? There was only one other person in the restaurant. By 10:00pm when I left, only four tables including mine had been used. The tasting menus all looked good, but I took the Sommelier's surprise menu. Although nice enough, I found the food itself rather single-dimensioned: like a tin of Ronseal, 'does what it says on the tin', or on the menu in this case. But nothing really made me excited. BTW, the Sommelier's menu merely seemed to take a selection of taster dishes from the other tasting menus. Although I took the Sommelier's selections with the menu, I did take a look at their wine list. It has a good selection in the low to mid range. Booze markup is average. Not much selection in the upper ranges, and if you're a sweetie lover, beware there's no Sauternes on there at all. Bread selection was good - loads of bacon in the bacon bread!!! Cheese trolley selection, although lauded up by the waiting staff, was OK, but not _that_ great. Still, £100 for the eight or so courses including wine was not excessive, although I'd rather spend another £25 and do the same in Le Gavroche. Service was a bit strange. They were definitely trying, but it was far from seemless and certainly not at all polished: for example, one dish arrived but there was no cutlery. The Sommelier was a strange chap indeed. Although not patronising or arrogant, he seemed rather aloof and disconnected. Certainly trying to hold a conversation with him was not going to happen. Still, his selections were not bad, but again, not a patch on what Le Gavroche could offer for a bit more. In short, it was OK, but I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. Cheers, Howard

The latter - ever since Chez Nico closed Aubergine has been my favourite restaurant, with Le Gavroche close up there with it too. Initially I liked Aubergine for the food, but after going there three or four times within three months, I almost thought I'd become part of the family. So with both food and service I've become a regular. The recent Harpers & Queen award is, IMHO, extremely well deserved. I concede that occasional visitors or first-timers may find the service slightly stuffy: this is a tough one. On the one hand a restaurant tries to provide a seemless and faultless service, but on the other hand, as Thierry himself says it is "not a Church" - trying to get a happy medium is difficult. The wooden floors in Aubergine are not always conducive to lively banter! Top tip - you should avoid the table behind the pillar at the back unless you prefer a more secluded tete-a-tete. Last time I went was for the truffle menu just a couple of days prior to the announcement of A-Z's problems. I've been commuting to Amsterdam the past couple of weeks, so I've not had the chance to discuss it with Thierry or Billy Drabble. It was a bit of a shock to the system! Rumours that I've been single handedly keeping Aubergine afloat over the past few years are vastly overstated. I do have a couple of other dining friends who help out too. ;-) Seriously, I view restaurants as being in two camps: those that are fashionable and those that are good. Rarely do they fit in both camps (GR@RHR is one of the few). Aubergine is not fashionable, but it is good. The point I'm making here is that I don't have the lifestyle to be able to plan weeks (or days!) in advance. There are many establishments with fantastic food and service that are overlooked because they are not massively fashionable. To me, 'fashionable' also often equates to 'flash in the pan': for example, the Pharmacy. (I hope that despite not being fashionable, Aubergine does not disappear.) In the meantime, I can asure you that should you wish to test the service at Aubergine and require a dining companion, just let me know. When I get more info about the A-Z story I'll let you know... Cheers, Howard

Congratulations on your impending marriage. £50 just for food opens up all manner of opportunities. My thoughts around Chelsea... If it's a Saturday lunch, you might like to see if Aubergine would do something for you. They are not open on a Saturday lunch normally, but for a private 'do' they may well be interested. I've had parties of up to 18 in there (they even did a la carte for all 18 us, although chef Billy Drabble mentioned to me a few weeks later that it was pretty chaotic in the kitchen trying to service a table of 18 a la carte!). If you phone up, ask to speak to maitre d' Thierry Thomasin, and mention that I recommended them - this might help to oil a few cogs. For a potentially slightly less expensive opportunity, La Famiglia on Langton Street has its own private facilities and specialises in Tuscan food. Off the wall, what about an Indian and Bhatia's on Lincoln Street? Racine in Knightsbridge/South Ken may be able to help too. Cheers, Howard

I feel compelled (again) to respond here. Have I been missing something or has VLS now a self-professed food critic? (At this point I freely admit that I've only seen this guy write in the Evening Standard and Private Eye - and where did those dreadlocks come from - at his age!!!) I have to totally agree with his American sentiment - I was in there last week on Tuesday and an American couple in their late sixties made complete fools of themsleves using their classical 20dB over the noise. When I bump into any of you I will relay the story, but it was both tortuous and comical at the same time - like watching a Fawlty Towers but worse... Err... you walk into a restaurant like that and order a salad? Get a life. It became much worse, believe me. Grouse really was truly orgasmic though ;-) plus they had a pot pourri starter including frogs' legs that was awesome, though tough to choose a wine for, but lady sommelier is great fun and makes you try stuff you wouldn't otherwise - thanks! I feel that your average English restaurant goer should be forewarwned about the cheese trolley. Excellent though it is, the accent is most certainly on catching you out. Lots of Scottish cheeses plus lots of ecelctic French fromage, but for God's sake don't even think you'll recognise many of them! For location, food and service at Number One is #1. For food and service Martin Wischart is on an even keel, but location is a bit out of the way. MW's is also a different dining experience. My recommendation - try both! Cheers, Howard

Finally got around to having the grouse here last night. Excellent - possibly the best thing I've ever had at Racine. Cheers, Howard

I went there ten days ago on a Saturday night (an outrageously over indulgent Saturday including lunch at the Connaught, dinner at Le Gavroche and dessert at Aubergine). I had the Menu Exceptionnel (£85) with the Sommelier's selection (£38). Oh, and a glass of '95 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne as an aperitif (£15). A fairly unique thing done at Gavroche in their tasting menu is that the course directly after the main meat dish is always a salad. Quite boring and classical you might think, but for me it's often the pinnacle of the meal, except for one thing. The wine. The sommelier's selections are always awesome, and they kept refilling my glass. At £38 it's a bargain: there is little point to try choosing the wines yourself. Let me sum it up: I cannot get enough of this place. Cheers, Howard

Well, there were four of us. I was only mildly wobbly on my push bike on the way home. Stonyridge was with a little cheese, but mostly on its own. It's a meal in itself. Cheers, Howard

Well I went there last Thursday and I have mostly good feelings. It's the most unassuming place from the outside, located on the short pedestrianised street between the Hippodrome and Leicester Square proper. Once one's descended to the basement premises down the spiral stairs, there's a small ante room with perhaps four small tables, leading to the main bar area with a further eight or so small tables. I arrived at 18:00, just in time to get the last table. There is a pretty good selection on the food front, and although it was OK, I have to say I wasn't blown over on the taste, but then I did settle for a burger (after being recommended by one of my fellow diners). I need to go again and try something less boring. My better half had the risotto which she did enjoy. There was a selection of about ten cheeses at the bar ordering area, and we chose three for a shared cheese plate - a nice way to do it. There were too many cheeses bastardised with bits of fruit and nuts and things for my liking, but there were just enough left for me to leave us a nice selection. Scott's right that the wine list is not cheap. But it has to be commended as it casts one of the broadest nets possible, with several selections in each genre. It substantially covers both New and Old Worlds, although from memory for the Old it concentrates on France. For the New it includes a very large selection from the US, Australia and New Zealand. There's definitely not much here that could be construed as being 'samey' - four of the five different bottles we had were first-timers for me. Wine of the night for me was a 2000 Stonyridge Larose at £80, which makes most Bordeaux appear positively dainty in comparison. A huge wine made on Waiheke Island just a short hop from Auckland, this was recommended to me while on vacation there earlier this year and finally I had a chance to try it. Before this we'd had two different NZ Sauv Blanc (£15 & £20), a Californian Chardonnay (£30), and a Chateau Kirwan 1997 (£50). This 2000 Stonyridge Larose is massive What I did like was the ordering method - you order like you would in a pub, but then I never had to wait at the bar for very long at all. (When you get to my age, the concept of queueing becomes quite alien). Will return very soon, but next time I will be more adventurous on the food ordering. Cheers, Howard * editted for typo's, spello's and more typo's

Anyone any comments on this establishment? Meeting some very good friends of mine tonight and they've suggested this one. Never been, although looking at some reviews (eg London Eating) I don't know why. Cheers, Howard

Hi Patrick I stayed at Château de La Chèvre d’Or last year. It is stunning for views, and its setting in the medieval village of Eze on the cliff top is unique. But when it came to eating, I found that there was a premium for being there - especially on the booze. For example, my aperitif of 'house' champagne turned out to be Dom Perignon. Service, although attentive, seemed overpowering at times. Worse was that despite being a couple of tables away from the kitchen it was still rather too close: large numbers of waiting staff would congregate around the area which I found a little off putting. Still, it was a memorable evening. I much prefer La Réserve de Beaulieu when it comes to the food itself. I can confidently say that on my last visit I had the best bouillabaisse I have ever had. The sommelier there was a lot of fun and you could tell that he was really enjoying his job. BTW, Thanks for your other suggestions. Cheers, Howard

No, but I've walked past it several times on my way up to the Swan. It always looks empty, and I wondered if that was a reflection on its quality. I really should try harder! Cheers, Howard

I couldn't agree more. At the risk of being severely beaten, I have been of the opinion for quite a while that The Square is living off a reputation that I've not been party to. I have also long been of a mind to name it the Quaglino's of the 21st Century judging by the clientele that frequent the establishment (egulleteers excepted of course!). Now for my beating... Cheers, Howard

Tried there, reasonably priced, definitely not the 5* they advertise, nicely quirky, OK food, rooms are past their best. A bit of a trek to my office - in the no-man's land of being too close for justifying a taxi, but too far for a comfy walk. I remember the panecotta being very nice. You're absolutely right about it being part of a small chain - the wine menu is held centrally, so the waiter had to walk round to a sister hotel to get it. This is not meant to be derogatory at all, rather to indicate its quaintness, but dare I say it - it was like Fawlty towers without Basil. Cheers, Howard

Re-reading my post, it appears that I was being charitable about the service in Oloroso. It was possibly the worse place I'd been to since the Pizza Hut in Greenside Place when I was staying at the Glasshouse there a few weeks ago. No, I lied, it was worse. I'm sure at Pizza Hut they weren't that far up themselves. Hmmm. The Glasshouse. Another place to avoid. Nice enough place, with an enormous wonderful grassed area on the top floor that your room opens out onto, but they try too hard to be trendy. Nowhere to eat other than for breakfast and room service. There's an 'honesty bar' where you write down what you nick from the minimally stocked bar. I am not a convert to 'boutique' hotels. Like the Glasshouse, the Malmaison in Leith similarly had this snooty "We're cool, what the hell are you doing here?" feel to it. And the bathroom was so minimal it felt like being in a B&B. Still, at least it's close to Martin Wishart and they do have a brasserie that I wouldn't have minded trying. The Scotsman also is trying too hard. It's trying to place itself both as a traditional hotel and as a boutique hotel. But it doesn't make it IMHO. The gym is way too busy for a physical exercise retard like me. Their "publisher suites" are nothing more than a room with two comfy chairs and think they can charge twice as much. Oh, but apparently they do have the largest shower heads in Edinburgh. Shame, I'm a bath man myself. Their Molton Brown products are unceremoniously bolted to the wall, so no freebies. Their fine dining restaurant doesn't open Mondays or Tuesdays, so I've not managed to try it yet. Since the Balmoral has been refurbed this year, I'm a proud born again Balmoralite. The gym is nice and empty plus they have a Michelin starred restaurant in crawling distance. And even the cheapy rooms have a nice big bath. With some nice freebie products to nick. Nice bathrobes too. But this is a foodie channel, right? Cheers, Howard

I got one of these at Oloroso. I think I might have nicked it too, so I'll scan it in and publish the URL if my scanner still works with ketchup installed. I forgot to mention V&C. The Edinburgh office I set up seven years ago is just up the road from Valvona & Crolla. It's been three years since I've needed to spend any serious time up there, but luckily my wine drinking taste buds are now much more adventurous and appreciative of bracnhing out away from France. Don't go to V&C for French wine, or you will be seriously disappointed. Live life and check out their awesome Italian collection. A great spread from Sicily to Tuscany. For example, for Sicily just check out their Planeta selection. V&C also have substantially improved their lunch sarny collection from what it was. Perhaps I don't know where to go, but there just are not the same kind of independent sandwich takeaways there are like we have darn sarf. Cheers, Howard

Not been to the one in Marylebone, but I have been to the one on Fulham Road. Is it just me, or is it (a) overpriced and (b) manned by bloody snooty staff? On that last point I was most taken aback a couple of weeks ago by a lady with an American accent working in there. Standoffish to the point of being downright rude would be an understatement when I was buying a Bodum teapot and a cafetiere. Had a similar, slightly less distrubing occurance of obnoxious service in there about three weeks earlier when purchasing a couple of kitchen utensils from there. Cheers, Howard

I've been working four days per week in Edinburgh for the past month, and had some opportunities for eats. If you're going up there for the festival, you might find these notes interesting... Here's some quick comments - I did have enough material for individual reviews, but right now I'm way too busy. ---- Number One Situated in the basement level of the Balmoral Hotel, this centrally located restaurant has a Michelin star and presents itself in a traditional manner, both regarding the food and general atmosphere. Crab starter, good, but the pheasant & fois gras starter is my favourite Booking is surprisingly easy, but usually it was always on a Monday night. Last time I'd been in was in February, and previous to that I'd only been in twice. So it was rather impressive when the Maitre d' welcomed me by name without prompting. Langoustines and angel hair pasta with curry sauce - sorry, not my favourite I've dined there four times in the past month, and each time it has been a pleasure. The fresh bread selection is always addictive, with a selection of seven breads (for example, white, brown, garlic, bacon, cheese, olive, rosemary) cut from fresh loaves. Lamb is OK, but I was slightly disappointed - too much like my mum makes! My favourites on the menu at the moment - o The pheasant and pan fried spiced fois gras starter o The curried scallop from the tasting menu (ask for it even if going a la carte) o Assiette of pork - with truly the most delicious crackling and pea risotto, needs a solid red like a Burgundy or other pinot noir as sauce is strong o Cheese trolley o Mango fruit dessert (dare I say my favourite of the lot, even if it is a bit too healthy?) Cheese, we like cheese. Roquefort and 1989 Yquem - did I just die and go to heaven? FWIW, my main no-goers on the menu at the moment are: o I found that the current lamb on the menu is rather too meat and two veg traditional English, although the sweetbreads take it up a good few notches. o There is a langoustine starter wrapped in angel hair pasta that wasn't really my cup of tea. Pre-desert That mango fruit dessert - not to be missed Attention to detail in Number One is good: wine and water was regularly replenished, occasionally the bread went short, but there was never a time when I felt that I couldn't easily gain the attention of service. I would also say that the service is always friendly, not at all surly, and certainly not over formal. ---- Martin Wishart This is situated in Leith, about a ten minute cab ride from Central Edinburgh. I had dinner there one Thursday night about three weeks ago. Check their opening days - for example they're shut on Mondays. It proved difficult to get in without booking up a few days in advance. I had three punts before I finally made it. Firstly, I was very impressed when, having never stepped foot in the restaurant before, I arrived and was greeted by name without even an introduction. Very clever, if a little spooky. I somehow wonder if there is an Edinburgh restaurant mafia grapevine out there - certainly I know that the maitre d' of Number One is pretty friendly with the folks at Martin Wishart. I went for dinner and after about ten seconds was convinced that I should take the six course tasting menu (there is also a five course) with sommelier's selections. Turned out to be just devine. Chef picks at random some selections and they arrive pristinely and well timed. You can say in advance if you don't like something, and chef will figure something out. The sommelier was especially good fun and a joy to chat with. His selections were nothing short of perfect - clearly he knew his stuff. You can choose either half glasses or full glasses. Several of these wines were not from the 'by the glass' section of the wine list. If you go a la carte on the wine, I thought that although the selection is excellent, the prices were on the exhorbitant side. Another great reason to do the tasting menus with wine selections. The food is not what you might call traditional, but then neither is it a pot pourri of flavours: it is usually clear what the centre of each dish is, although the lamb course I had was distintly lacking in, well, lamb. A piece the size of a large marble was my ration. In addition to the six courses were a four piece amuse bouche, plus a cheese course from the trolley. Service was excellent, not too formal, nor too informal, and always attentive. The maitre d' on at the time was rather pushy about trying to eek out of me what I thought - he need not have worried. I'd say that the atmosphere is slightly less staid than Number One. I stayed at the Malmaison that night, walking (crawling?) distance from Martin Wishart to save me getting a taxi, although service were more than happy to order one for me. When I can get a table again, I will go without a second thought. Sadly, it was always difficult for me to make plans more than a couple of days in advance, seemingly too short notice for them. ---- Oloroso This is situated on top of a new office building in the New Town at the Charlotte Square end of George Street not far from the Caledonian. It consists of an inside bar, an inside dining area, and a gorgeous looking outside balcony with about fifteen tables overlooking the New Town. Having walked past the bouncer (never a good start, reminded me of Hakkasan in that respect) and I'd figured out how to get to the restaurant itself via a lift and stairs, then following the noise, I was shown by the maitre d' to a table on its own inside between some service doors (cloakroom?) and the open glass door to the balcony. Mmm. I looked around. Despite the inside dining area being only 5% full at the time, there could not have been a worse table. I felt like I was the centre of attention as the hustle and bustle wondered past into and out of the balcony area. However, I'm not one to complain so I lived with it. The menu consists of a short a la carte menu (five starters, five mains) of an indistinct genre. There is also a grill menu which has steak, steak and more steak. You get to choose your sauce (eg, bearnaise, au poivre etc). I took a pea risotto with battered (?) smoked haddock and a t-bone au poivre with fries. In about three minutes, the pea risotto with battered smoked haddock turned up. But I had not ordered any wine yet! After beckoning, the sommelier turns up and we have a short chat. Although French sounding, I didn't get a warm feeling. I suggested a riesling for the smoked fish, but I took his recommendation of a 'full' chardonnay (apparently, a "connoisseur's wine") for the smoked fish (?) and a Zinfandel for the steak. I should have kept on the Zinfandel all the way through. The chardonnay offered was not what I'd call 'full'. This is sad: the wine list is excellent. Not too over the top on the gouge either. Battered smoked haddock. My mind immediately turns to thinking about the Scottish and their fetish for deep fried mars bars, pies and seemingly everything else. It was OK, although they need to (a) forget the batter and (b) learn how to cook risotto - it was a bit too watery. The speed of delivery, perfect looking batter, and watery risotto led me to believe that there's a microwave in that kitchen. Steak was very good, although not the best cut. Cooked just how I wanted it (rare). It was a very shaky service indeed. Lots of waiting staff spending all their time preening themselves. Obviously this is the place to be and be seen, but not the place to expect a good service. Prices are up with the best of them but without a service to match. Not recommended, although if you can brown nose the maitre d' enough you might get a table outside on a nice day. Then, go to the bar and order the wine yourself. Don't bother with the waiting staff or you'll die of dehydration. Cheers, Howard

Racine is already a regular of mine. I was really commenting on the excellent value of the wine that you won't find anywhere else in the area. I'm all up for trying Brasserie St Q - living nearby for the past twelve years, I have walked past it more times than I care to mention. However for some reason I've always poo-poo'd it because it's always seemed to me to be like a tourist trap (like the Oratory!). I will redress this soon, although most of my week is spent in Edinburgh at the moment. Cheers, Howard

I went to La Trompette for the first time last Wednesday with three others. Don't know why I'd left it so long, but I did. Anyway parking is non-trivial around there. The residents of the streets nearby must be a little peeved. There were three or four tables outside, although I'm not sure just how nice it would be to sit there. Indeed, at about 10:30pm two disenfranchised teenagers took it upon themselves to shout abuse at customers sat outside at a distance of a few inches. Nice... For starters, two of us had the "sauté of duck hearts, sweetbread and snails with girolle purée, capers and parsley" and the other two "seared scallops with new potatoes, trompettes and lobster beurre blanc" (+£7). Both dishes were good: in terms of flavour, quality of ingredients and presentation. For mains three of us had the "grilled rump of veal with morel risotto, peas, broad beans and black truffles", and one had the "crisp wild salmon with salade Niçoise and aïoli". Again, very competently executed in all areas, except that sadly the risotto was lost underneath the veal. Serving the risotto to the side rather than underneath the veal and sauce would have been preferable. We had cheese, and although the selection was good, I would not describe it as extensive. But what was there was of excellent quality, and at the right temperature - ie, room temperature! I also had a "raspberry and passion fruit mille-feuille" but it didn't do much for me. Perhaps this was my bad choice rather than any problem with the food itself. The "chocolate profiteroles" were met with universal acclaim. Made with what I'd call Proper Chocolate - dark and slightly bitter - yummy. So, the food was good. For wine we started with an aperitif of house rosé Champagne (NV Duval-Leroy, Fleur de Champagne, Rosé de Saignée, Brut, £48). This took a while to arrive, and the reason for this became evident... this was way too warm so they had tried to chill it but not enough. We had it put on ice. For a white we took a full white Burgundy (Corton-Charlemagne, Domaine Bonneau du Martray, £125). This was excellent, my favourite of the night. Fairly full, but not as you might expect for a '92. The red was a favourite Bordeaux of mine (1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2ème Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac, £135) - just delicious, still fruity. If I was being picky, it had not really been decanted very well, with quite a bit of sediment in the glass. Still, a great wine even so. For a dessert wine we had a 50cl bottle of 2002 Noble Riesling Botrytis Selection, Villa Maria, Marlborough, New Zealand (£45). This was just wonderful - never had it before - now I'm on the lookout for a case. God knows how we resisted having a second bottle. I didn't think the wine overhead was too bad at all, so that's always a plus in my book. So, the wine was good. Now for a winge. What really let them down was the service. OK, so it's more of a suburban haunt, so you're not expecting Gavroche standards. But p-lease. For example, we had to ask three times for bread before it arrived, then I got what can only be termed a sarcastic comment from the maitre d' ("perhaps you'd like to take more than two pieces so you don't have to ask three times again"). The sommelier also had this habit of providing unsolicited descriptions - something I don't mind but my wine nut mate found it a bit distracting. Worse was when they arrived with some tiny glasses when it was time to pour the red with no explanation. Turns out they'd run out... but with a wine like an '89 Pichon Lalande this is sacrilege! In the end we used some large stemmed water glasses instead. When we arrived at 8:30pm, it was very busy and I don't really think they could cope. I would say that perhaps they were just slightly light on numbers of waiting staff, but more concerning was the distinct lack of communication. As time went on and the punters went home, service became much more in tune with what you'd expect. So, I'll be going back, food and wine were excellent, but I think I'd prefer to go in at 7pm rather than 8.30pm to get a better start to the service. Cheers, Howard

Yes. My sentiments exactly. Not a place to go and let your hair down if you are part of the museum fraternity. In my previous life as a member of the above, I used to meet with a friend who worked at the V & A there for dinner. After having our conversation reduced to whispering and anxious looks over our shoulders one too many times we went elsewhere. On the one hand I feel I should be part of the museum fraternity - the V&A Henry Cole Wing on Exhibition Road directly adjoins my flat - but as I've not set foot in there for the past five years since I've lived there I guess you could say that culture is not at the forefront of my prorities. Sounds like I'm better outside ;-) Cheers, Howard

I hope you took the time to visit the "Princess Di and Dodi" memorial and laugh. Yes, just what were they thinking? The uber tacky Las Vegas similarity is as uncanny as it is vulgar. Most certainly makes it a laughing stock. And in the store were you can but anything, you can no longer get fresh Fois Gras there without pre-ordering it. Cheers, Howard