howardlong

I believe that the youngest I have witnessed in LG was an exceptionally well behaved eight year old. (The table was French. Does that tell us Brits something?) Howard

I read Jan's article first, and started writing about it yesterday, where my thoughts summed up were that Dacre needed to fill some column inches quickly, and Jan, perhaps desperate for the money just as quickly, thus spewed out what I then described as 1,200 words or so of non sequitur twaddle. Then just now I read Jay's article, and realised that he and I were pretty much in total agreement, although his is written in far better prose than mine ever was. Cheers, Howard

Same here, haven't been to Pattersons for quite some time: an acquaintance of mine was sous chef there at the time. Pleasant enough I thought, but it didn't have me yearning to go back. Regarding solo eating, I know that to some it seems a sad thing to do, I must admit if you asked me twelve years ago what I though about it I'd agree. However, once I'd got over the self-conscious aspect of it, I really grew to quite enjoy it: a quality bit of "me" time. After all, you can sit there, read the paper, and watch the world go by, and ponder life. No staid conversations. No arguments over who sits where. As often as not, I end up in conversation with adjacent diners. Away from London, I find staff frequently think I must be some kind of inspector - I particularly remember at Kitchin's once where he kept gazing at me from from the kitchen through the window. The downside is that some restaurants prefer to hang on to tables for twos. Still, you can always say it's for two and then only you turn up. Howard

I gave up with toptable some years ago because they would say online they had availability when they didn't, and called me up an hour later to tell me so. That happened on several consecutive occasions. Their answer was to try another restaurant online. So I couldn't see what the point of the service was, I was better off going back to good old fashioned calling around. It's like booking a taxi that doesn't turn up. Oh, wait...! A shame really, because they were pretty convenient to start with. Cheers, Howard

I was at Nahm last night, where I was berating the annual ripoff that is Valentines with the crew there, in particular Ramsay at Claridges' £120 set menu, when a story was relayed to me about Trinity in Clapham that is also charging £120 and is apparently sold out already. If that is indeed true, then people, please get a grip! Cheers,Howard

LOL, and totally agreed. What's with this £120 set menu? I really object to restaurants that switch to only set menus with jacked up prices when it suits them. What a rip off! I tend to agree with other posters, I think I'd rather stay at home and do something myself thank you! Cheers, Howard

Just read here that Ramsay expects to win the star back. According the current head chef Steve Allen "inspections by Michelin had taken place 'many months ago' when the situation at the restaurant was very different". So that'll be when Mark Sargeant was running it then? What a load of ......! Cheers, Howard

Glad to say that Racine appears to have found its feet again. Back in about July 2008, there was a change at the top leading to an almost complete change in front of house, although the kitchen thankfully remained consistent. The service was a disaster though: the new maitre d' seemed incapable of that traditional Gallic skill of customer recognition, and I no longer felt the loyalty of a regular like I had previously. Months went on. Still she didn't recognise me. Weird. Well, a few months ago the Maitre d' chnaged again and I am delighted to day that now things are back at full steam in the service department, if not better. Food, no change - good honest darned decent French grub. But the welcome now is like night and day. Cheers, Howard

Interesting comments, esepecially about the lamb as I really quite enjoyed it. Certainly mine wasn't over seasoned or steeped in fat. Oh dear! How frustrating! I was thinking of giving it another go based on the food I'd had, and it's barely a ten minute walk from home (the crawl back is often slower). Cheers, Howard

Is that fresh or tinned though? Tinned is quite easy to find - it's the real stuff that is rather more difficult. Cheers, Howard

Hmm, my experiences (although I hasten to add not recent) have been consistent disappointment. As a matter of interest, did anyone actually know what was on that cheeseboard? It was about that size (about a dozen or so cheeses) when I last went, but no-one, not even the maitre d', could tell us what the cheeses were other than a vague "hard, goats, soft", as if we couldn't figure that out for ourselves. I am delighted to see that the fetish for frothed sauces has all but disappeared. Cheers, Howard

I went here Sunday evening with a friend of mine. We had the tasting menu (£60) with a couple of substitutions. Food was almost uniformly superb, definitely of M* standard. The only slight let down on the food side was that we sub'd the potted foie gras on offer with scallops from the ALC, and we ended up with such a tiny portion (one tiny scallop the diameter of a 10p piece) it was hard to be able to make any type of view on it as a dish. Otherwise, the highlight was hot smoked halibut with wild fennel, an absolute triumph of simplicity coupled with such deep flavours. I had the lamb while my dining partner had hare off the main menu. The hare was superbly gamey, very tasty indeed. Potted foie gras, quince, dandelions Spinach and home made ricotta, artichoke, sage butter Hot smoked Halibut with wild fennel Celery sorbet, walnuts and apples Salt marsh lamb, sea beets, crackling and salt baked potatoes or Tamworth suckling pig, radishes and honey emulsion Rice pudding soufflé, raspberry ripple ice cream But, I am sad to say, the service was downright awful. For example, the first course arrived before we'd even started the amuse bouche. At one course I was handed a fork so dirty I could tell what the previous recipient had been eating. It is for exactly these kinds of reasons that D&D/Conran have historically had such a bad reputation with me for mediocrity. It was only just held together by the sommelier. A real shame, because the food really was quite simply excellent. Cheers, Howard

I can suggest that you are not tempted by Grosvenor House that, since its takeover by Marriott, has transformed itself into a den of mediocrity. Claridges is an obvious choice. But how about Selfridges where you can pick up a posh bottle from their extensive offy collection and bay a tenner corkage? Cheers, Howard

Some very good suggestions there, and yes, Saturday lunch and Sunday can be difficult. The Capital is no longer up there either: that was the most memorable Christmas Day lunch I've ever had for all the right reasons. I can't tell whether Murano is open or shut from the online reservations (in fact, I find Ramsay's online reservations to be fairly useless at the best of times, often showing no availability online when a quick call will secure a table). Also they're banging on about a "festive" menu: by January 2, that would be the last thing I'd want. I did a chefs table at Claridges a few years ago on 2 January. Trouble was that they seemed to be running on what could best be described as "agency staff": service was even less in tune than it usually is there. Helene Darroze at the Connaught does brunch on Saturdays, never had it myself. To be honest, I didn't think Darroze was value for money if you drink anything other than tap water. A bit like a mini-Ducasse in that sense. Cheers, Howard

Perhaps my memory is failing me, but wasn't Ramsay once on record on one of those Kitchen Nightmares as saying that music in restaurants is a no-no? I have to say that for me that I have yet to attend any restaurant where background music has been a positive experience. My first thought is "you have no atmosphere so feel the need to replace it with music". Cheers, Howard

Le Gavroche? Maybe it would be back up to 3 if it were above ground. Certainly if you were to compare LG and the Waterside Inn, foodwise they are comparable, service better at LG, but the WI does have a significantly better setting. Cheers, Howard

Thinking about it, I haven't been for some time. I was talking to an old friend about it who's a big foodie, and I started gushing about it. But then when he asked me what it was that I had to eat that I really rated, I stumbled: I just couldn't remember anything particularly outstanding food-wise. Good, and well accomplished, but I couldn't describe one dish. Whether this is some kind of selective amnesia, or whether it's really because nothing really shone I don't know. However, I still remember my visits as always being positive in a general sense. Cheers, Howard

I cannot imagine the Capital keeping any stars. Cheers, Howard

Have you actually tried buying fresh, non-tinned foie gras in Harrods or Harvery Nics recently? That's right, they don't have it. Cheers, Howard

Went their last night, on a freebie from Amex Centurion of all things, not on mine, on a friend of mine's. Clearly I don't spend enough to warrant such generosity. Everything was free, food, wine, the lot, although I am pretty certain that it was a reduced wine list. But what was on the list was pretty darned good, certainly bottles that would cost north of £100/bottle in a restaurant. The marquis felt like it was going to plow off the roof at times with the wind. What with the creeking noises, and the antler chandeliers and low slung hat decor waving about so much, it felt somewhat like we were on board the Titanic's maiden voyage. We had a kitchen tour, and b@gger me if I didn't bump into Eric Chavot who was in very jolly form, firing on thirteen cylinders. I couldn't get any juicy gossip out of him on this occasion though. Also the ex-head sommelier from the Capital was there running the booze. Cheers, Howard

If it's the same I had about three weeks ago, I believe that the omelette is thelr signature Omelette Rothschild 'adulterated' with the prunes. A joy to watch being made, just don't tell the food nazis about all that clarified butter. The fact that Michel wonders around the tables always impresses me in these days of restaurants that name themselves after chefs who would have trouble remebering their way past the front desk. Cheers, Howard

No, they'll be stuck in a cab instead racking up another ten or fifteen quid on the meter. Myself, prior to the disruption, I had always gone to Foliage either on a push bike or walked there, typically walking through that horrid wannabe bar with me bike clips on. Sadly I think you are probably right that most people who will go will have no clue or care about the history of disruption that came before, although I do find it rather strange that the MO and the Candys seem to take the disenfranchisement of the locals as an irrelevance. Cheers, Howard

Not sure I could stomach going to any outlet of the Mandarin Oriental considering the amount of disruption they've caused at this end of town for the past couple of years plus. I don't know how the MO and the Candy brothers have managed to get away with it, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if some serious oiling of the wheels occurred. The alleged lucky recipients are probably lying on a beach right now, while everyone else sits on buses on Brompton Road wasting away hours of their lives. It has become a regular topic of discussion between locals at the eateries around here, so don't expect too many of us to be rushing out to pay homage either to Boulud's or Blumenthal's new ventures at the Mandarin Oriental. The Candys' answer to fixing the traffic disruption, as they overlook La Condamine safely ensconced in their Monaco pad? Shut Knightsbridge for two weekends. In touch with reality, or a nasty case of arrogant middle-fingerism? I fear the latter. Cheers, Howard

Crikey the Mark Addy. Last time I was there was well over 20 years ago. I remember meeting a BBC aquantance there who had one of those semi portable briefcase sized mobile phones. Bottle of Moet for a tenner, and a big plates of bread and cheese. I mentioned the Plaza 'curry' joint to someone the other day, an establishment with more urban myths than most. The Cypress Tavern, The Conti. All 80's dives. I'd like to think things have improved since then. Cheers, Howard.

Agreed with Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, although I can't help but feel that prices have markedly increased recently. Had a great dinner there with some Indian work colleagues on Friday. Be careful of table turning however. We were booked 7 thru 9pm, and deliberately arrived 15 mins early. With the rate that the tasting menu was coming there was no way we were going to make it. We left at about 11pm in the end. I would have been nice to know we had the table all night rather than having mild anxiety about having to leave mid meal! Still love the mushroom kedgeree thing with tomato ice cream that they do. If only all vegetarian food was like that. Also I do like Amaya, once you can get over the clientele of beyond-middle-age Russian and Arab gentlemen who frequent with their 'escorts'. Food is very different to Bhatia, and a rather more relaxed atmosphere. Zaika is also good IMHO. The Bombay Brasserie, reopened a few short months ago, is OK but I find it a bit hit and miss on the dishes. Although Pakistani, New Tayyabs and the Lahore Kebab House still stand out at the other end of the price spectrum. Cheers, Howard