howardlong

I'd like to weigh in here if I may. I am finding this thread interesting, but one thing concerns me now and has done for some time regarding restaurant goers. And I admit that that includes on some occasions, myself. Somewhere that's trendy now can quite easily become untrendy a few months later. What I have never been is trendy, that's for sure, but I find that restaurant goers are notoriously fickle. Take for example the Pharmacy or the Oxo Tower. Although the former's reasonably close for me, I never went. It was my intention to do so after its 'makeover', when it wasn't trendy anymore, and the good folk of eG had said good things. But it shut rather abruptly soon after the makeover, so I had to make do with purchasing Chicken Tikka Masala instead from the M&S that's now occupied the location. The latter I went to under some duress for the first time only recently having been invited by a supplier, and my reluctance turned out to be wholely justified in the end. Both opened to a marketing hype almost beyond belief, and for a few years they lived under their spell of dreams until everyone had been, or at least everyone had heard of someone who'd been, and then we all realised that the dream was more of a nightmare of aspirationals after bragging rights of "Have you been to the Oxo yet? You must go". Here's where I stand. If I can't get in somewhere, life is too short to spend half an hour each day trying to book a table for two months hence. I have never been to the Ivy for example. And unless someone invites me I don't intend to ever step in there. I have tried to get into the Connaught now five times. OK, so I don't book up until the day, and I live in ever receding hope but to be honest the fervour is rather receding too. I did make it into Murano last weekend. I also tried to get into Ambassade de l'Ile, and failed. And where do I end up after these failed attempts? The stalwarts, typically Le Gavroche, Racine The Capital. Always welcomed, always recognised and always genuinely appreciated. And almost always I can get in on the day. One thing you can definitely say about restaurants like this is that they don't tend to attract the fickle crowd after bragging rights. I'm all for new openings, but right now it worries me, especially in the current climate, how many will survive, and exist for the long term, once the dust settles from the initial excitement of something new being in town. (BTW, I am certainly not meaning to suggest the regulars on eG fit into my stereotype of fickle aspirational braggers, far from it in fact!) Cheers, Howard

I was equidistant beween the outside door and the loos. What with the gale outside and the mirrors everywhere in the loo I wasn't sure if I was in a mad episode of Dr Who standing in the front porch of the tardis. H

Folks I had lunch at Murano yesterday (Saturday) lunchtime. I arrived about five minutes early (11:55) but was seated right away. I'd only booked an hour or so before, but they seemed to 'recognise' me from before. I guess it doesn't take much to take a phone number I gave at reservation time and plug it into a database, because I didn't recognise anyone front of house! Still, a nice touch to have some recognition. First thoughts of the restaurant are of an airy, bright and spacious setting. I had a glass of Jacquart 1997 blanc de blancs to get me off the starting grid: it was really deep and toasty. I went a la carte and chose the carnaroli risotto and rack of lamb. I chose an Isola e Olena Chardonay 2006 myself and a Taruto Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino La Casa 2000 after some discussion with the sommelier. Freebies were cheese risotto balls and also Parma ham with bread and olive oil. The Parma ham with bread is very much like the old Connaught way, and indeed this is one of the ways that Hartnett has managed to successfully make a clear difference between her own ideas and the Ramsay formula. Just like at the Connaught, the waiting staff couldn't wait to take the bread away at every opportunity: I personally like to use bread to mop up after each course: perhaps not conceived as a terribly posh thing to do, but I do like to leave a clean plate. A gravy spoon alone is not enough! The risotto tasted very good, with a fair bit of parmesan in there, and the addition of a dollop pesto on the top made a tasty dish, but I though it was a little watery, and might have benefitted from loading up a bit more butter during the later stages. I was a little surprised about this, not what I would have expected to be honest. Then I was presented with a freebie course (apparently because of my regularity of patronising the Connaught) of red mullet of a bed of crushed peas and an almond puree. Beautifully cooked, the fish was superlative together with the crushed peas and interestingly with the almond puree. I think almond puree must be the in thing at the moment, it's the second time I've had it in a week. But there's a problem with almond puree in that it cakes up on the plate very very quickly. The lamb was almost all beautiful, the shoulder and tortellini parts gorgeous, but the rack hadn't really been topped and tailed very well with a couple of sinuey entrails left over. It was served with a wonderful ratatouille puree, that tasted slightly smokey and really gave the dish its own individuality. The cheese trolley was quite good, with thirty five or so cheeses. Had some Epoisses and a couple of other smelly gooeys that I matched with the chardonnay, plus a nice big lump of Roquefort and started on a '89 La Tour Blanche Sauternes that I ended up sharing with another table. For dessert I had vanilla parfait with peach and requested chocolate sauce of the side, so I could pair better with the Sauternes. I finished off with fresh mint tea and a look around: it was 4:30pm by this time, so everyone else had already left, although the kitchen was prepping for the dinner service. At the back of the room there is an area that can be sectioned off for private dining, overlooking the kitchen through a large window. I think that it would be worth requesting a table in this area if there's no private dining going on. Which brings me on to the irritations! The spot I was given was by the bar area near the door. There was nothing, not even a partition, to protect me from the rush of cold air every time somebody came in. And then, being Saturday lunchtime, families with kids started arriving. The first had two infants, and to be fair they did their utmost to placate their little ones, for which I appreciate their efforts. The second lot though were unforgiveable. Three adults (mother and grand parents) and two kids, about six and eight years old, who clearly had no clue about sitting down at the table. First thing I know is as I receive another gush of cold air and wind is one of the little sh!ts coming straight to my table and gazing directly at me. He was so close I felt like I was trying to get a ticket in a train station in Delhi. Luckily despite the half bottle of wine I'd had I refrained from telling the young thing to bugger off. The rest of their service involved kids running about almost uncontrolled. For a couple of hours the place felt more like a creche than a restaurant. Don't get me wrong - I have seen children of this age at the Capital and Le Gav who are so absolutely well behaved that prove there are still manners and a concept of a time and a place. Walking into the loos is like going into a fairground atrraction, with mirrors everywhere. Crikey was I glad I hadn't had too much when I tried them out, I could've been stuck there for days. I mentioned the location of my table by the door with its own rain forest microclimate, suggesting an extended partition, but the maitre d' was adamant that they weren't going to change anything. Regarding the kids he said, "What can I do? We'd be straight in the press if we did anything." I do sympathise. But perhaps there's a diplomatic way to deal with these things. He said it's the first time. Interestingly another diner mentioned the child thing to the maitre d' too. Service was just how I like it, except for the minor aberrations of the bread battle, and the slightly false sense that although they think they knew me, I couldn't really reciprocate I'm afraid. I enjoyed it, and will return. Just not on Saturday lunchtime. Cheers, Howard

Can you please clarify what you mean by this? ← Sure: there was never anything I can remember on the plate that made me think I was anywhere other than, for example, Claridges or the old Savoy Grill. There was no real identity. But if the formula works, and gets punters in, I can understand the temptation not to change something if it ain't broken. Very accomplished, sure, but there is zero "wow" factor for me I'm afraid. Regarding service, you are guaranteed a crew dressed in the Ramsay way such as the ladies with fitted suits and tight trousers, male maitre d's with dark hair full of products. The most obvious difference? You don't get a table cloth. Cheers, Howard

Nope, I have always treated Maze as a bit of an oddball to be honest. I don't know how to treat it really, with the tapas thing going on. Plus it has always been rubber stamp Ramsay recipes on the four or five occasions I've been there. Well executed food. With Ramsay stamped all over it. A superlatively tolerable place to read the Sunday papers in my book, but that's about it in my experience. Clearly Jason Atherton groupies think otherwise. Perhaps I should try again! H

You are correct. On Monday, at the Chef's Table while Wareing was at the London Restaurant awards, Alan was running the joint. Very hands on, making up plates at the pass, in a very calm and controlled kitchen. It's not my favourite kitchin for a Chef's table: there is no hands-on, and it's too cramped for everyone in the party to be able to hear what's being explained. But the way the table itself is set up is well conceived. I'm glad I don't have their aircon bill. H

Hear, hear! Something I've been saying fo a long, long time. We know that Aikens can cook, but he cannot seem to stop himself from doing exactly what you say. It irritates me in two ways. Firstly, I want to be able to taste what the main ingredients are. Secondly, and for me just as important, I want to be able to have a darned good go at matching a wine. Howard

I'm not sure this is evidence of "friction" - at least not of any new friction. You can't add the drinks at Claridges Bar to your restaurant meal there, either. ← I guess I was thinking back to the glory days at the Connaught when hopping between bar and restaurant was commonplace. In retrospect at the Connaught, GRH did the whole F&B operation so I guess it was simple to do in that scenario. If you're in residence at the Berkeley, the Petrus bill can be popped on your room bill. I still find the separation of bills an irritaion, and one that could have surely been resolved had they had an appetite to do so. Unfortunately my fellow diners didn't know the ropes, and arriving shortly before me, they were already ensconced in the bar before I could show them the way to the Bolly Grande Année '99 on offer as our apperitif at Petrus. H

I organised a Chef's Table at Petrus last night. The last time I did the CT at Petrus it was two weeks after it opened up in the Berkeley, so it was somewhat ironic that the second time would be two weeks before it "closed" again. I have eaten many times at Petrus in the interim, but I must say judging the food alone last night really did prove to me so almost completely that Wareing is now finally his own man. This is in contrast to the many times in the past where I've been left with this feeling of the Gordon Ransay formula pervading. The only course left to deal with is the continued insistence on vegetarian soup/velouté/etc amuse bouches. Unlike the first time that I did the CT there when both Wareing and Ramsay were in attendance (link here), on this occasion our man wasn't there. Whether this is indicative of all the other outside interests he has these days, or simply a day off I don't know. As has been indicated before, the view there is that the name Petrus will move with Ramsay elsewhere, renaming the current restaurant to Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley. The question is where will the new Petrus be? I've seen references to it being in the old Noisette on Sloane St, but it was suggested last night that it would be going to the Savoy. Seems strange because I'd guess that the Savoy has quite some time to go before it's finally finished - they're saying May 2009 but these things have a tendancy to slip. Interestingly I note some evidence of friction between GRH and the Berkeley, for example if you have drinks in the bar beforehand you can't have them added directly to your Petrus bill. Once Wareing is working directly with the Berkeley apparently this irritation will all be a thing of the past. Cheers, Howard

She sounds like the same "narrator" that does the voiceovers on the Adult Channel. So my friends tell me. H

Just come back from lunch there now. £54 inc. service for the set menu inc. wine. A total triumph and a bargain to behold! I was shocked to find out that after 37 years, today was service icon Silvano Giraldin's last lunch as Maitre d': he's semi-retiring. His last dinner is tomorrow night so I booked myself in again straight away for Saturday. Clearly Silvano was in an especially good mood for not only did he comp me glass of Gosset, he also slipped in an extra starter (tuna/sesame/orange on guacamole). Including the canapées and amuse bouche, I had to endure three gorgeous freebie plates before my first ordered course appeared. Such a chore! Cheers, Howard

I took my parents (and seven other family memebers) there for their 45th wedding anniversary after I'd been there and stayed myself a few times. I found them from the Relais & Chateaux book, and it happens to be convenient for them. We had one of the set menus in a private dining room with matching wines with the help of the sommelier. We all had a super and unforgettable time, together with a truly amazing 1959 magnum of Veuve Cliquot that was still fresh as a daisy and although still perfectly fizzy, the bubbles were tiny, and no madeirisation at all. Problem is that it's their 50th anniversary is next year, so I am sure I'll have to think up something... It's a real gem in a culinary desert. Cheers, Howard

Chavot - yes Lunch not pricey - £30 or there abouts. dinner more expensive but wine is ridiculous ← True, although I thought it rather more than coincidence that after many months of Cloudy Bay SB priced at £75 it went down to a far more sensible £45 directly after I mentioned it here on egullet a few months ago. Comparing the Boxwood and the Capital is a little like comparing a mass produced aspiring salesman's BMW 3 series to a hand built Bentley. Both are entirely adequate for the job in their own way, but the Capital is on an entirely different level. Cheers, Howard

Sounds like good news. They didn't tell me the new partner was really the old one! Glad someone has their ear to the ground better than me - but then I guess I'm not paid to know this stuff! By the way if my OP was rather difficult to decipher that was because of my overindulgence at lunch yesterday at Racine. Cheers, Howard

Difficult to say. From chatting yesterday, I know a number of front of house are going to another venture in Sloane Square. I agree, Racine is great. I just hope that the 'new' Racine will be as good. Cheers, H

Holy cow, everyone's jumping ship to Sloane Sq, Well, there you go, black and white. A dirty job etc. OK, cheap jibe maybe, but I have been wowed by a great team over the last few years that have completely changed South Ken from an also ran to a really run with restaurants. Racine is a major part of that. Bugger, I make it sound like a South Ken tourist attraction!

I remember having a discussion on this very forum a few years ago about the closure of his Glasgow outlet Amaryllis where the PR from Ramsay and the reality of what I saw were two completely different things. Clearly Amaryllis wasn't making money, but in juxtaposition to Ramsay's PR that said it was because he could only fill the restaurant on Friday and Saturday. I regularly dined there during the week, staying at the old One Devonshire Gardens attached to it. I never saw the dining room anything less than full during the week. In my view its failure was because Glasgow clientelle are rather more canny than their London counterparts who're prepared to flash a lot more on a bottle of wine, and this in itself subsidises and justifies the food and service. Thing is, I think GRH has not only been using the booze to support his empire like any other restaurant, but it's also being subsidised to some significant degree by his TV deal tie-ins, but those deals can only fund so much. The nature of the complex finance deals descibed earlier begs the question as to whether the GR bubble is close to bursting. We have a way to go before we're out of the doldrums. PE companies right now are not at all forthcoming to their investees when they come along cap in hand three or six months later for another few mill. Entertaining new openings in the current financial climate is questionable to say the least. That said, I do look forward to trying Murano. Cheers, Howard

He was: about a year or so ago Maitre d' Silvano at Le Gavroche recommended Chardon d'Or to me, commenting at the same time that it was run by Maule who worked at Gavroche. Cheers, Howard

Billy Drabble's still there. Absolutely stunning value IMHO. The half bottles of wine are good stuff too. Agreed re Gavroche too. I just wish I could take a couple of hours off to do lunch these days. Cheers, Howard

It's a shame I don't seem to have time to regularly check egullet these days, this is a very interesting thread. £750 for two at Sketch Library room when it first opened. My dining partner described the crustacia she had as 'chewy', but possibly dodgy shellfish was the least of our worries. We nearly had to call an ambulance the next day when I told her the bill total. We had a couple of bottles of Pommery Louise at £95 each (ISTR 1995), and a half bottle of a decent Bordeaux, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly what that was. I'd give it 3/5. £1,300 for three at Aubergine. I think my most memorable meal ever for all the right reasons was back around 2002/2003 when we chose the wine a few days before we arrived (including a 1990 Ch d'Yquem and a 1995 Pichon Baron). Maitre d'/Sommelier and Chef selected and prepared the menu around the wine. We had pan fried foie gras with apricot, rack of lamb, Roquefort, and tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream. A perfect 5/5. I do dine alone on occasion as I find it up among the most hedonistic pleasures you can do without the possibility of being locked up, once you can get over any hangups you may have about dining by yourself. My most memorable 'dining alone' experiences price-wise are: £450 at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, Dec 2007; well accomplished, but no cheeseboard only a cheese plate, an awful desert, grapefruit citrus seemingly everywhere in the menu, and a terrible wine list unless you want to spend £250+ per bottle. 2/5. £480 at The Capital, ~Mar 2008; my favourite dishes of Assiette Landaise followed by Saddle of Rabbit, and a big lump of Roquefort followed by a popcorn/banana/vanilla desert. Washed down with a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, a glass of off dry Alsace Gerwurtz, a bottle of Sonoma Valley Littorai Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir, and a bottle of Ch Fargues '89. Table next to me were delighted to help me finish off the Fargues. A perfect 5/5. £750 at Ramsay at Claridges, ~2003; tasting menu with a half bottle of Billecart Salmon, half bottle of Ch d'Yquem 1990, half bottle of Cos d'Estournel 1985. I was given a two hour slot at the beginning of service but they were 15 mins late seating me. I had to specifically ask for the tasting menu. I shovelled the food down with what little time I had, only to have to wait over half an hour for the bill. Lady who showed me to the table asked what I'd like for an apperitif, but didn't know what a Bombay Sapphire was. 1/5. Rest assured, dear reader, that it is rare that I choose to dine alone with such extravagance. With a low hit rate such as that above, I'm sure that you can understand why. Cheers, Howard

I haven't done BYO for a year or so in the UK, but Whits on Abingdon Road just off High St Kensington will do it. £10 corkage. I recommend taking your own glassware, as I did, if you are serious winos. http://www.whits.co.uk Call up for their menu - it changes frequently. It's not Michelin but it's pretty good IMHO. The chef is decent guy, classically trained. FWIW This is the same place that Mike Gooley's restaurant used to be (Head hancho of Trailfinders). Cheers, Howard

Had breakfast there this morning. Actually it was pretty darned good except for some rather amateurish service. I had the "Classic" which is a full monty. Asked how I wanted my eggs, I answered "over easy". "Eh?". "Over easy". "Eh?". "Fried?". "OK". Absolutely perfectly cooked eggs (for fried eggs that is, not for over easy). Great sauteed mushrooms. Bacon OK, but sausage I am sure was reheated or kept heated somewhere for some time after cooking, quite possibly the bacon too. Even the one slice of toast, despite being delivered from a basket with fifty other pieces, was more than paleteable. The tea, despite being spilt by waiting staff over half the table, was by far the best tea I've had in any airport, and certainly the best I've had anywhere for some time. Proper tea pot with strainer I might add. I had to remind the staff that an OJ was part of the deal. Glad I did, it was the good stuff, freshly squeezed. From taking the order to arriving at the table wasn't much over five minutes. I didn't ask for ketchup or brown sauce. But for the first time ever in a Ramsay restaurant I did apply my own salt and pepper. OK so £18 inc service ain't cheap but dare I suggest that the breakfast could become an institution? A big call. But it beats the heck out of the bacon rolls in the BA lounges. Cheers, Howard

I quite like Papillon myself except for one thing - the locals who frequent it! Perhaps I should put myself in that bucket, but the preppy Sloane thing has never much been my bag. On weekday evenings it's full of floppy haired ok-ya's wearing the same uniform of suit trousers and the same blue shirt they went to work in without the tie. I like the food though, and the wine list ain't bad. Particularly nice is lunch sitting outside, but to grab a seat at weekends outside means getting there at midday sharp. Howard

I know this is too late, but for the record, here's what I thought about Quay... Well Pier and Quay are definitely on a par. Service at both is excellent, although I found Quay ever so slightly over trendy in the haircut and tan department. That is not to suggest at all that at Quay the service was substandard, far from it in fact. I just felt more at home at Pier. The food concepts are of course rather different. Whereas at Pier I found I could choose a wine to work with the savoury courses, doing the same a Quay would be impossible. Luckily as I'd arrived prior to anyone else at Quay I had the opportunity to speak with the sommelier for a good fifteen minutes prior to making my food choice. What, ask a sommelier about your food choice? If it's a menu and/or chef that's new to me that's the way I love to work. Turned out to be a great way too, as unusually for me I went with wine by the glass. I tried a big Chardonnay, a Pinot Gris, a superb Chenin Blanc and a Bordeaux blend, all Aussie of course. Back to the Chard for a nice big bit of aged Comte, plus the obligatory dessert wine (darned if I can remember what this one was). The food was the Mud Crab Congee (Chardonnay), Confit Shaved Baby Squid (Pinot Gris + Chenin Blanc), Suffolk Lamb (Bordeaux blend), Comte cheese (Chardonnay) and White peach snow egg (???) The sommelier was having quite a good time with me, and was being very generous with the booze... neither the Chenin Blanc nor the second Chard appeared on the bill. I wish I could remember the Chenin Blanc - not like the Loire Valley stuff we get here in Europe at all. It was slightly oaked, with a clearly memorable roast banana nose to it and even better (for me - I like fuller whites with some temperature!) it wasn't served freezing cold. OK so Pier or Quay? Pier. Why? Well despite the excellent food and service, I was parked on a balcony on the Bridge side overlooking the Park Hyatt and the tourist traps (mea culpa!) of the Rocks. Depsite it being 9pm, there were still crying children downstairs. But worse I'm afraid were the constant streams of suits coming out to make phone calls on my (almost) private balcony. People, put your phones away or don't go out at all! I really don't want to hear another conversation that could so easily wait until the next morning. Final thoughts: over the past week I've had to learn a new way of eating, a way that predominently includes fish, and I've enjoyed it but it takes some getting used to with the more delicate flavours. But perhaps better, compared to London prices, this has been a bargain! Cheers, Howard

Sorry I mised you ;-) Rockpool was a significant step change down from Pier primarily around the service. The waiting staff really aren't in the same league as those at Pier: dare I suggest pretentiousness rules over substance? The wine list isn't really a match for Pier either. Although the menu at Rockpool is enormous the food is still competently delivered. I had a surprisingly good meal at Flying Fish last night - I would rate it above Rockpool. Tossing up between Quay and Est for tonight, then thank God I can return home for a badly needed diet. Cheers, Howard