mrshugget

Thank you Calumn for a wonderful report, I really enjoyed reading about your experience at LCS. Thanks again!

According to Daily Telegraph Spy column today, Ramsay is considering buying Tilly's Tea Room in St Ives and turning it into a restaurant.

Please don't stop your blog Adam - its completely gripping. I need to know what you are planning for Sunday lunch and beyond, although am worried about your desultory lunch options. PS Am I right in thinking it is snowing in Melbourne at the moment?

I remember the restaurant having beautiful paintings and the most incredible flowers. Also too, an amazing sea bass dish, the top paved with caviar. In response to Jamie's question, there is still lots of sea bass in UK restaurants, but the vast majority of it is farmed, not wild. In any case, our sea bass is a different type of fish from Chilean sea bass, which is not a sea bass at all, but a Patagonian toothfish.

The review in question was by Matthew Norman, published in the Sunday Telegraph on 27th March. Yes he did give it a pasting - but all I can remember about it is that he had to wait an hour or so for his main course, poor diddums. I don't think the ST is available online.

Suzi, why will you definitely go back? Your experience sounded similar to mine, a few high spots, but general mediocre malaise. To paraphrase your own words, what you found was a room you didn't like very much, customers you didn't particularly warm to, or feel an empathy with, good soup, great salad, nice roast potatoes but two main courses that were underwhelming and a pudding you didn't order but wished you had. What's so great about that? Is that enough? Also, I thought the Bluebird was very expensive, although you don't mention prices. And mean. The amount of crab in their crab salad is a joke/scandal.

Dear Derek How many of your UK Michelin inspectors are female? What percentage do they form of the total number of inspectors?

Here's the Rasoi lunch menu, which is a bit cheaper. We really enjoyed it last week. It is as delicious as it sounds, expecially the minced lamb. And you get a bowl of poppadums with the restaurant's own home made chutneys. Grilled 'gun-powder' prawns, cold tandoori potato salad Tamarind chutney and roasted cumin flavoured chicken salad, assorted leaves Back mustard seed and curry leaf infused masala paneer, savoy cabbage and red onion salad ****** Pan grilled swordfish skewers, yellow lentils, ginger khichdi and crispy squid fritters Tandoori pouissin infused with clove, cinnamon and herb marinate, tomato and ........raita South Indian coconut-coriander lamb mince, spicy spring onion and semolina dhokla, potato bonda ****** Saffron and cardamom tandoori pineapple, pineapple carpaccio and coconut ice cream Chilled 'chikki' filled lychees, lychee rabdi, lime ice cream 2 courses - £19 3 courses - £24

More Fat Duck gossip. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Heston says that his menu at the Hinds Head will be old fashioned English - with dishes like steak and kidney pudding, treacle tart and fruit cobblers. Contracts have been exchanged but he has yet to finalise. Apparently.

I'm sorry. I thought Europe was officially included. Anyway, yes. LML. Absolutely correct. Brilliant. [Moderator note: The original UK Menu Game topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the following part of this discussion is here: UK Menu Game (2008-)]

Insalata di Zampi Rigatoni con Pajata Padellotto alla Macellara Torta di mele

Rules or Grieg's Grill

The Three Chimneys is in a beautiful location and it does serve good food, but nothing really that Sally Clarke in London does not do better. Also it is very expensive and rather pleased with itself. The restaurant on Waternish is the LochBay Seafood Restaurant (www.lochbay-seafood-restaurant.co.uk) tel 01470 592235 and it is indeed excellent. Simply furnished and situated down near the loch in the village of Stein, the restaurant has its own tanks for lobster and oysters and everything is fresh and simply cooked and excellent value for money. Lobsters about £20-£30 according to size, whole baby turbot for £14.50, huge plate of scallops also for about £14 and then clootie dumpling and creme fraiche for pudding. Fantastic! They also do a huge fish platter for two served over four courses and there is a good wine list, too. You can tell I liked it. The Stein Inn also in the village used to have a good reputation for food, but it has nosedived. However, you can stay there. Another option; if you book the LochBay Seafood Restaurant, ask them for help with local b and bs. They have a list.

Tony Finch, you are not alone in your loathing of the Hunan; I hate the place. God knows why people fall for Mr Peng's circus ringmaster/ salesman schtick, but they do. Basically he is selling second rate and quite ordinary Chinese food but pretending that customers are getting personalised, special treatment and a tailor made menu. Ha! Unless you are one of his special Chinese business friends, you are all getting the same stuff, suckers. And that is whatever was bought at market that morning/week and is easy for the kitchen to cook in bulk. Its such a con. Its such an obvious con, despite what Fuschia Dunlop or anyone else says. PS I saw Mr Peng the night eating in a very good new Chinese restaurant, Made In China in the Fulham Road, diagonally opposite the cinema. I wouldn't trek over town to get there, but an excellent local with very good prices. Good scallops in the shell - four beauties for £10 - salt and pepper squid, etc. I will post the telephone no when I find it. Even Mr Peng looked happy.

Andy, thank you so much for doing that; you are an honorary girl! Why don't you book yourself into Bliss for a Ginger Rub? Or a Sweet Orange Nerve Whacker? You deserve it.

Magnolia, its me again. I just want to add two things to my Bibendum post; 1. I think the chef there is still Matthew Harris, brother of Henry Harris at Racine. 2. The fabulous Bliss Spa is about two minutes away, if you were going to totaly girl out for manicures etc before dinner. Both have websites but I am unable to do the clicky thingy.

How about Bibenbum in SW7? The food is lovely, the service is great, lots of real comfort in a beautiful, summery room and they are very good at coping with slightly larger parties. Don't forget the amazing views out of the window - to the Chanel shop across the street! I know it is a Conran restaurant but it is much underrated. Try it for lunch and see what I mean.

Also: the smoky Souvlaki restaurant smells incredibly authentic - and so will you afterwards. Your xlothes and hair will stink of grilled meats! It is very cheap and cheerful but the Mezo-wotsit has a much better selection of (very good) Greek wines, nicer things to eat and a more civilised atmosphere - i.e. you can hear what your companions are saying.

Gary Rhodes at Castle Hotel in Taunton?

Sharrow Bay.

Lovely report - really got the sense of a good dinner much enjoyed. Can you confirm if you went to Petrus in St James district or the new Petrus in the Berkley Hotel?

Yes, I have been to Edera for lunch, but hesitated about saying so because I can't remember exactly what I had; bad! I did have a main course of plaice wapped in very thin slices of potato and baked in the oven which was very enjoyable in an everyday kind of way. The restaurant sounds very nice from Andy's PR description, but the reality is quite boring. It is a long, narrow shape like a regular shop outlet and has been fitted out very cheaply. All the staff were a bit grim and tense but perhaps because they had only opened a few days earlier. Generally, it seemed to lack heart or a real reason for being there - except as another addition to the A to Z group. Its not even as nice as Timo, which isn't very nice these days. Edera for locals only, perhaps.

Though not, strictly speaking, a booth, Edea does have one booth-type table on the lower level of the dining room.

Miss C Plum; adjust your gorgeous spectacles and look at the Savoy Grill again; there are 32 tables and only eight of them are booths. Not lots and lots. But certainly a few. However, I stand corrected about missey illllley or whatever her name is. I've never seen a restaurant review of hers, in an inflight magazine or otherwise. i just thought she interviewed people.

Yes.