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tony h

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    Ramsay's York & Albany

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    York & Albany - Sunday Lunch

    Finally made it. Last time was cancelled becuase they had a flood in the kitchen.

    Starters of rigatello and kidneys on toast. Rigatello came with pesto, half roast tomato, some curd and mint. Tasted great but really unhappy with portion size - less than a dozen pasta shells. Seems overly mean. Lambs kidneys tasted great - fab sauce.

    Main of lamb rump on puy with roast pumpkin was superb. Veal with baked potato puree and kale also good - sauce had less punch than the lamb.

    Dessert of chocolate torte was suitably indulgent. Apple and rhubarb crumble taste great but looked a bit like a car crash.

    £25 for three course felt pretty good except for the mean starter portions. Looking at other tables - the pear salad really took the piss & I would have been quite unhappy if i'd ordered that. If it means charging £30 for decent portions - please do so - the local crowd look like they can afford it. It was quite full - good to see camden being able to support a decent restaurant - hopefully others will follow.

    theo randall

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Theo Randall - Feb 09

    We plumped for the early evening set menu - £21 for two courses & £25. Well, we actually didn't get offered the grown-up menus to see what else was on offer but that was OK - the cheap meal looked OK. We arrived promptly at 6, given the menu then suitably ignored for half an hour. No wine for 1/2 hour - zoiks! (there were only a couple of other tables - guess the staff were too busy having a good laugh at the end of the bar - I think they thought they were out of sight)

    Pre-starter of grilled bread and crushed tomatoes was interesting & wonderfully indelicate: couple of large doorsteps - fairly satisfying.

    The antipasti looked uninteresting so we went for ravioli and handmade tagliatelle. he ravioli had a green (dunno what) filling with a hint of mint & sage but was a little too lukewarm my liking. The tagliatelle came with an ok tomato & mushroom sauce - a bit bland and lacked seasoning - v little mushroom.

    Secondi was beef and chicken. The sirloin was char-grilled and covered with rocket - we joked about - where's the beef. but it was quite lovely. My chicken came with lentils and chard but no flavour - none, zip, nil. It wasn't horrible - bu neither was it enjoyable.

    Bread was promised but never appeared.

    So - overall - terrible terrible service and only one reasonable dish out of 4. Not a good impression. The MD finally swanned over asking how everything was. She did a double take when I said not good. She kind of lost it then not quite knowing how to deal with us. "Theo will be upset" she said. "why they f**k isn't he here" I thought (I am getting better censoring my thoughts before announcing them). I did say something about it being the cheap meal which, thankfully, she said should not make a bit of difference. I agree - I love to see a chef take simpler ingredients and make them sing - Theo seems to have a knack for making them cry.

    Poor show

    Predictions for January 2009

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Caught between meetings I decided to kill time with lunch at l’autre pied. v curious to see what’s happen now its got a star. I kept with the lunch menu:

    Starters: onion & sage soup or salmon

    Mains: roast pork belly or vegetarian risotto

    Puds: hot valrhona custard or cheese

    Less than £20 for 3 courses – not too bad & certainly I've had some very good lunches here in the past.

    I chose soup – well – what can I say. Wasn’t entirely horrible but certainly wasn’t joyful eating it – what were they thinking? Very unpleasant musty under-taste & buggered if I could detect any sage.

    Pork belly was superb – came with little roast potato slices, some mashed carrots & sweed plus a lovely sticky gelatinous sauce with some green beans on the side which totally covered in butter (the only negative point).

    Never really got to try puds – my bladder was getting to the size of a football and needed emptying & the gents were bust. The wash hand basin was broken - they offered antibacterial wipes instead. Hmm… just want I need – pissy smelling fingers while eating… so I left in search of a loo. ‘guess they got a star before the michelin guys tried the soup and needed a pee

    The MD was slouching around the place – I think he’s the one from “The Restaurant” – sans hair & sans personality (& now sans loo). Some other restaurateurs (I think) seemed to occupy various tables. Overheard him telling one lot they they are seriously trying to position Pied a Terre for third star but a bit stumped as there’s no clear guidelines. So – I’m not alone in how Michelin decide stars.

    I’m sure today was a temp glich – it has been good in the past.

    Le Champignon Sauvage

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Hi

    had another great meal there last week - David cooked for us which is always a treat. A very big thank you.

    Of particular note was the lobster “porridge” – wild oat risotto (?) with lobster and a miso and orange dressing. Really wonderful. Another standout dish was the venison – saddle and leg with bolognaise-like sauce made from another part of the animal – deep deep flavours which brought the dish together. Lip smackingly good. And another dish of note was golden beetroot parfait with spice ice cream – staggeringly good - as was the apple and quince crumble. Sounds plain - anything but.

    Anyway – the important news is that I got to see some of the photography from his next book which is due out next year. I promised not to say anything specific about it - but do keep a watch out for it - looks amazing.

    Le Champignon Sauvage

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Champignon Sauvage, dinner - October 2008

    It has been ages since I was last here - birthday last year if memory serves me right - but moving house and doing an all consuming MBA really got in the way of pretty much everything last year. With the course finished I now have my life life back and I can do things like eat out again, even write them up and, of course, waste time messing around on food sites - currently one life's many great pleasures. A week in Bristol gave the opportunity to pop over one night for much needed and much missed meal at LeCS - god I miss this place so much.

    To being with was a pre-starter of raisins with a celeriac puree and, I think, hazelnut foam - there was something else in there but I can't read my notes. Superb, complex and balanced but not an obvious pairing - raisins and celeriac - but curiously not the first time I had had this combination this week. Bell's Diner in Bristol served something similar but simpler (tall thin glass with raisin puree on the bottom, celeraic puree and cube of sherry jelly) hmm... wonder who's copying who...

    Scallops arrived with artichokes, atop were apple batons and herb/salad leaves all covered in the most marvellous liquorice foam - a scary substance in lesser hands. On first taste I sat frozen for several moments spellbound by its genius - the flavours and aromas were so delicately and breathtakingly balanced.

    The pig that I am also ordered a second starter. Normally I avoid lobster as it usually has, to my palate anyway, an unpleasant bitter after taste. However, it was one of the dishes along with the scallops that Helen particularly recommended. For the second time that evening I sat memorised and transfixed at first taste: lobster with duck heart confit, pumpkin and nougat veloute. Yup - nougat! Here were the fireworks so often missing in recent meals such the beautifully presented but dull and instantly forgettable meal at Roellinger's three star place in Cancale a few weeks previously.

    Next was another autumnal powerhouse of a plate: partridge and ox cheek with hazelnut puree, girolles & lardons. The partridge was good, very good but completely upstaged by the ox cheeks. Killer sauce accompanied it.

    Pre-starter included rosehip sorbet which was good and refreshing. A triumphant dessert of passion fruit cream, coconut sorbet and mango completed the meal & by the final spoonfuls of the passion fruit cream i slumped defeated.

    Anyway - going back next week - well I do have a lot of catching up to do.

    10 Days ?

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    Champignon Sauvage every time - I will write up my review shortly but I had an absolutely incredible meal there on Saturday.  David is an exceptional chef and the food we had was easily 3 star Michelin.  Go, go, go, go!!!!

    i went a couple of weeks ago and shamefully still have posted the report - I've run out of superlatives. Of particular note was the lobster with nougat foam - staggeringly good. have another booking in a couple weeks

    Cover Band (Music)vs Cover Chef (Food)

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    how can you cook anything that hasn't been done so before.

    at champignon sauvage last week I had lobster with confit duck heart and nougat foam (post to come). staggeringly good and a bit left field - nougat foam???

    also has rosehip sorbet as pre-desert - also fab

    my own, if limited, contribution to the culinary world was coco chanel ice cream and I can honestly say I've never seen that on any menu ;-)

    Ramsay's York & Albany

    in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining

    Posted

    i walked past it Saturday afternoon & noticed it was throbing - so i joined the party not realising it was the soft opening. did see or hear old sweary

    tried to get a reservation but they are fully booked the night I can make - probably best to wait a few weeks to allow service to smooth out

    pub part looked lovely - didn't see the restaurant bit

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