Gary Marshall

on the kebab front the 'boti' kebabs are highly recommended. I seem to remember they don't rush the cooking, we sometimes used to head over on a lunchtime from leeds and in the end used to pre-order so everything could be on the table for us, otherwise it became a 4 hour round trip!

mumtaz is as near to tayyabs in terms of spicing and they book look similar now given their respective makeovers. Went to the kashmir years ago, all i remember is a filthy toilet opening onto the restaurant, so that didn't go down well. mumtaz isn't particularly slick, there's flashier places in bradford akbars, safron desi etc or aagrah & nawaab, bit more old school but nicely decorated. you won't have a bad meal at the mumtaz, think you might be taking chances with the curry cafe scene.

went to the lakes last year, heard good and bad about the drunken duck, tried it, i'm in the don't like camp. Lovely place but no suggestion on the menu you were in the lakes. sister place the punch bowl we loved, and after having a good nose around all the bedrooms would love to stay, and indeed bought parents a weekend away there. friend who has house in lakes highly recommends the queens head at troutbeck http://www.queensheadhotel.com/index.php?o...ntpage&Itemid=1 only had a drink there though. we stayed at gilpin lodge, which was old school charm, cooking by michelin numbers but as we stayed sunday/monday i think it might have been head chefs time off as other menus looked more exciting. also went to hipping hall earlier this year, again lovely place, great staff but to me cooking was again a bit 'please can we have a star?' without stamping it's own personality on it, again could have been a meal in london quite easily.

we go the reidels as a wedding present too, not quite sure how many have survived moving house twice and hand washing but i've got some burgundy, chardonnay and bordeaux glasses. And wines do taste/smell differently in them!

which is which?

that's the one to go for, i was amazed how many people do follow it religously when we had our place it was probably our biggest source of recommendations. it is quite food oriented.

sounds like some producer has been watching iron chef.

i think you're confusing my posts with others, but anyway.. i have more faith in michelin than most guides and i won't claim it is unjust he gets a star- i'm sure it will shortly be a 1* standard but whether it ever becomes the 3* in london his fans wanted is another thing. I think he'll be in the book because everyone knew it was opening and michelin will trust him to run a resto to at least one star standard.

start a thread on egullet

so is pizzaexpress, neither have pretentions towards 3* though do they?

i'll bet it is in the 08 guide. Wouldn't be suprised if it is listed with a star either.

I don't know about Paris but I have it on good authority that Monaco's not run to make a profit ← exactly, and it's still 400e a pop so that's why london won't ever be like louis xv

coincidentally the interview of ducasse has just arrived in my inbox... http://www.areyoureadytoorder.co.uk/current_interview.php

but the like for like comparison is what is going on surely? the response is generally that it is not 3* standard, ergo what he serves at his other 3* in paris & monaco? what i'm suggesting is the price may be higher abroad because the produce/standards is/are better (and yes, granted labour might be an issue too, but's hardly for free in the UK either we have the same labour laws too). i wonder if when it all nets out what the comparative margins are like, ie are they making more cash in paris/monaco or is it going on the produce, and th enet margins are the same, which goes someway to explaining the difference in expectations. don't disagree that for the price it's london top end and we thought it was going to be the real deal, i'm just wondering why it isn't, and i think the basic fact is you can't have the real deal ducasse in london for £115, and from what the man himself says in the interview, he wasn't transferring paris/monaco to london. somehow we just convinced ourselves he was

hardly peak time !

having read the interview jan moir did with ducasse in the FT i think the situation seems a bit clearer, to me anyway. All the hype ahead of the opening was suggesting the full ducasse 3* plaza athenee/ louis xv experience was coming to london and that was the standard expected. although the pricing is top end for london at £115 (?) a tasting menu the average spend per head in paris /monaco is 300 -400e, so i suspect ducasse's view rightly or wrongly is what did you expect? you're paying half price! If they hadn't hyped up the 'it's the full 3*' expectation then maybe it would have had a happier opening? so perhaps it is farmed seabass etc - even though that is denied, it's unlikely to be the same gear as in paris /monaco given the price disparity.

heard it and felt it mate

just seen this in the times, there may be more to it than meets the eye. JBR & mrs are divorcing and whilst he's away on telly, she's closed it without his knowledge if the press are to be belived to fund the divorce settlement. seems an odd way to create value as a fully staffed operational restaurant is worth a lot more than a closed one with no staff. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle2957449.ece

the kp was reviewed in the independent last sunday, seems a good call.

oh yes, customers are very understanding when key menu items are sold out! when i had the pub we didn't do a prix fixe but did an early bird the only supplement we had was for steak, it gave more choice and kept everyone happy, including the supplement they were still getting 2 courses cheaper than the steak alone on ALC prices. i do agree if there's too many supplements it makes a prix fixe a joke, not as bothered on an ALC depending on what the supplements are for, and how many there are.

Well that's just bollocks. Anyway, back to the subject. Places that do the £25 glass of champagne trick are invariably tourist traps, keener to exploit cultural embarrasment than to attract repeat trade. For all his "three stars in my heart" bullshit, I'm afraid this operation looks as cynical as a Soho clip joint. ← agreed and agreed perhaps it's the tight northerner in me but nothing makes me ask for the wine list quicker than over eager champagne trolley action.

it's a definite no go. mark palmer in the telegraph has rated it 8/10.

i have never heard of any restaurant quoting prices ex-vat, the only industry i can think of that routinely does this is the service departments in the motor trade. definitely taking the piss, though i have some sympathy as when when punters are complaining about prices, as they invariably do, very few realise that nearly 20% isn't heading into the pockets of the restaurant it is heading to the taxman.

jan 'quite likes' too http://www.areyoureadytoorder.co.uk/

forget cots, book Hibiscus instead. The chef actually cooks there