Bapi

... of the Evening Standard television column is to take over from Mathew Fort as of September, according to Restaurant Magazine.

Hallie, Hello Missus- there is one on the A111 - just carry on through Cockfosters( beyond Southgate)- past all the Large houses. Before you get to the M25 junction ( No 24), you should see a sign for Cross Lodge Hotel- turn right up there and I am pretty sure there is PYO Farm up there. Don't quote me on this yet as it's a guess- but will verify for you this weekend. PS went to the Farmers market at Palmers Green Station - not fab - but not too bad - we get our veg from there now. Not too far from you me thinks.

Good choice Romaney( I had read your Brick Lane thread with horror!), so I was glad to read you opted for NT. I need to get back for a fix sometime very soon.

AAAAaaaaah, this explains an enormous amount.

I hear it's been specially re-enforced in his honour. You know that was coming Gary. And yes, I had I not been stuffing myself full of tapas in Barcelona this weekend, wild horses couldn't have kept me away Sir.

Aaaah, the Langoustine cannelloni, I ate that dish three times on the trot on a stay there for our anniversary in 2002! ! We haven't been back since, but I would like to as we had some stellar meals there. A wonderful Roast squab cooked in salt crust lingers in the memory…….. Gary- I don't agree that is a place solely for the super rich and not for foodies. (They let me in, and I am firmly in the latter category !!) Trust me matey, you would like it. That said, Scott's experience re the wine would make by blood boil. Granted it is a two star and with that in mind, the pricing is aggressive, but on balance no more so that RHR/ Waterside et Inn( I know they are 3 stars) . But I think the whole experience is one that should be tried. Granted I would much rather eat more innovative and more reasonably priced food as at the Two star Hibiscus. Incidentally, that reminds me of a funny story Claire Bosi (Hibiscus) told me about their trip to Manoir a few years back and which I hope they wont mind me sharing. They had stayed the night and had a very nice meal. The following morning Claude was presented with the bill, when checking out. He glanced at it and a look of horror crossed his face and so he turned to Claire and asked - "What wine did you order last night?". It transpires that there had been another Mr Bosi staying there, but that Mr Bosi had been a resident for about 10 nights, hence the disparity in their bills!! Having stayed there I can only imagine what the other chaps bill must have been. I think I would have cried had it been me

what a great idea time to feel sorry for gary again dinner at no3 this friday night and lunch at anthony's on saturday can't wait I am begining to dislike you Marshall

Blimey, that sounds a little steep Howard - we paid £60ish for a full bottle of the stuff at Sharrow Bay last year. A really lovely wine.

Romaney- it is fantastic !- have a great time. If you need information about getting there / staying over etc,a bit nearer the time then PM me by all means.

looking at the route planner yesterday it claims to be not that far in miles from leeds but all back roads so a 3 hour trip according to viamichelin. Sounds about right in terms of time - We did a relatively similar( but reverse) trip two years ago and travelled from Sharrow Bay in the Lake District over to The Star Inn, Harome and that took about 3 hours. Seem to remember meeting some Blond Beelzebub like Yorkshireman for dinner at the Star - but my memory fails to recollect who he was. As stated Tarka - I fear a car would be essential for your proposed trip

I too would like to know. By pure coincidence - the missus met her best friend for lunch today. She revealed that she just happens to be starting at Leith's on Monday, so I will keep you posted. Me? Jealous? Hell no

Gary / Andy can correct me if I am wrong but I think its about £26 for lunch ( 3 courses), £36 ( ish) Dinner ( 3 courses) and £60 Dinner - Menu Degustation (9 courses)

Er -has Sarah run off with George Clooney then?

We- hey, very snazzy Hibiscus website is now up and running. The Summer menu Lobster dish sounds fantastic - pity we are not going till September !

hear hear! this way we can all practically taste the food through your reports without the calories or possible hangover ..... cheers Yin Yin - what do you mean "possible hangover"? Gary - as i said on another thread, I would be up for this trip and agree the rooms and I believe new annex look very nice- but ye gads man - never been to the Lake District and you call yourself a Northener? I think his menu sounds very interesting but would have to concur that these are Manoir, RHR prices

or there's the newly opened rasoi vineet bhatia which is damn' fine. bhatia is the chap who earned the michelin star for zaika and has now set up on his own. x Yeah didn't I read some tosh about the place on the way in this morning? You know I am joshing missus- sounds like a good place. I have been meaning to try his food since he was at The Star of India and AA Gill was raving about him many moons ago.

Now steady on missus, what the hell have I ever done to you ?

We had a very good meal there back in 2003, which, bless his little cotton socks, Gary organised for us. There is a review on here somewhere. Definitely a place I would like to return to in due course. Had a magical dish of sweetbread with a delicate egg yolk ravioli in a rich Madeira jus, with shards of truffle, which I would love to try again.

He is in Lucca, eating too much pasta, drinking too much wine and terrorising the locals until next week, I think.

Scott- Damm you Sir. After you posed that question about Lunch - well, we had to go and try the lunch menu didn't we? If I am honest, we did book a table at the Riverside Brassiere, but upon arrival, they didn't have table outside until an hour after our allotted time. So we thought - what the hell- let's try and get into The Waterside Inn instead. We arrived at break neck speed and Rosie ran in to see if they would kindly accommodate us since it was rapidly approaching the end of service. The Waiter said he would need to check but thankfully the manager Diego was on hand and nodded firmly to his colleague that it would be fine for us to lunch. We opted for the Lunch Menu Gastronomique ( for Scott's benefit of course !). We had canapés outside with glass of Champagne for me and a tomato juice for the missus( now looking somewhat plumpciously pregnant and hence off the booze. Which is good for her health and my bank balance ). These were an anchovy pastry, a delicate chorizo , a radicchio leave with a rich blue cheese mousse. and best of all a crisp round of cucumber the centre of which had been scooped out and filled with roasted peppers, on top of which sat little slivers of seared tuna. To start we had a choice of: Shellfish consommé with diced lobster and asparagus raviolis Or Duo of smoked magret duck and foie gras with roasted cherries in Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar. Both of us opted for the Consommé. A darkish brown hue in colour, but hells teeth this was packed with a fabulous depth of flavour. A real labour of love as this had obviously taken some time to prepare. In fact Alain Roux later explained that they use lobster, crab and langoustines in its preparation. Within the broth were minutely diced vegetables and two little ravioli along with the moist shards of lobster. An excellent start. To follow we had choice of: Pan fried fillet of snapper served on a bed of parsley puree, coral flavoured linguini pasta, with a lemon grass scented nage Or Roasted lamb chump with tapenade, Voisin potatoes and cherry tomatoes, with a basil infused jus. Again we opted for the same dish- the snapper. A wonderful piece of fish expertly cooked. The skin was delicious being tinged golden brown, and crispy, yet the fish itself fell apart into translucent pieces of pearly white flesh. The parsley puree gave a vivid green splash of colour and cut through the rich but delicately flavoured nage. The bright orange coral linguini gave another interesting hint of colour and flavour and the dish was completed with tiny fresh peas and rounds of a few other vegetables. With this I opted for a glass of wine - I forget the name but opted for that as opposed to the recommended Chablis. To finish I opted for Cheese - a wonderfully gooey Epoisse, a salty Roquefort, the ash ridden cheese I mention in the earlier review above and a goats cheese. The missus opted for a terrine of rhubarb and raspberries with Sauternes jelly and raspberry sorbet, which she demolished with aplomb. Blimey she has an appetite at the moment. A very enjoyable meal and a pleasant chat with Alain Roux when he was doing the rounds after lunch. He spent a long time chatting to the guests and in particular with a rather dapper Egon Ronay, who was in for lunch that day. We took tea outside and guess who polished off most of the petit fours? So to the bill - £ 119 ! This included unlimited amounts of Evian, tea or coffee and the petit fours, as well as the two of alcohol mentioned; which we though represented great value for money. In fact we probably would have up spending more or less the same at the Brasserie had we gone there, bearing in mind we must have polished off at least three bottles of mineral water. So Scott, I'd also heartliy recommend you try the lunch menu when you venture there.

Scott they do a Lunch which is about £40 a head which rises to about £58 or so on Sunday for some reason. This includes mineral water and coffee. Bit if you are going I'd recommend you save your pennies like us, and opt for the Menu Exceptionnel to get a taste of their repertoire.

Note even the legendary Ollie Reed could have kept up with you mate.

Don't worry that quote will be on his Gravestone

Mmm, funny you should bring this up Moby. I found this site recently and was intrigued by the list of their clients. Although, I understood that the Poulet de Bresse chickens were individually numbered and came only from France. See what you think... Ellel Home Page I'd quite link to give them a try soon. Probably when we get a bigger freezer as the minimum order is four!

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, 10 Lincoln Street, London SW3 2TS, tel: 020 7225 1881