Bapi

Whatever do you mean? I have already sorted my choices for dinner at Red Chilli thanks to Thom's posts. Now it's just lunch to worry about.

Don't be bloody ridiculous Adam. You know you'll be going for the Tasting menu from the off:biggrin:. The only people I know you have eaten there went a la carte and thought it good, but it was rather outshone by the five hour meal at The Fat Duck earlier that day!

Mmm, you had a much better experience than us then my friend. I took my mate there for lunch before a gig last year and it was a bag of shite. Never again. Thankfully we went to Red Chilli later for an early dinner later that night. Back to Red Chilli this Thursday pre Metallica.

Good man.

You say that- but every car journey I have done to Leeds has been fraught, yet every train journey has been rather relaxed. They seem to have it right in W Yorks- add to that- the small town of Halifax (10 minutes drive or 5 on the train) is, quite incredibly, just about to get a high speed link to London. A mere 2 hours and 40 minutes apparently! No excuse not to get to Hibiscus a tad more often now. But of course - if you live in the wilds of North Yorkshire - you are screwed. Back on topic now.......( oh, and please get that lunch organised Marshall)

Should have posted this earlier- but we too had a lovely meal a few weeks back. I was swayed by the black pasta, baby squid and garlic cream dish to start after what Gary wrote about it here. Followed by the roast chicken for me and mackerel and beetroot risotto for the missus. Star dish though was the Pork Rib chop my Mother in Law opted for. Thankfully she has the appetite of a mouse at lunchtime and so I hoovered the lot up. Saucing was perfect through out the meal, and I did mention a little pot of gravy would not have gone a miss with the chicken, but Tony said it should have been offered, so it was a tiny abberation. We also had a cracking Viognier - which was less that £17. As mentioned, it really is a stunning space inside and I especially loved the little units circling the restaurant, where you can buy cheeses, pastries etc. Good to have a quick chat an tour with both the Tony's. These chaps work so hard and deserve their success and yes, Tony Sr is indeed an incredibly helpful top bloke. It will however be a cold day in hell before I drive back into Leeds. I would like to meet the sadistic bastard who designed its oneway system.

Sorry Mrs Woman- I actually read your post through bleary eyes the day after a night out in the very same city a couple of weeks back. But the trouble is that I haven't been able to get back onto egullet till today. You have already had your night out, but for future reference, ages ago Thom took Gary and myself to to a bar called Velvet which was pretty good. (Is that right Thom?) And my friends and I had some very decent cocktails at the Bar at the Raddison before heading back to the Northern Quarter to talk utter bollocks for a further five hours. I would love to tell you where we went, other than Trof, but for obvious reasons- can not. One to defintely avoid though, is the Bar at Malmaison. Poor, as in non-exsitent service, poorly offered G&T's and flat lager I obviously sent back.

You can't go wrong with a Hartley Now owned by Robinson's (Stockport's finest) ← Aaah, Robbies beer- I haven't had a pint of that for years. Damm fine stuff I seem to remember.

I am not sure what happened at the Millbank Robin. The food is still up to scratch and well worthy of a Bib. Even tubby Marshall enjoyed his meal there late last year. Not looking forward to telling them when I venture up there in a couple of hours. On a happier note- congratulations to Marc- about time too.(Thom please pull your finger out and get that lunch at Fraiche organsied). Matt- again, well done mate well deserved. Delighted for Hibiscus too. Not so for Anthonys -why on earth they keep missing out is beyond me. Matt- you mentioned The Neptune getting a star. Is that the one in Old Hunstanton in Norfolk? Edit- Ignore the question Matt. I have just checked and it is. Crikey-who knew.?We go to that coast three or four times a year and I have driven past it umpteen times I will have to stop next time.

Bloody Hell Marshall. We'll look forward to reading your review.

You romantic bastard Marshall . That poor woman- what did she do to deserve a lifetime at the behest of your sweaty little digits?

And of course, you'll be driving Sarah back home after that meal won't you Gary?

I was wondering when you were going to get around to mentioning that

De Greys, Broad Street, Ludlow.

Very timely, cheers. We were looking at the webiste this morning , thinking about a night there in November before heading back up to Ludlow for the w/e.

Glad to hear it Nikki as we have ignored all of the pejorative comments above and are returning for our anniversary. The simple truth of it is that this place does what is says on the tin. Solid, classical french cuisine. Yes it may be old fashioned and very expensive, but it has never failed to deliver and as you say- sitting outside, sipping champagne on their terrace is one of lifes joyous pleasures.

Spot on Gary, a chef from our local went up for this series. Ironically, it has a BG but she has no Michelin star ambitions at all; she just wants to cook good food people can eat and enjoy and told the producers so. They were aghast at her apparent lack of interest at becoming a "Michelin" rated chef as that, and that alone, is what they are looking for. Unsuprisingly, she never heard back from them.

This is an outrage. Tayyabs actually won? This just proves to me that the Judges-the likes of Maschler, Coren, Durack and Rayner et al, know absolutely sod all about food. Not to mention the hordes who are willing to queue up each and every night for the obviously terrible food that is served up to them. The poor misguided fools. No- I'm sticking with Mr Hayler and I don't care what you say. *Sarcasm mode off* Excellent news for the team. Really delighted for them.

So prophetic in fact that no one( including myself) could be arsed leaving a single comment on his blog, despite him worrying about the onslaught of "incoming" ones.

I'm always surprised when I see a comment on London Eating that isn't a complaint... However: it does indeed get very crowded, with queues both inside and out. I don't have a comparison to "what it used to be", but my recommendation of the lamb chops else-thread is fresh from a couple of weeks ago. Hope that helps a little. ← Is it me or is it de rigeur to bash Tayyabs? I can't testify as to the queues anymore as I no longer live in London, but I can vouch for the food. How so? Well, the gentleman that is Wasim (the co-owner) took pity on this poor soul and couriered up a veritable feast of food a couple of weeks back. Bloody lovely it was too. So I would agree with Gary, get yourself along there. Have a look on the New Tayyab thread on here for ideas re what to order or, if you wish, PM me Liz.

Thanks for that review Kropotkin. It brought back happy memories of our stays there. In fact, the first night of our honeymoon was spent there and what a perfect place it was to start our gastro tour of the country. We returned a couple of times in the summer which is highly recommended, especially if one is staying. The use of their pool overlooking Rutland Water, and ordering a drink or two on the pool phone is a rather opulent, but fun thing to do. Aaron Patterson is certainly a talented chap- his nage of seafood sticks in the memory as does a delightful essence of tomato on a blisteringly hot day. A revelation for me at the time. I had never had anything like it before. Mmmm, you have got me thinking about a return trip here now........ I have to go now my wife is watching the X Factor and I can not bear to listen to it for a moment longer. If I wasn't off the sauce I would piss off to the pub. Sod it- I am going anyway..... Cheers

Mmmm, a large group of people whose opinions I trust and who work in the industry went last week. Whilst the food was mostly enjoyed, the service was apparently woeful nudging towards the inept. The main criticism seemed to be that the level of service was so poor as there was no one senior in charge to marshall the troops. Still tempted to go and judge for myself so thanks for the heads up.That is if Thom pulls his finger out

Email GRH HQ suggests the comment on your page Man. Sod that, send a link of your page to the tabloids instead.

It's rare that this happens, but I wholly agree with Gary. I would make the journey back to the Yorke Arms without a second thought. A trip back to however, would require a level of coercion. Go and enjoy.

"Anyone heard anything about Paul Kitching and his missus (ex Juniper)?" "Pretty sure they're still living in Manc. They;re in the local pubs often enough." No doubt you have seen them entering such establishments on the way to your Bible meetings Bertie.