Scottf

"The crux, or should I say "meat" of the matter. Please clarify this. Was the meat "off" as in spoiled--not a good ingredient--in which case it should have been returned, or are you saying that it's not a good ingredient. That would be an even greater criticism of Scott. While the restaurant offered several ingredients, Scott chose this one above all the others. There remains the possibility that you found fault with the way it was cooked, although we have no information on that." FWIW, I actually quite liked the duck dish. Ther breast was tender, following the poaching method and the skin was removed. The sauce was sweet, I'd guess with lots of honey, but it suited the duck and worked nicely giving the carrots a glazed flavour. As Simon pointed out the side duck which I think was leg (it had been formed into a cake), was fatty and full of flavour. I think there was a lack of communication on our arrival, because although the waiter said the chef would like to cook for us he said it in such a manner that we interpreted it as a standard line offered to all guests (that may be the case of course). Mark mentioned he knew we were coming as he'd checked the thread earlier that day and communicated with Bux also. I think if we'd have been given a friendlier welcome things may have worked out differently. I would like to mention an extra dish we were presented of Smoked Sturgeon. It was very simple and the smokiness was subtle, but I was left with a smoky after taste when the dish was finished that I liked a lot.

Thanks Cabrales. Seems very reasonable

Jaybee Would you object to posting the cost for this feast

Locanda Locatelli - an apology. I'd forgotten about a meal I'd had at La Trouvaille that Sam has reminded me about. You are certainly not the worst meal I've had this year

I'll get this thread back on track For me it's Locanda Locatelli. Perhaps worst is the wrong description, more disappointing. Food was quite good but small for me, and the tempo of the meal was startling fast. However (sorry for going outside UK again), most disappointing meal by far was Astrance in Paris - Just didn't live up to the hype for me.

Macrosan I'm pleasantly surprised by your choice. My choice was a toss up between La Trompette and Chapter One, but I loved my starter at La Trompette so that gave it the edge for me. We'll have to pay Chapter One a visit together in the not too distant future

La Trompette for me. Excellent starter and main more than made up for a slightly less praiseworthy dessert. Best meal experience overall all though was at Les Magnolias in outskirts of Paris. Going for 4/5 days in NY from next weekend and we're hitting Blue Hill, Veritas, Gramercy and Union Pacific so even though not in the UK I'm looking forward to that Sam and I are Dim Summing with SM Saturday lunchtime before going to Finsbury for Oasis, and work have just offered me a free meal with my partner for all the extra hours I've been working lately, so a return visit to La Trompette could be in order

Are we in general agreement that this is simplicity taken too far, in fact past the borders of rip off?

Probably similar to the one they're getting on Radishes and butter

It's on the web menu http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk/

Cabrales I had the Boudin noir starter when Sam and I visited in Feb. It was also my favourite course of the meal

Jay Any news on the interview yet?

Simon I regularly see Ramsay and Wareing ringside at the major British fights and not just on Saturday nights. I've commented to Sam on numerous occasions that they've been present at midweek events and I wonder who must be doing the cooking. And isn't Petrus open Saturday nights :confused: BTW, did you see the Gomez/Lear fight. Lear's from our village so there's always local interest when he fights and this was a massive step up on anything he's achieved before. Unfortunately due to the Hatton and Farnell fights going the distance Sky only showed 2 mins of highlights

Ainsley did an eggy bread BLT in his last series that looked pretty appetising, so Sam said

Wine was included within the price of 84 euros. This was for a bottle of white until the lamb course when we were poured glasses of red. Champagne was seperate. I think the first bottle of water was 2.5 euros but we drank at least 2 bottles that we didn't pay for. One thing that did "surprise" me and disappointed me a little was that when presented with the menu you have a set "seasons" menu of around 8-9 courses not including wine for around 60 euros. The "surprise" menu included every dish on the seasons menu plus a few extras, so the surprise element was somewhat missing. I'm glad we went and I would certainly not dissuade anyone from trying it out especially if they have a reservation as they are so hard to come by I guess with such a big build up I was kind of expecting the meal of my life and though it was good, very good in parts, I wasn't blown away.

Bux The order of dishes on Astrance,s surprise menu on Wednesday went something like: Crab and avacado ravioli Small glass of pureed Asparagus with creme fraiche and soya Mushroom and apple tarte fine with fennel salad Langoustines with coconut "bisque" White asparagus spear dusted with orange and saffron Salmon confit with carrot and ginger, wild leaves Lentils with onion sorbet and chorizo puree Panfried aubergine ravioli with chocolate and red wine sauce Lamb fillet with prune puree (and others but cannot remember) Fruit with small glass of intense tomato puree Chocolate and pistachio brownie, pistachio ice cream and pistachio biscuit I don,t think I,ve left anything out but I agree there isn,t a lot of food and I had at least one slice of bread with all savoury courses, plus finished a couple of courses Sam didn,t like and still left unfull. It was a good experience and I,m glad we went as it is so talked about, however we won,t rush back. 2 surprise menus with 2 glasses of champagne was 200 euros, I suspect a lot more than when you last visited :confused:

John I,d say prices are already creeping up. Sam and I ate there on Wednesday evening and the surprise menu was 84 euros. In the 2002 Michelin guide it is quoted as 76 euros. It was a pleasant evening with some quality food, but given the choice I,d return to Les Magnolias in Le Perreux over L,Astrance any day. (Will post in a bit more detail when return to England)

How about Hotel Du Vin in Royal Tunbridge Wells? About an hours drive, or 40 mins by train from London, and a pretty historic town to boot. The Bistro in the hotel is not too bad either. Scott and I have eaten there a couple of times and keep trying to get there again. There is another restaurant close by called Thackerays which is also getting quite good reviews. (So good infact we have'nt managed to get a booking yet, and we're locals! EDIT DISCLOSURE - This is Sam, not Scott - when will he stop messing with my PC

Mogsob How were the portion sizes? Time Out is very critical of small portions in its London guide.

Cabrales The actual 30 days fell on a Monday when L'Astrance is closed, so Sam managed to secure the booking once L'Astrance were preparing for evening service on the Tuesday. Not strictly 30 days, but in reality yes. Ajay Sounds like Sam was unlucky with whomever answered her first call to the restaurant! Perhaps her French is worse than she realised

LML You're telling me you've never rolled in late in a drunken stupor, raided the cupboards and found nothing to eat, so tucked in to the dog food?!

Haven't seen you for a month, and now my name's not even worthy of a capital letter. That semi final ticket's looking more and more inviting

I nearly edited that comment once posted as I had a feeling it may get misrepresented by you BTW, my fav petit is the white chocolate filled with pistachio cream - gorgeous.

It's got me tempted too. Sam and I went regularly for lunch last year but haven't managed to get there so far this. I'll definitely be taking her in the next couple of weeks.

Cabrales Just for you - http://www.capital-london.net/capital-restaurant/menus1.html I've always found the menu on the website to be up to date so I'd expect this to be pretty accurate.