kutsu

Hilariously bad meal here tonight. £300 And the best thing was the amuse bouche... 7pm sharp arrived to two other tables occupied. Amuse was a cheeze sable with red pepper Jamie dodger. Great cheese taste, a good start Took the fiver course with matching wines. First course was crab with cauliflower jelly. Actively offensive, not least due to the bit of shell I found in the crab. Fridge cold and lacking seasoning. Second starter was scallop with carrot emulsion; the scallops weren't seared properly and the carrot purée (with multicoloured carrots inside) weren't seasoned - yes, it was "sweet" but one dimensional. Onion and pear was interesting. The pear was superb but the onion was boring and one dimensional - again, just sweet. The butter sauce was simple to the point of being boring. Special shout out to the bread and butter which appeared under cooked - with the texture of a Crumpet - it hadn't been rested enough before being cut. The butter was unexceptional compared to that served in Alain Ducasse the day before. Main was silks deer - sauce was great but the meat had a great big piece of un trimmed silver skin hanging off it - no attempt to trim the meat. The potatoes were grainy - had they been passed through a tammis? They were on the verge of splitting also. Chocolate desert was good overall. Food was generally poor and the service was laughable - 6 course in less than 1 hr 20 mins, drinks missing, wrong coats, rude staff. Very poor indeed - and the ingredients didn't taste any better than those served in hundreds of restaurants over th country - only the beef genuinely tasted unique.

Holy shi.. really? that's terrible. My thoughts go out to them..

Is there a worse county than Staffordshire to live in for Michelin goodness? ..sigh..

Thanks folks - going to see if I can get into Hedone - looks fantastic. Crap website though.

After a meal with the following criteria, if anyone can kindly assist: - Satrday lunch, anytime between 12 and 2pm sitting - Must be high-end, so at least 1 mich star, prefer. 2+ - Not fussed about type or style Everything I have googled so far is closed saturday - god knows why, I'd have though sat'd lunch would be buzzing.. Thanks!

Birthday lunch yesterday (Saturday 21st) was exellent. Amuse of a very tangy and, considering it was tres sunny, very welcome gazpacho. Starter of home cured beef fillet, avocado ice cream, parmesan custard, assorted tomatoes - superb, the beef with real flavour from the curing process, and the whole dish eating together very well. Special shoutout to the sun-dried cherry tomatoes - really fantastic. The wife (upgraded since last visit) had a blackstick's blue twice baked souffle - tasted nice enough, but my starter was in another league, so didn't press the issue. Mains were lamb rump & crisp tongue, goats cheese pomme puree; pan fried fish with wild garlic rissotto, red wine sauce. Both over the moon with the mains, the lamb with real "roasting" flavour on the fat, which was rendered excellently, fantastic pommes, excellent fresh garden vegetables. The crisp tongue was a revelation, unctuous and rich without being the slightest bit greasy. The wife said little other than "excellent" and refused to share her main which says it all - the fish was declared "super fresh" and crispy. Desert were cheese with great selection of crackers, and a chocolate fondant, banana caramel sauce, banana powder - superb. Coffee and fresh chocolates in the lounge to finish, with a real generous amount of coffee in the cafetiere - I took 4 cups and had an energetic drive home! All in all a great meal; we only went for the £35 lunch deal, and we were in there for just shy of 3 hours, with no intention to rush us through, lots of nice touches with the service (which IMO has come on leaps and bounds from our first visits) and superb food. Make no mistake, the cooking is as modern as anything I've had recently, which whilst it isn't in the Sat Bains or Purnell "modernist" camp, we had dessicated ingredients, powders, custards, chocolate "soil", ice creams - and everything was presented in a very modern way. Continues to be an excellent location, and I look forward to my next visit.

You rule Harters, this is perfecto!

Thanks; I was hoping for somewhere a little closer to home in the UK though, but I appreciate the reply!

Anyone have any good suggestions for places to pick up some top italian / italian-style ingredients? after good olive oil, salted anchovies, mustard fruits etc - not London based but happy to mail order.

To stick up for Fischers - I've eaten in lots of 1 and 2 star restaurants, but I'd still rate Fischers as my favourite restaurant. It's great; good portions, great surroundings, friendly staff - really recommend it.

I know it get knocked here, and the truffle thing is dissapointing, but that food (and the pictures!!) looks fantastic. Old school, but fantastic.

Good meal at San Carlo Chicceti - nice space, good, unpretentious food, tasty ingredients. Not cheap, but absolutely packed on a tuesday lunch. Food is served tapas style, fritto misto de mare, lasagne, excellent ribs. Only miss-hit was lamb chops - mega succulent, but stingy portion at 2 for c. £5.50.

I'd put a Burford Brown against any egg from a US supermarket. Let alone good italian eggs, with vivid orange yolks and a superb depth of flavour. Plus the whole scenario highlighted in "Eating Animals" puts a bit of a distaste in my mouth..

No star at Claridges for gordo though Is Petersham Nurseries a.. garden centre?

Absolutely stunned this hasn't leaked yet - anyone heard anything "on the inside"?