Andy Fenn

I had lunch at the Greenhouse last week and wasn't bowled over. Melon soup or spaghetti with tomato sauce for starters... I had the pasta and it was fine, but not great. The melon soup was actually the best thing we had - beautiful mozarella dotted around. Main was pork chop. Again, it was fine, but nothing special. Perhaps I need to try the a la carte to get the full on experience. Matt, any chance of you organising a 50% off first week offer with Bjorn van der Thingumey? I'm getting quite excited about the opening...

I do bollock on about the Capital, don't I? But I think it is more of a standout as a lunchtime weekend option, as there aren't many options around. Although the white onion veloute I had there is probably the best thing I've eaten this year. The rest of the a la carte didn't live up to the starter. I would agree with Matt - do the Duck. That delivered everything for me - innovation, flavour, precision and sense of humour. Fantastic place.

I had dinner here a week and a half ago, as mentioned before, and I had a very pleasant meal indeed. Canapes were excellent: waffle crisps with a avocado mousse (amazing flavour), parmesan and olive puff pastries, an outstanding spoon of celeriac and parmesan madeleine. The amuse was, flavourwise, potentially my favourite thing of the night. A small cube of mackerel with confit lemon and broad beans. Very fresh and very light, but came together as a whole and packed a punch. I had veal sweetbreads for starter, which were very tasty, coming with a truffle vinaigrette, celeriac dice and puff pastry. I really enjoyed this dish, and I preferred it to all the other starters I tasted. Isn't it nice when that happens? For main I had the turbot with sesame crust, champagne sauce. This came with a scallop tortellini and a whole scallop, both of which were very tasty. Scallop only cooked on one side, and seared on the edges, so basically raw. I liked it. Not sure about the need for the sesame crust, but overall a good dish. My dessert was fantastic again - salt caramel chocolate tart with chocolate fondant, caramel sauce and creme fraiche. I love salted caramel, and the tart really delivered. Superb pastry, and a very light compilation. Petits fours were also excellent. All in all, a very very good meal, that hit high notes throughout. I had only two reservations. First, the service was VERY quick. We had a 7.00 table, and we had ordered our desserts by 7.50. I felt very rushed. Second, I really didn't care for the restaurant manager. He was falsely enthusiastic in the way that only your granny would like, almost talking to us like children. "Wasn't the weather good today - gosh you must have worked up an appetite", he said with a permasmile. And he immediately recommended the trout starter and turbot main. I just have a problem with restaurants that do this, and always suspect that they need to get rid of their stocks. When I asked about the sweetbreads, he simply said "well if you like sweetbreads, you'll like this". After giving the full spiel on the trout competitor, I expected a little more information. But these are minor points - the food was excellent, in a beautiful old pub, and I would definitely go back, next time I'm in this neck of the woods.

I'm goimg again tonight, with a group of 12, so we'll really test front of house! I saw the chicken foie gras dish on the menu they emailed me, and I think I might give it a go tonight, despite my reluctance to have chicken at a restaurant. New pork belly dish too.... decisions.

To add my penny's worth to Rian's review. First, I thought this was a lot better than last time. The food was more interesting and had more of a personality. I think I probably rate it slightly higher than Rian did, despite his choices of starter and main being better than mine. Bastard. The amuse was superb. The lobster consomme was jellied, sat atop some lettuce puree. The split langoustine which sat on top was barely cooked, almost raw in the middle, which is just how I like it. However, the best compenent of the dish for me was the tiny ball of mozarella nestled in the tomato half. I have never tasted mozarella like it; wonderful texture and subtle yet lasting flavour. Miles better than the pumpkin veloute we had last time. My starter was Ballottine of foie gras with Bayonne ham, prune, quince and calvados puree. A thick slice of foie gras was stuffed with a sweet apply jelly. Round the outside of the plate were tiny blobs of quince puree, fig puree (unadvertised) and pickled girolles, in repeating patterns. The foie was delicate, and I liked the fig puree especially. It was a clean tasting dish, but it failed to excite my palate as much as Rian's morels. For main, I opted for the fillet of organic Scottish salmon with braised lentils, black olives, baby cos lettuce and fennel veloute. The salmon had been cooked 45 minutes sous vide, as is the vogue at the moment. But it delivered superb results. The flakes of tender flesh required the lightest of touches before yielding to my fork. The fish was surrounded by unadvertised white asparagus and three mounds of celeriac puree - two of my favourite things which couldn't fail to satisfy. The lentils were excellent, especially as I don't usually have a lot of time for them. And the fennel veloute added a subtle aniseed sweet note. I do think Ramsay's saucing is one of his strong points. Superb depth of flavour, yet still light. And I'm a sucker for the waiters pouring it at the table. I know, I know, I'm fickle. My one criticism of this dish, however, was that the salmon had been stuffed with black olives and sun dried tomato. Obviously strong flavours, and it tended to overwhelm the delicate fish when put together. There was very little stuffing, but it was powerful stuff, and I think the dish would have been better without it. My dessert was the best thing I chose. Prune puree, vanilla and armagnac pannacotta, candy floss, raspberry macaroons, chocolate brownie and chocolate sauce. This came in a martini glass, prune puree at the bottom, with a thick layer of pannacotta, with five tiny macaroons sat on top. A large ball of candy floss floated above it all. The chocolate sauce was poured at the table, which made the floss disappear. A cute trick. And the brownies rested against the stem of the glass. This was an excellent marriage of flavours, which had been handled with a light touch. Interesting combination of textures and beautifully presented. Rian's dessert also excelled. Their pastry chef is clearly on top form. The third choice of dessert also appealed - raspberry and lemon millefeuille - as a light end to the meal. We asked how much it would be to share a portion on top of our single desserts. After a couple of visits to the kitchen and a summit by the waiters' table, our waitress returned with disappointing news - the supplement would be £15. So we passed. Out of a £40 menu, I think £15 overestimated the value of the dessert. Shame, because I wanted to try another of the pastry department's creations. I was pleased that orgasm balls and chocs came despite not ordering coffee. And I liked the theatre of the new dry ice presentation. It reminded me of school discos! However, any passion fruit chocolate I have these days pales in comparison with the version sold by Paul Young up in Islington. Astonishingly good. I agree with Rian's comments about the ambiance. We had a good view of the waiters' table and the whole operation was extremely professional. But there was little genuine passion from the front of house. Jean Claude is great fun, and a charmer, but I don't feel you could have a proper chat about the food with him. Other members of staff will talk for a minute, then feel the need to rush off. All a little soulless. Front of house at the Ledbury and Aikens don't suffer from this problem. So all in all, I would say yesterday was a two star performance. It demonstrated a superb lightness of touch and subtlety, with more individuality and imagination than the stale tasting menu we had a while back. It still wasn't up to the standards of the good old days, which I keep harping on about, but it restored a little of my faith in the place. I'll be back, but not for a while. And yes, I would rather go to Aikens.

I'm going here next Sunday lunch with my girlfriend and her parents. Any of you northern lot been recently? Reports from a couple of years back sound fantastic. By the looks of the website, the menu is largely the same as it was then. I guess the lamb pie has to be my choice for main? Unless, of course, her parents find the tasting menu too difficult to resist...

It was good, but not michelin starred. It's not that kind of cooking. And I'm not sure it shows the finesse or delicacy required to reach that level. Nor should it. I really liked the food as it was. Matt, are they aiming for a star? It just doesn't seem that kind of place. And I mean that purely from a food standpoint, regardless of sommeliers, side plates, penguins etc And I don't agree that the food is as good as the Ledbury - I have had two superb meals there this year that were as good as meals at the capital and even RHR. If not better. I haven't been to the other brasserie esque places with stars, like l'escargot, bruce etc, so perhaps they would be better comparisons, but Brett Graham is doing sone seriously good stuff down at the Ledbury right now.

I have had the same reaction when harping on about the pig's head to friends who haven't been yet - "eeww, don't fancy that". I think people expect to get a faceful of face. Great dish though, and mine was nice and warm. I agree about the wine - why would you bother ordering a full bottle? Having thought about it, perhaps one glaring omission on the menu is shellfish? As a light way to start a meal, some scallops, prawns, langoustines could feature? I know it would bump up the price, but I think it would make for a better rounded menu. Hope you wore some looser trousers last night Matt.

I was indeed sporting a red T-shirt last night. Well, I was once the stripy jumper came off, which was more than necessary after my 2.5 starters, main and dessert. I had mentioned eGullet to the manager so maybe he said something? Was that William Smith? I really liked this place. I started with the chicken, which was light and creamy. I actually liked the nuts, and the lemon thyme was a welcome citrus note. The chicken tasted of chicken, which was pleasing. Next I had the pig's head. I agree with Rian, in that this was the best starter I tasted. Three of my favourite things all on one plate; pig, mash and confit onion. I thought the mash was superb, and the flavour of the pig forced any worries about sky high levels of saturated fats out of my head. I shared the mackerel and squid 'burger' with another guest. I'm not surprised it was popular, as it is an intriguing menu description, and one of the lighter sounding menu items. However, we were all surprised that it actually was a burger! I guess the inverted commas led us to believe it would be squid 'sandwiched' by mackerel, or something similar. The flavours were pleasant, though I was a little unsure of the BBQ sauce. Didn't help having this on the back of two richer starters, but it wasn't as good IMO. I had the rabbit main. Two thick slices of rolled saddle, stuffed with kidney and wrapped in ham(?). This was nicely flavoured, but was perhaps a tad dry and could have done with a little more of the mustard sauce. Saying that, my final bite was the tastiest of the lot, despite being stuffed at this point. The accompanying lettuce was a bit bland. But the pie. Oh the pie. The others had to endure me harping on about the pie. It was fantastic, served separately in a little earthenware dish. It was creamy and slightly sweet, completely different to its lamb/equivalent. I agree with Matt that this could be enlarged and served on its own. Fantastic. Alphonso mango sorbet with rice pudding finished up. I love Alphonso mangoes, so this couludn't fail to deliver. I'm not sure the little pieces of chocolate in the rice complemented the mango though. On another note, anyone living near Shepherd's Bush should head down and pick up a box of 12 Alphonso Mangoes from the greengrocer just down from Sainsbury's. 8 quid for a box of 12. Compare that to 3 pounds a mango in Selfridges and you'll see that you're on to a winner! My days have been happier as a result of this little find. Back to the restaurant... I had a great time. I thought the food was great. I would happily pay full price for what I had. I can only lament that I will never again have a piece of pork like that for £2.50... £2.50! Service was great, despite them telling me at the end that it was disorganised. They dealt with our gluttonous requests with aplomb. And I really like the fact that EVERY WINE on the list can be taken in 250ml caraffes... Including the £90 bottles at the top range. Really good opportunities to taste a great range of wines. I suppose Galvin is its main competitor for this kind of experience, and to my mind, Arbutus won the first round last night. One criticism though - maybe a few more fish dishes on the menu for when I haven't starved myself all day and I'm after something lighter? Most importantly though, did you like my T-shirt Matt?

Great account Alex. I had the tasting menu with Rian a month ago, and I shared his enthusiasm for Brett Graham's cooking. I'll have another crack at uploading the photos. We met Brett afterwards, and he was an extremely likeable guy. Very young, energetic and enthusiastic, but humble with it. His staff clearly had a great deal of respect for him, and he spoke to us for a good 20 minutes with great honesty. He actually showed us a whole lamb in the kitchen, as it arrives from the supplier. Only 2 or 3 weeks old, it was tiny. I reckon at most 15 inches long, though as a male, I struggle with such estimations... He said he got them for £65 each, and even on tasting menu portions, we had a whole rump each. Apparently they don't make money on the dish, but serve it because Brett thinks they should at this time of the year. Remarkably pale and tender meat. It was indeed truffle juice, we were informed. I thought this was great stuff, but a little overpowering for the delicate flavour of the rump. But it paired well with the stronger, slower cooked parts of the dish. That was my only real criticism of our meal, and I mentioned this to Brett. That's the first time I've been able to bring myself to criticising a dish straight to a chef's face - he had asked us if we had any comments - and I think it's another testament to the guy that I felt comfortable doing that. I was trying to put my finger on why I didn't rave about this dish (well, the rabbit equivalent) quite as much as Rian, and you've hit the nail on the head. The rest of the dish was delicious though. Does your brother always accept gastronomic treats as payment for plumbing services? If so, send him over!

I had lunch here yesterday with the ball and chain (Zoe). It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I have always found the food to be exceptional, and the lunch menu is a great option. As has been stated above, there are 5 choices per course, as there is no full priced a la carte available at lunch. As a man on a budget, this is great news; it means I'm never lulled into taking on the luxuries of the carte by an uninspiring two choice per course lunch. And as a hotel kitchen, it is open for service every day. I can't think of many restaurants of this level open for weekend lunch, let alone Sunday, and I can't think of many better places to be, even if Chavot has his feet up elsewhere. The amuse was a roast potato gratin, with onions, parma ham, melted pecorino and truffle cream. The aroma of the truffles announced the arrival of this dish, and the elements worked very well. Excellent texture - rich and creamy - and I was content in the knowledge that a few spoons of the stuff would do very bad things to my insides. I had the scallop with sauce vierge as a starter. A single plump scallop arrived on a tomato olive oil sauce, with a lemon foam on the side. A thin crouton adorned with a tiny olive tapenade quenelle sat on top. The components gelled exceptionally well. It was light, sweet and slightly spicy all at once. Zoe had the celeriac veloute with truffle tortellini. This was similar to the white onion veloute described by Matt above, which I also had the pleasure of sampling last month. Three tortellini sat on mounds of confit onion, and tiny fried shallot slices lay scattered on the bowl, before the waitress poured on the veloute. Very good again. On both starters, the combination of textures was effective; the crunch of the tiny shallots and the crouton added to the excitement of both dishes. I took on the assiette of pork for main. This was essentially the same dish that Scott had for dinner upthread, so I was impressed that it had become available on the lower priced lunch menu. Again, 3 preparations were belly - braised, rolled and roasted, roasted and caramelised with 5 spice - and then a loin. The 5 spice preparation was by far my favourite; wonderful sticky texture and sweet yielding meat. Maitre d' Cristophe apparently shared my preference. If I went back, I'd ask for 3 pieces of this, and probably the braised belly. For crackling lovers, the rolled preparation came with a wonderfully crispy piece. The loin was the least interesting. The Granny Smith puree which accompanied was vivid green and sweet, but retained the familiar zing of the apple itself. A tiny copper pot of creamed cabbage and carrot was nicely flavoured with garlic and bacon. I think some trotter or cheek would make things a little more interesting, but I really enjoyed this dish. Zoe had breast of chicken with watercress mousse and puree, wild mushrooms and macaroni. I didn't have much of this, but she found it a little dry. Zoe is a cheese lover, so I was excited to introduce her to Bernard Anthony's specimens for the first time. However, they weren't in great condition - the comte and other hard cheeses were sweating and the soft cheeses we tried were past their best. What a shame. Desserts were back on form though. To have cheese instead of dessert commanded a £7.50 supplement, but this only increased to £10 if you had it as well as dessert. Zoe only wanted cheese, so I convinced her to get a second dessert for me, effectively for the bargain price of £2.50. I had apple babas with apple sorbet and calvados jelly. Very light, tangy and refreshing, with enough hit from the tiny boozy babas. Then Zoe decided she liked the look of the raspberry and rhubarb shortbread with vanilla yoghurt and ginger ice cream. And quaffed the lot. I managed to steal a spoonful though, and it was excellent. Again, light and tart; the perfect finish to our meal. We passed on the £5 coffees, but to my delight, they still brought petit fours and a chocolate tray. Mini passion fruit tartlet and pistachio macaroons were good. The waitress could see I was struggling to choose a chocolate. So she gave me three. Awesome. Service was charming and unobtrusive. As always, I had tap water. This was delivered with a smile, and whenever our glasses were half empty, or the ice had melted, they would be whisked away and replaced with a fresh glass. And this has happened in the past even when I wasn't drinking any wine. It's the little things that make the difference. All in all, a great lunch. I'll be back soon.

How was your lunch? I went yesterday, and I'll post my review in a second.

What about Pierre Marcolini? As well as having a knack for making chocolates, on my last visit to his 'boutique' in Kensington his cakes looked pretty incredible too. http://www.pierremarcolini.co.uk/cb03_Pastries.php Not strictly pastries, but worth a look? Has anybody tried them?

There hasn't been anything posted on this thread for a while now, which I find surprising, so I took it upon myself to book lunch for 4, which we had on Thursday. I might add that I booked a full month before, as is often obligatory for RHR, and have been in 'training' for it ever since. I'll leave the marathon training to my girlfriend - Ramsay was to be my 26 miles. This was my fourth meal at RHR, and I have been surprised to hear the criticism levelled at the restaurant on this and other threads. Most of the comments are directed towards a cuisine that is potentially unexciting in London's modern context. To me, this always seemed like a 'Pete Sampras is so boring' kind of criticism. But Sampras was the best, and up until my last visit there a year and a half ago, so was Ramsay, in my opinion. His position at the top of my tree has since been usurped by Arzak and then the Fat Duck, so I went to Chelsea with high hopes that Ramsay would regain his crown. The room is as has been described many times on this thread, and I won't repeat it. Jean-Claude, the maitre'd, explained that the refurbishment of the restaurant has now been pushed back, and would take up all of July and probably some of August. He told me that the bar and waiting area would be changed and that there might well be a chef's table in the kitchen. Now that would be something. With 3 of us having taken afternoons off to go to the restaurant, we had always had it in mind to do the lunch menu, which was £40 for 3 courses. However, one of the party started getting excited about the Menu Prestige - 7 courses for £90. Another joined in his enthusiasm. We were at stalemate. There was only one option - heads or tails? Tails for tasting, and the prestige it was. Jean Claude and his brigade of staff were charming as always. I am hardly a regular, but he remembered my face and made us feel at home. His descriptions of food display a great sense of theatre, and you can't help but grin to yourself when he presents you with the plates. Note: I took photos but am having trouble uploading. Hopefully they will be up soon. The amuse was the ubiquitous pumpkin veloute with wild mushrooms and parmesan, with a cute little puff pastry spoon holding a quenelle of truffled butter on the side. This was a little disappointing. The pumpkin flavour and the texture of the dish was good, but the parmesan was a little overpowering and the mushrooms added little. The spoon was very cheesy and the puff pastry not as light or crumbly as I would have expected. The amuse I had at my last meal was pumpkin soup again, but was infinitely better; a puff pastry 'stirrer' with parma ham wrapped around accompanied the perfect veloute, which contained a beautiful truffle tortellini. Course 1: Mosaique of foie gras with Peking style duck This was taken by two of our party, and they enjoyed it. I tried a little, and the flavours were pleasant, but I wasn't sure the hoi sin esque preparation in the duck complemented the foie particularly well. Alternative: Terrine of pigs trotter and ham hock Rian and I took on this alternative, which came with hollandaise dressing and another dressing, both squeezed out of a bottle in the emerging Simone style. A version of a ham and cheese croque madame accompanied, comprising fried quail's egg, parma ham and cheese. The terrine was wonderfully piggy and unctuous, while remaining light. The accompanying sauces were forgettable. The croque just seemed a little out of place on a 3 michelin star menu. Its cheesiness dominated when on the same forkful as the terrine, so I munched it separately. I am, however, a sucker for runny yolk, and I happily coated a few mouthfuls of terrine in the sticky golden pool which had spread across my plate. Course 2: Pan fried sea scallops with smoked salmon and horseradish I had this dish, along with another. The scallops were very pleasant, and the tiny sliver of smoked salmon added a surprisingly punchy marriage with the shellfish. Why didn't both pieces of scallop have one? However, the scallops did not evoke the ums and ahs that I expected. They sat on a bed of creamed savoy cabbage, which again was well seasoned and pleasant, and the horseradish sauce added subtle spice. But for some reason, this dish lacked the distinction and balance of dishes in the past. Alternative: Lobster and Langoustine Raviolo with a lobster and tomato reduction Rian had this dish, and I tried some. The reduction was superb, packing a powerful shellfish and tomato punch. But again, this version wasn't as 'perfect' as it was a few years ago. I'm sure Rian will add his opinions. Course 3: Sauteed fillet of turbot, tagliatelle, coriander and citrus veloute We all had this dish, and a good thing too - it was the dish of the day. The tagliatelle consisted of coriander flavoured pasta and carrot julienne. The veloute was made from white and pink grapefruit. The fish was expertly timed and seasoned. The meaty chunks had a buttery taste and were a joy to devour even on their own. However, it was the veloute which elevated this dish to the ethereal. It was sweet, light, bitter and buttery all at the same time, each sensation competing but not overpowering. The pasta was almost translucent and proved the perfect tool for mopping up the rest of the veloute. Superb - this brought memories of previous visits flooding back. Course 4: Roasted fillet of Angus beef with braised cheeks and Barolo sauce You will see by now that our meal was following a very similar path to that reported in November. No matter - we all opted for this dish and were very much looking forward to it. The lamb was on the prestige menu I had 4 years ago, and I wanted to see what else was on offer. The fillet was perhaps a mite over the medium rare I requested, but was nicely seasoned and well flavoured. The confit onion and spinach on which it sat were superb. The accompanying jus was also very refined. The pommes puree was buttery and smooth, as one would expect, and I liked the braised ox cheek. The anise flavour could have been a little more subtle, but in principle, I liked it. Overall, this was a good dish, but once again, it failed to set my tastebuds alight. Course 5: Cheese or pre-dessert of black pepper creme brulee with pear Rian and I had the cheese, which was fine. It was from premier cheese, and not up to the standard of Bernard Antony's selection I had at the Capital a few weeks ago. Again, I'm sure the standard of cheese was higher a couple of years ago. The brulee was fantastic. The black pepper really worked, and proved a wonderful foil to the creaminess of the custard and the sweetness of the pear. I wish I had chosen this. Course 6: Charentais melon with fromage frais and mint This was similar to the 'strawberry milkshake' shown on this thread a while back. It did its job very well. The melon was extremely refreshing and excited us for the final dessert. Course 7: Lime parfait with honeycomb and chocolate sauce Only one of us had this, due to the alternative offered (see below). I had a little taste, and the lime flavour was the correct level of lightness at this stage of the meal. Alternative dessert: Tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream We were told this was one of the restaurant's signature dishes. It was a great disappointment. Splitting it into three portions at the table added a sense of theatre, but the taste failed to deliver. The equivalent tarte tatin I have had at midsummer house and at the Waterside absolutely knocked the socks of Ramsay's version. The apples lacked caramelisation, were too big, the tarte fell apart, and the pastry was poor. An indication of the quality of the food I'm eating is often how slowly I eat it; the better it is, the longer I want to have it in front of me. I wolfed this down. Coffee and petits fours were good. The little white chocolate balls with strawberry ice cream inside have been called 'orgasm balls' by my girlfriend. How would she know? But they were good nonetheless. And the chocolates from down the road at Artisan du Chocolat were fine. Overall, I left the restaurant feeling a strong sense of disappointment. Not even the turbot came close to my best dish of 2006 so far, the white onion veloute with langoustines at the Capital (thanks for the tip Matt). Ramsay's cuisine is never intended to be shocking or electrifying. But this never bothered me in the past; the flavours were so clean and so delicately balanced, that I had no urge for green tea foams and bacon ice cream. I didn't feel it needed to differentiate itself as a 3 star restaurant because its 3 star status did that alone; this is not Paris, where the best part of 10 3 star restaurants compete for top billing in one city. But to pull this off, everything must pull together in complete harmony. When I go to Tom Aikens, there will always be something that lets it down. But I always want to go back. But there was nothing there yesterday that made me feel the same way, apart from my memories of a bygone age. But I do want to go back, to have the lunch menu and give RHR a chance to win me over once again. I won't be turned away that easily. But if I have another meal that fails to deliver, it is perhaps unlikely that I will return.

Thanks for the advice - I'll give that a try when I'm next up. Just had a look at the website for J Baker's. Quite interesting stuff. Check out his philosophy: "The concept behind our Bistro Moderne is quite simple. Following in the footsteps of some of the world greatest chef's, ie Joel Robouchon, we aim to bring to the heart of Yorshire, simple yet stylish food in modest surroundings. The family run bistro takes traditional values, then complements these with modern thoughts to create a warm and affordable dining experience where the kitchen uses its expertise to source and recreate your favourite dishes." Joel, Jason, now Jeff?

I thought Pool Court at 42 in Leeds had a star? I haven't been, opting instead for Anthony's, which was fantastic. Clearly michelin worthy. Has anyone been to Pool Court? I go to Leeds every couple of months and wondered whether I should give it a go, or return to Anthony's.