nikkib

next time you are in london you should really check out milk bar on bateman street less than a minute away from bar italia - its coffee really is second to none

i think a lot of it comes down to the names more than the cocktail itself - how about "purple hearts" with creme de violette as a main ingredient or a "mellow yellow" which could be say a west indian yellow bird? Absinthe etc would be fun... can you get the cannabis vodka in the states? Not very tasty but quite good fun and appropriate for your theme...

exactly - did anyone see dos hermanos' review on his latest...

I would imagine though a lot of it comes down to consistency - to ensure that the pies etc taste exactly the same across the group, carluccios/giraffe etc all those sorts of places all do do this sort of thing and we are talking about pubs not michelin starred restaurants here - i think this is turning into a witch hunt against Ramsay and find it all quite unnecessary, cynical and somewhat sinister to be honest, time to leave him alone and move on

st john for sunday lunch - comfort food doesn't get any better!

And another great lunch again today. good to see the restaurant a bit busier than when i went last as well. I started with the Black pudding and fried duck egg which was well executed although far too big a portion of black pudding for me. I then had the Brill with Courgettes and saffron which was very good indeed, a nice meaty tranche roasted in lots of butter with chunks of courgettes sweated down with saffron. Perfectly cooked and great, simple flavours. I had a scoop of both the rhubarb sorbet and almond ice cream for dessert and 1 gls and a (250ml or 3rd of a bottle as they seem to have rebranded it) carafe of vermentino. My bill with a coffee and bottle of water and a tip came to £42 and i waddled off home happy and content. A great local restaurant that makes me very happy to live in W11.

very droll!

Foie Gras protesters used to spend every satudarday outside places like Claridges and the Boxwood cafe protesting the use of foie gras there, no vandalism in those cases that i was aware of though

A delicious meal here yesterday - we started well with a very tasty bloody mary in the bar before moving through to our table. The Home baked bread was lovely and tasted almost treacley (?) I started with the Terrine of Middlewhite Pork made from liver/kidney and as well as the belly/shoulder etc with cornichons which was very good indeed while my friend had the duck hearts with celeriac which was also very tasty. Mains i chose arbroath smokies with mash and a side of spring greens and my friend went for calves liver with lentils. The smokies were great, a very generous portion though and i only managed half, my friends liver was a thin slice but perfectly cooked and the lentils were very good too. I only had room for a scoop of Dr hensdersons icecream to finish - frenet branca and creme de menthe which had a real kick, i would definitely go back for my friends rhubarb crumble alone as this was fab, another hearty portion piled high with vanilla icrecream too. The bill with a bottle of (very good) house wine was £50 each which i felt was very reasonable considering how full and content i was when i left.

Fay Maschler wrote a good review on "the chippy" on Poland Street

oh that is a shame - i wish Gennaro well in his forthcoming venrures with Jamie

definitely get some madeleines with coffee

they haven't given the restaurants up - its just that instead of owning them they now just operate them - like they always did at verre for example - from what i understand.

so is the fat duck still closed while they investigate? Poor Heston.

Red Fort was Tanas shop by the Boxwood cafe in the berkley hotel, it closed at least 3 years ago i think if i remember correctly, maybe as many as 5years ago

Indeed but the lunch is too expensive - for that much we can get wine and coffee at some other places (Foliage, Aubergine...). Perhaps next year when I am a bit richer (if I'm still here). Ledbury... will have a look. I considered it before - thanks for reminding me the name. I really didn't like Hibiscus' style when I went. Looking at the menu it doesn't seem to have changed much (the style, not the menu). Down to: Ambassade, Foliage (depends if my friend wants to go again, and the fact it's in a hotel is a bit unpleasant, but it's perfect for the occasion), Ledbury, Sketch. Aubergine possibly. L'Autre Pied menu isn't as tempting. It's similar to what I can get for half that price in Alimentum. A good meal, but not as special as e.g. what I can expect from Sketch... ← http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/uploadedFile..._lunch_menu.pdf £35 for 3 coursesis pretty damn good for 2 michelin stars though..

Marcus Wareing at the Berkley - highly recommended - absolutely delicious!

yeah i have been trying to get there for a while but am struggling to find time at the moment, planning on going next week so will do a full right up then...

Has anyone been to terroirs yet, am thinking of going soon but haven't6 haerd much about it?

Another great meal here toda, tried one of their ridiculously good value set lunch deals. Express lunch of a glass of wine, coffee and smoked haddock with white beans and cauliflower was delicious and a steal at $9. They also offered a $13 and $15 choice of 2/3 choices that also looked very good. Shame to see how quiet they were, hopefully this was just a monday thing as This is a great restaurant, doing a great job!

am not surprised about notting grill had a truly terrible meal there just before xmas - frozen potted shrimp, chewy undercooked frozen squid etc etc

Does anyone know what is happening with bar shu in Soho? It says it is closed for a refurb - always seems busy so hopefully thats all it is....

i gather the new series is quite different but can say no more i'm afraid..

have pretty much sussed restaurants out now - any ideas on cookery classes? We would only want to do acouple of hours....

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