nikkib

Des and Dave - seriously!! Have heard very good things but unfortunately had to cancel my reservation earlier in the week, ill definitely be heading there soon and will report back in full ← If it is in soft opening mode before the 17th then it's safe to assume they are wining and dining the press and others at the moment and so standards will be very high. The fun normally starts after. I'm surprised that jan moir went at this point in time, maybe the lure of being first outweighed other critical considerations. S ← Is there actually anyone reviewing restaurants right now where "critical considerations" actually play any part? Restaurant reviews at the moment seem to be squarely set on 1. Being the first to review a new opening, 2. AA Gill amusing ramblings with very little actual "review" or 3. Fay Maschlers jaded, tired reviews? Where are our Adam platt, Frank Bruni's etc????

Des and Dave - seriously!! Have heard very good things but unfortunately had to cancel my reservation earlier in the week, ill definitely be heading there soon and will report back in full

If you are headed towards shakeshack why not try tabla's bread bar? Decently priced and a little bit different i'm sure you would not be disappointed.

The chicago rib shack is reopening on the short lived mocoto sight in knightsbridge http://www.thechicagoribshack.co.uk/ for all you BBQ lovers...

i'd second that, wish i didn't have to work..

thanks for the warning - elbows at the ready!

or the time out review of the warrington telling everyone to go tehre if they cant get a table there.....

thanks

Was thinking about Brunch at the Blue water Grill but have not seen it on any of the threads... Is it worth a visit?

is there a minimum number for reserving a booth? there would be 3 of us?

there were protesters outside the boxwood cafe pretty much every saturday last year for a good 6 months - loud hailers and all, didn't bother any of the guests and instead seemed to "hype it up" even more

am struggling to find any recent posts about da silvano - is it "past it" or worth a visit? am thinking lunch on a weekday...

thanks for this - i think i will try the bar one night for drinks and a couple of the dishes you mentioned and then onto a late dinner taht way i can try everything!

ahh but two months to the day when you phone on feb 27/28th is handy as you also open up the possibilty of dining on 29/30th due to the lack of days in feb...

Finally made it to The Modern this week after reading several very positive right ups on these pages (and successfully avoiding being run over by a tram en route!) I just missed "the visit" by HRH however no problems with paint fumes either thanks Bertie! I was met by a very friendly hostess at the door and offered a drink in the bar which, seeing as it was a clear day and you could see most of the city centre from their roof top vantage point i settled on. After a swift "Airmile" cocktail of champagne, havana anejo rum, lime and honey i made my way down stairs to The Modern "proper" for lunch. The menu is very reasonably priced including a £12.50/£15.50 set menu however i went for the ALC and chose the "pressed terrine of Mrs Kirkhams lancashire cheese, braised ham hock and parsley with picalilli" @ £5.50 as it sounded a bit different. The terrine was delicious and served with the daintiest picalilli i have seen - teeny little fklorets of cauliflower etc and warm brioche. from the extensive wine list (around 20 wines by the glass) i chose a picpoul de pinet @ £7.20 for 250mls. For my main i had the "Grilled Cornish John Dory, roast salsify, spinach, Loch Fyne mussels adn razor clams with a champagne sauce" £16.50 with a side of the Chat Moss winter herb salad (£3.50) This was again beautifully prepared and presented - i have photos but am not sure how to load them...But to be honest it was far too big a portion for me (oh the shame) and i would have happily have substituted one of my 10 or so mussels for some more razor clam which had been too finely sliced. Even so it was delicious and i gave up merely so i could have room for dessert - "Warm parkin with spiced roasted william pears" £4.50 which was another sucess although needed a little cream. With my main i had a glass of A20 Albarino @£7.90 which was very pleasant too. The service was very friendly - the hostess in particular was fab and the Manager(?) was delightfully charming when explaining to the two old dears sat next to me that "yes the Goosnargh chicken was organic" despite their surprise that he was able to find it as "Tesco has been out of it for weeks" and when they wanted to order a glass of wine each as they were driving he pointed out that at 250mls they should probably share a glass as one would put them over the limit - a nice touch. I would definitely recommend the Modern, i could have eaten pretty much anything and will return at some point (hopefully with a bigger appetite!) I popped into KRo later for a drink (defintely not one to eat in- like a glorified all bar one) and then it was on to Grado, surprisingly quiet in the early evening. I was still pretty full from lunch but managed a glass of fino and one of the albarino (the same A20 but at around £6.50 for 175mls) along with some pimientos de padron, salt cod croquettes and patatas bravas all of which were fine but nothing to rave about (although in fairness not the most inspired of choices on my behalf) again though the staff were seriously friendly and i had one of the best espressos i have had in a long time. I was sorry not to have been able to fit red chilli in and will try and tie that in with a football match at a later date as reading Jays posts on it made my mouth water but all in all a very successful trip.

oooh - just checked out the website for tailor - WOW! will definitely check it out thanks! Sorry for the crashing af the adour website!

was at wd50 in august - amazing! Might take my friends back for dessert tasting mmmm! Am definitely going to ssam bar too - am off to swot up on tailor too thanks for all the advice!

i will eventually get to stanleylands - have you got a new menu yet? This is just a flying visit hence being confined to City centre......... Not sure i can stomach red chilli at 6pm so looks like it will be grado for now...

anyone else got feedback on grado? Am coming up this week and plan to eat at the modern (lunch) and was looking for somewhere to go early evening (near picadilly - train to catch at 8pm) for a bite to eat and some drinks - Grado seems to fit the bill but is is any good?

yes i was asking about the EMP crowd not adour -sorry it wsan't very clear. I am just wondering where best to go when visiting from the uk in spring. We have already done Per se/Gordon Ramsay but then our top end (or restaurants where we spend the most) restaurants have been more "ethnic" nobu/megu etc and this time we want to go somewhere "classic" for a special occasion but we are all still in our 20's/early 30's so don't fancy being the youngest by too great a margin - whilst i know the river cafe is not exactly top end when we ate there before we were not only the youngest there by a good 30 odd years we were singularly ignored by the sommelier until i ordered a $200 bottle of champagne as an aperitif in order that we might actually get treated with some decency. In short no where too "stuffy" adour was on the list as was da posto, daniel and le bernadin along with picholine and le cirque.....

Have only ever eaten there for lunch - what is the crowd like in the evening?

Yes Spago's it is.. there have been a couple of foreign restaurants on here i think..

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES WITH HARLEY FARM’S GOAT RICOTTA SPICY BEEF GOULASH - Sautéed Spätzle, Parsley, Marjoram and Paprika Farmer’s Cheese, Parmesan, Mint, Chervil and Hazelnut Brown Butter in the spirit of last weekend....

rules

Has anyone eaten here recently? Is there anywhere else you would recommend over it in teh same price bracket?