nikkib

I really don't think the food at the sportsman is any superior to ramsay's pubs or the gun/rosendale etc. How does it compare to The Star at harome? i have never been there are they similar?Whilst it is definitely delicious"honest" food i simply dont think it is up there with the current crop of michelin restaurants i have visited... I'd be more inclined to go with Le cafe anglais, although i agree it is probably too soon. (edited for spelling)

I've never eaten in either of the restaurants in question, but what you're saying here isn't strictly true. One star means a good restaurant in its category according to Michelin, and if the categories of the two restaurants were considered "different" on some level, then they could both legitimately have a star. This of course continues to cause confusion, as places like Spotted Pig in NY (a gastropub really) continue to hold a star. That remains the only Michelin-starred restaurant where I only ordered fries and beer. ← I think NYC michelin guide is a great example of (dumming down) trying to drum up interest and wrestle the competition away from zagat etc. without being "true" to michelin stndards. I appreciate the definition of michelin stars being a good restaurant in "their category" but the idea that the spotted pig (however good it is - and boy it is good!) is a "michelin starred" restaurant is simply ludicrous. Michelin should clarify these things so that differences between standards of michelin restaurants in different countries are not so varied.

think we covered mirabelle already.. does anyone actually eat there anymore?

I was there before christmas and it was as good as always, there is definitely a tasting menu but i can't remeber the price £95 sounds about right though. I started with souffle suisse which was delicious, light and fluffy and then had John Dory with braised fennel and a sort of Bouillabaise with mussels and a rouille sauce crouton. Hse champagne is their own label and very good it was too (and reasonably priced) although they do offer a cuple by the glass. The cheese trolley is great and a sort of pineapple carpaccio and beignets for dessert was beautiful too. My friend refuses to eat any other starter apart from the scallops which she proclaims are the best in london - and the turbot sefrved on the t bone with a redwine sauce and wild mushrooms. Wine list is AMAZING and needless to say very pricy but worth it and there are plenty of 1/2 btles as well as btg if you decide not to have the wine match for the tasting menu. Have a great time

why not make a foodie weekend of it and stay at reads in nearby faversham? For some reason i can't post the link here http://www.reads.com/ (not sure if the link is working or not but here goes0 The Sportsman is a £12 cab jorney away

As much as i love toms kitchen there is NO WAY it is a michelin starred restaurant and despite having a very competent meal at the sportsman i really don't see how that is star worthy either. Are we really suggesting they are up to the standards of maze or l'atelier or arbutus and the ledbury? personally i don't see it myself. I would also be disappointed if Ducasse got given 2 straight away as despite the fact he has so obviously proven it elsewhere, he has only benn open a matter of weeks and i am sure he missed the cut off point and don't really see why they should make an exception for him, if they do it would be a shame for L'autre pied to miss out on their first star but really they should both be on next years as it is just too early. I am more than prepared to eat my words when the guide is published but sanity might just prevail.

It is very much a "second menu" - last time i went we had a hazelnut and bacon soup which was delicious, followed by the mackerel "tarte fine" which is great - slivers of mackerel on a teeny thin piece of pastry with tapenade, olives and a little parmesan and whiting to follow. The whiting was bread crumbed and fried whole and was served with a gribiche sauce and salad - obviously very simple (and cheap produce)but beautifully done and bloody tasty! dessert was pot au chocolat - one vanilla and one chocolate. So all very simple indredients and definitely not as flashy as the ALC but a good meal all the same.

Ooh - yes £105 is definitely not the menu i meant - thanks jay!

The set menu is the way to go - great value too

fair enough, i just think it is an interesting way of doing things and one that probably is noticed by more people than say the wine and may be prohibitive to some. You dont want to pay £20 + for a glass of champagne at Alain ducasse? Fine go straight to wine, you dont want to pay £35 for your main course - you eat somewhere else? Seems a bit limiting in terms of clientele?

Not sure if anyone can help but am off to Cuba in the new year and would like some reccomendations on where to eat? I have already visited cuba once and know the cuisine but wondered if anyone could point vme in the right direction?

Have dinner at the coral reef just near speightstown - beautiful spot, delicious food - i forget which night they do their BBq (lobster fillet steak etc) but they have live entertainment in the form of fire eaters, limbo dancers etc which despite sounding terribly touristy is great fun and absolutely worth a shot. For the real carribbean - try the fishermans pub in speaightstown. Real no frills bajan food in a fairly ramshackle bar jutting out into the sea, definitely the real barbados. The surfside beach bar just up from the coral reef is a simple beach bar but great quiet spot to enjoy some flying fish or battered prawns for a casula lunch. Mannis is another one on the west coast - sushi etc in the evening but great rotis, pumpkin fritters etc for lunch. If you go anywhere near the Crane hotel their restaurant has a view you would struggle to better anywhere in the world and a beautiful beach too. Cocktails at the sandy lane (when we were there the most expensive on the island at $25 bajan dollars a pop) is also beautiful and the celeb spotting over christmas is always fun. Flying fish, dolphin fish (mahi mahi) maccaroni pie (like a more solid mac n cheese, rotis (indian style curry wrapped in bread) CHILLI SAUCE - mmmmmm be careful though i love hot sauce and have a collection to rival any supermarket but the spicy ones are damn hot - work your way up the scale carefully! plantain, pumpkin and sweet potatoes feature big too. Have an amzing holiday and please do report back - i am sooo jealous!

£8 for a glass of bolly?!! Thats odd having such cheap champagne etc when the menu is pricier? Most places do it the other way around?

i think it would be great, you could do a cheese box with one from each country or a box per country etc - i would definitely try it

unfortunatlely l'enclume will be closed from the 1st onwards according to their website but the pub recommendations look great thanks.

We are off to the Lake district over the new yaer and was wondering if anyone had anywhere to recommend? we are staying near lake windermere and wanted some pubs/restauarnts to check out while we are there, any help would be very welcome!

I was there for lunch yesterday - other diners included Fay Maschler and some Conrans, Charles Campion and some fellow e gulleters. Have been a couple times now and always have a good time. Service can be a bit disorganised but is always friendly and well meaning. Langoustines were simply but perfectly prepared as was the dover sole with a delicious side of braised fennel and cockles and a very good lamb rump. The sticky date pudding was AMAZING and a second dessert of caramel pot was delicious - surprisingly unsickly and just the right size. Cheese is a bit odd - £5.50 a portion which gets you one (admittedly large) slice of cheese. They said they couldn't do a selection as teh chef doesn't like cutting the cheese into small portions??? That oddness aside, Hereford Road is a great addition to the area and one i shall happily return to again and again.

sorry - at the gin again!

http://www.areyoureadytoorder.co.uk/ and another

http://worldfoodieguide.wordpress.com/2007...yuet-ling-pang/

chop them in half and add them to stir frys, or roast them as other posters have suggested but add a little chicken stock and reduce down when they are half done.

i would have thought that by this point asking the question would be more of a conversation starter or a way of wrapping up youe evening. To say that you enjoyed the beetroot and nothing else but not to have made any other comments to suggest your dissatisfaction throughout the evening is not particularly helpful to anyone. You leave unsatisfied and as suggested the staff (of lets not forget a very new restauarant who are probably stll finding their feet) feel bewildered and impotent to do anything to salavage the evening. if Tony had, at any point expressed his dissatisfaction with his evening i am sure they would have tried to make ammends.

Hardly - was probably wondering why on earth you didn't say something during your meal instead of waiting until you had paid and left. What is one supposed to do at this point to rectify the sitaution?

was also there for lunch yesterday and agree with the observation that there are far more hors d'ouvres/starters tahn mains bu i assume this is in keeping with the brasserie casual dining approach - you can have 3 courses but if you just want an omelette or light meal thats fine too. I opted for the parmesan custard and anchovy toats which were mmmmmmm !!!!!! and crushed potatoes with truffles. My friend chose the salsify fritters and partridge with sprouts all of which were a success. Desserts had a huge choice of fruit or cheese in addition to the usual suspects. The chocoalte fondant was to die for and the vacherin was as good as any i have had, although the quince it was served with had more of a raw vinegr flavour than "pickled" Service was a bit slap dash, female staff didn't appear to have a uniform at all, indeed one attractive young girl was almost bursting out of her wrap top but was perfectly amiable and in keeping with the frenetic pace and setting. The chefs all look remarkably young and fresh faced which i suppose is testament to how smoothly things must be going. I will definitely return