sunbeam

I had a very disappointing meal at KP a couple of months ago, will not be heading there anytime soon. ← Just goes to show you cant trust the critics in general, but only find one who shares your tastes and stick with him/her One man's meat is another's poisson (copyright T.Cooper's Big Book of Jokes) S

I have had a peek about on the site here but not knowing Sardinian geography well I am a little confused. Just looking for recommendations for places within Bosa or a reasonably short drive away Thx S

Good review for the restaurant, dull read though. Didn't 'hit my zeitgeist' S

yessss, he did sort of hedge his bets a bit S

But witty and funny of course and he actually wrote a lot more about the food than he usually does. I also thought he made some interesting points that weren't just entertaining but also pertinent and timely. I'm going to Launceston myself this week as it happens and, as I am not the one paying, am looking forward to seeing who is right - Moir or Gill - who seem diametrically opposed on this one. If I was a betting man, I'd put my shirt on Gill. S

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???? ← I don't think Maschler is jaded so much as demob happy. Plus I think she may be getting a little bonkers, she is knocking on a bit! People say Durack is solid, which he is, but I always fall asleep halfway through his pieces.

Yeh the Library lunch deal has been a good one for quite a few years now but as, is the way of things, no one really talks about Sketch these days. Make me think I might go back now you've reminded me. S

I went there during his first fortnight and I was quite impressed. So much so that I took dear old Mum and co on mothers day which wasn't so great; the waitress had a fairly rudimentary grasp of English to say the least, the kitchen had bitten off more than it could chew and by the time we ate they were running out of materials so that my goats cheese tart came with two, yes two, sad pieces of brown edged iceberg lettuce. Yuk. One diner there wore his baseball hat the whole meal through and I wanted to do what Tony Soprano did and march over and make him take the thing off. Of course I didn't though. His fully tattooed arm suggested he might not have taken my suggestion all that well. It's my home town, South Croydon, indeed I went to the school around the corner. I like to think South Croydon is a cut above Croydon. It is, after all, on the way to Purley! Malcolm lives close by, I'm sure he's enjoying not having to drive to Chiswick and back each day. I shall probably go back as I live in S London and I like Malcolm's cooking. S

Tom is always good and he has started including vegetables now! Ive been a few times Decor is the old restaurant's and a bit cheesy, but he's concentrating on the food first which must be the correct order of doing things eh? It's not really out of the way unless you're north london centric and view the river as some kind of insurmountable cultural border! But of course, do bring a gun S

Institutions play by a different set of rules S

Shes well regarded, the Irish food writer who is based in France, Trish Devine, rates her very highly and Trish is I suppose a kind of Nigella to the French middle class foodies. I've eaten Helene's food and it is good, she herself is rather feisty. I would like to see more French food in London that is noisy and unpretentious, down with Ducasse I say, and she could be the sort of person to do it. Although I doubt if the Connaught's prices will be all that inclusive. S ← I ate at her 2 star in Paris about 18 months ago and it was dire - average food, poor service etc. She is a favorite of the French press, partly I suspect, because she is a "women in a man's world" and as you say is feisty. I also understand she has opened another restaurant in Paris (in addition to the tapas place under the 2 star) which I believe has had some good reviews. ← I second that. I ate there in 2004 and it was dreadful. I fell for all the excitement that surrounded her and was really dissappointed, in particularly the poor use of what was some excellent ingredients. Her Ducasse pedigree is a bit of a ringer as I was told not long after that her duties were more admin. I hope this is just a story doing the rounds. ← 2004 was a long time ago to be fair, even 18 months is a long time in this game. The Connaught isn't going to knowingly hire someone useless, surely? S

Shes well regarded, the Irish food writer who is based in France, Trish Devine, rates her very highly and Trish is I suppose a kind of Nigella to the French middle class foodies. I've eaten Helene's food and it is good, she herself is rather feisty. I would like to see more French food in London that is noisy and unpretentious, down with Ducasse I say, and she could be the sort of person to do it. Although I doubt if the Connaught's prices will be all that inclusive. S

Well if you can't afford free range it's battery or bugger all isn't it? I think we here tend to forget that we are better paid than many and so have better choices. S

It will cost you dear. That may make the ham taste all the sweeter though. mmmm acorns S

How does he cook that stake? Sous vide? S

Good. I think more newspaper critics should be exposing what is simply unacceptable (neighbourhood ‘Italian’ restaurants being major offenders) and perhaps customers will start questioning the crap they are being served. ← Yes yes but how soon before they get bored? Shooting fish in a barrel is like aiming at barn doors, it's no fun after a few goes. Leave the neighbourhood Italians to the neighbourhood papers, they aren't worth the big guns' ammunition. Sounds actually more like he intends having a pop at some famous names. Hmm well, let's hope it's for a better reason than simply self-publicity and column inches. Maybe he's feeling Gill's getting too much praise (as he deserves) and feels a cheap stunt is in order. BTW whatever happened to those frozen food ads Coren took the shilling for? Maybe the beard put people off the product? It is an advertising axiom that beards don't play well with the general public, especially when associated with food. S

Depends on the chef, I wouldn't try it with Gordon! S

I wasn't referring to "bird from Metro", it was the "radioactively unpleasant attitude" comment that caught my eye - utter bollocks as far as I'm aware. ← Maybe you don't read her regularly enough, I don't blame you. I don't read her much either as I believe all these free sheets are a major contribution to the mess on London streets. As for my comment being "utter bollocks", I can't rise to that level of witty banter Oscar so I won't try. I still stand by it though. Pip pip S

Oh, stop it! I suspect you are in league with her, helping to conceal her true identity. ← I don't use names so that when they are googling themselves each morning, they don't get alerted and come thundering over here as a certain Observer restaurant critic always seems to do. Talking of that, have you see how that particular critic has put a craftily misleading byline picture on his blog? It seems to be a crude photo-composite of Marco Pierre White and the infamous shoe bomber. Quite scary actually. And also humorously on Monday the Independent had a large piece by their critic in which he mentioned the importance of being anonymous. This was written under a picture of said critic so large it went across the gutter! I don't suppose he asked for it, but it was rather funny. S

I just dislike the way she seems to go into every restaurant with her hackles so high she has to duck to get through the door. If I was a waiter I'd park her next to the toilet for sure. I'm sure she appreciates my honest feedback! Anyway she's not writing here under her real name, so it's all a bit irrelevant what she thinks innit? S

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

Of course if the critics didn't put their portraits next to their reviews there would be slightly less chance of them being recognised! The bird from metro remains anonymous visually but beams such radioactively unpleasant attitude from the moment she comes in the door, you'd be a fool not to spot her. S

The new owners of what used to be conrans, it's their names conflated The restaurant doesn't actually officially open until March 17th btw S

I'm not sure it's fair to expect a restaurant critic to be a wine expert. That is a qualification which takes years to achieve. Restaurant critics have not had the training. I expect the critic to report on the sommelier's choices and whether he/she enjoyed them or not. Anyway I am more interested in their report on the food, the wine list I can always look up in reference books. Ah well each to his own, I've never found any of the Corens funny, although Alan had his occasional moments back in the 70s. Gill has better command of the language to deliver his barbs and is, to my mind, actually less solipsistic. He also writes well on other subjects and doesn't have a 'sex offender' beard. The latter may not actually be relevant. S S

I've eaten at Ooze in London, a sort of risotto bar, it was quite satisfying as a simple lunch fix, But risotto- fast food? Its an oxymoron S