olicollett

So my lunch that I mentioned a while back turned out pretty well - it was good value and dessert at the bar was very nice. But you're right about the social aspect, it doesn't make much sense to me either

I thought the idea of bread was to cook it, leave it for a few hours and then reheat it?

Ah, I just realised I never uploaded my pics from the Dev kitchen! I'm terrible at writing up this stuff, I wouldn't make much of a journalist. Here we go Pizza to start: Smoked & BBQ'd bread: Scallop, Tomato, Strawberry, Vanilla: Organic Salmon, Oyster Soup, Passion Fruit, Miso: English Duck, Asian Influences: Girolle Mushrooms, Garlic, Watercress: Summer Nitro Vegetables: Brassicas: Roe Deer, Kofta, Burnt Aubergine, Cucumber, Yoghurt: "The Crossover": Strawberries & Cream: Chocolate Cumin Caramel, Yoghurt: Lime Tart:

Are there? I've not come across many restaurants that have such a policy - at least not ones which have been obvious. Maybe they are carving out a niche for famous people to go for a bit of privacy..

I hope their cancellation policy was reasonable

Number 1 - The Ledbury! Nice and cosy, should fit the bill. Would be much better in that regard than dinner IMO. Hibiscus would definitely be worth a look too

Interestingly, over here in the UK I rarely see porterhouse. It's normally just labelled "T-Bone", even when it's obviously porterhouse!

Well, if the food at Ducasse is a 3*, then at the very least The Ledbury should be. To be honest, I'd rate Sat Bains above the Ledbury too. I'm not disputing that either though I thought the one meal I had (a long time ago) was easily 3 star standard especially by British Standards, having said that people I trust have advised that it has gone down hill since then so I'm willing to accept that it should lose a star. That "British Standards" bit is important, for all Michelin claims, the 3* standards I've experienced in France are a mile away from any UK 2 star. Similarly I've had 1 star meals in France that would easily be considered 2 in the UK. I guess a lot of this does boil down to personal opinions, likes etc. at the end of the day. I'm still utterly baffled that Michelin can consider Noma a 2*. At the same time, I can understand why Mugaritz is "only" a 2* - I found it somewhat hit and miss, and I was surprised that it ended up in a list as the 3rd best restaurant in the world. Comparing the GFG, Michelin and "World restaurant awards" top 10 UK restaurants just shows how much disagreement there is out there. I expect some people might lean towards one than another, others might think they are all totally wrong. At the end of the day, each individual might find one guide a better fit to their tastes than another. So err, that's just a long winded way of saying "yeah, well, sometimes I don't agree with the decision of the guides". I guess it does at least give us something to talk about though

Well, if the food at Ducasse is a 3*, then at the very least The Ledbury should be. To be honest, I'd rate Sat Bains above the Ledbury too.

Well that's another thing. Michelin keep telling us the stars are for the food - if that's the case, why are there not more in the UK? Or is it, like most of us believe, a case of 3* being reserved for more than just the food?

Yeah I've been meaning to go to pea porridge as well, might see about going in November

Well great news for Sat and team It's a great shame for Simon Rogan but Michelin wouldn't be Michelin if it wasn't for baffling decisions would it? Shame there are still no new 3 stars

GET OUT!!

Claude Bosi just tweeted to congratulate Sat on his second star... hope it's true!

Yeah, it certainly looks nice, as you would expect. But better than a meal at the ledbury & Roganic? Hmm.

Sorry, I should have written up my visit from a couple of months ago! I was very pleased when I saw the review by Jay Rayner as I've been waiting for a decent local(ish) restaurant to pop up for some time which would be nice for special ocassions with my parents and rest of the family. The only problem is, despite being only a few miles as the crow flies, it takes a lot longer to get there than you might think! I managed to pursuade the rest of my family to go with the tasting menu with a couple of minor changes (I let them know in advance) as my sister isn't a fan of fish. We started off at the bar with some tasty snacks and a few cocktails. Drinks were a bit slow to come but being a Saturday night it was fairly busy in the bar area First up was a little amuse-bouche of fried peas with mush fish - a lovely take on a traditional british dish, similar in a way to one at Marcus Wareing and executed just as well here. Next, leeks - I can't remember all the components of this dish but believe me it was very good! Pork Neck with pickled turnip and crackling was fantastic, but I was a little disappointed with the Skate wing with avocado and lemon. I thought the lemon overpowered the dish somewhat, which was a shame as it would have been great if it was toned down a little. On the other hand, my sister got beef short rib which was amazing: Goosnargh Duck breast with broccoli was a delight - the broccoli came in various shapes and sizes, each with its own merits, and the Duck was cooked perfectly: Both desserts we had were excellent, although I only seem to have a pic of one which was probably the star of the show for the meal - Strawberries with pineapple weed and meringue: This was as good a dish as the strawberries with sweet cicely at Roganic - high praise indeed! Overall - similar thoughts. Paul is definitely a very talented chef (hardly a surprised given his background!) and I'll certainly be back again. I did however have a similar experience with the staff - polite, engaging and enthusiastic, but possibly lacking experience. Service was a little slow at times and the ambience is a bit strange, I think the lighting could do with some work. I'm sure these issues will be ironed out over time though and I'm definitely going to be returning soon. Also just to add I think you are being somewhat harsh with regards to the tasting menu - i've never come across a decent restaurant that didn't have a caveat with regards to the whole table having to order the menu.

Oh great.. I booked lunch tomorrow here hoping that it might have ironed out some of the service issues that affected us last time we went

Exactly! Sorry Richard but you did make the points about what you spend in the first place! You're right, I for one have not been to either Per-Se or FL, but right here you've pointed out exactly why this whole excercise is so daft! I'm sure the FL over in Yountville is a once in a lifetime experience, with amazing staff, atmosphere and so on. The thing is, this isn't in Yountville, it's in Harrods. Now, I might be a snob, but personally I find Harrods to be a pretty awful place - and it's pretty far removed from the picturesque Napa County. I can't see how it's going to recreate the kind of experience you had, and along with charging far more than anywhere else in the city, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Personally, I'd far rather spend a bit more and go out there to have a proper FL experience as you did!

Richard, unless you visited in late 2008/2009 when the USD was the strongest it's been against GBP for the last decade when it hit 1.36, there is no way the FL could have cost that much without wine! Unless it's become cheaper over the years?

Or the Ledbury & 10 courses at Roganic including wine!

Call them the following monday. It will be busy though i'm afraid, those are the worst ones!

Couldn't find any posts on this, thought I would see what everyone thought to the upcoming opening? A friend went to a preview a few days ago and had a fantastic time, but from what he said the prices look pretty steep compared to the likes of Goodman araound the corner, but I don't think anything was set in stone at that point. I'm probably going to give it a go sometime later this month given my love of steak, but it will have to go some way to beat the competition. There's a sample menu at: http://www.45parklane.com/menu-preview And given what my friend said of the other dishes that are not mentioned there, looks like a replica of his steakhouses elsewhere, which might not be a bad thing.

I think many of us have been predicting a second for Sat for a few years now - I've given up hoping! Michelin is an oddity. As much as they say it's just all about the food, how many 2/3 stars are there which don't have the usual Michelin trimmings? Can't think of any in the UK off the top of my head, but I can think of several restaurants which will miss out for no apparent reason other than service/environment.

Did you get to see Gordon Ramsay's documentary, Shark Bait, over in England? Because I watched it here in America, and I didn't see any of these things in the documentary they aired here in America: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8237505/Gordon-Ramsay-threatened-at-gunpoint-during-illegal-fishing-investigation.html I'm wondering if any of it was shown originally in England but then edited out here because of timing or content like when English shows are given more leeway with nudity. Mabye, this stuff was too shocking to air in America? Yes - I was watching it in the UK, that's odd. Was there not a section about him meeting up with most of the main London chinese restaurant owners? Why they would cut it out I don't know!

Right, I'm still one short for this Saturday Aug 13th for dinner, anyone interested? I had someone drop out last minute. It's a 7.30 table.