chefmatt

i am just trying to be realistic, either that or muichoi is lying about the bread.

all you need is head chef's day off, a bit busy and it doesn't get baked twice a day.

The inherent problem with gastro pubs is staff. I think every gastro pub in the country has one person saying it is wonderful and another claiming it is dire and both are probably right. They are just so inconsistent. It is hard to attract staff because most chefs and front of house want a good restaurant on the cv not a pub. so you are stuck with well meaning but ultimately pretty clueless local lads and lasses. Another problem is the lack of control you have over bookings in a pub, people just will not be dictated to like they can in restaurants (however much people complain about staggering tables and having to eat at 7pm, its what makes restaurant services run smoothly) So on this note why do they charge so bloody much?

ok just found it!!

Bateman, can you shed any light on where i can find toms kitchen on your site?

ok l'atelier is back, it wasn't there when i searched last night, strange. I added toms kitchen about two months ago. Restaurant four 0 nine in clapham north appeared after about a week opening and nobody can find the bloody place! I think we all know to take the reviews with a pinch of salt, some of them are very funny. Of the Ivy "The waiter even remembered who had ordered what" you can tell the type of punters who go there for a special occasion meal, probably had crap food but saw sporty spice and was made up!!!

i tend to agree on the noise front but i could not help but feel that the intended extra buzz would have livened up the room a little

does anyone visit london-eating? can anyone shed any light on why Tom's Kitchen is yet to make an appearance and why L'atelier de Joel Robuchon was on, then started getting bad reviews and has mysteriously disappeared from the sight? Can you control whether or not you are on there or not?

mount st mayfair, caprice/ivy group fish restaurant launched early dec 2006

Dined at Scott's yesterday evening, well some people would refer to a 5.30pm table as afternoon tea but they didn't appear to be serving scones! Very quiet early on but the room filled up later creating a nice buzz. They have intende on oak floor but they had to lay carpet due to the complaints of a certain westminster councellor living directly above. This dulls the accoustics slightly and gives a less buzszy feel to the room. I loved the room, i know some people aren't so impressed, art chosen by Mark Hix, not to everyone tastes. One thing that can't be contested is how much money has been spent on the place, certainly impressive. Similar menu to Sheekey's. Had dressed crab, half pint Atlantic prawns, both simple and delicious. Turbot for two, bearnaise, pink fur apples, beautifully cooked, enormous fish, mega plate of food. White choc cheesecake with griottine cherries, pretty crap, very jealous of my wife's bakewell pudding, a thin, baked to order puff pastry, raspberry jam, frangipane number with almond ice cream - really good. drank Pacific Dry Rim Riesling, Bonny Doon Winery, Santa Cruz 2004, very dissapointing wine, don't recommend. Altogether very enjoyable meal, similar service to the rest of the group, still a bloody cover charge but will go back soon. Refreshing to have nice big portions of beautifully cooked simple food.

Right, the food: a squid saute with chilli and garlic and anchovy, not a touch on the river cafe and quite bland, no kick of chilli or anchovy, all the assertive flavours dumped in the middle and quite a small portion. Taglierini with white truffle (5g) very good pasta, underseasoned, too much pasta for truffle, so i added some salt, ate half the pasta and saved the truffle for the other half, that was nice. Veal chop with braised fennel, bland fennel, three chops on the table all cooked to different degrees of doneness. Desserts, got offered them all as a selection, got four tarts on a plate two of which were the same, had to ask for a taste of the rest of the desserts (ok a service error but annoying all the same) the only dessert which shone was the panna cotta. the tarts were ok but nothing special. Also had cheese, selection of six, four were announced, two were mumbled so we asked a passing manager to identify and he had to go and find out, and then got one wrong (selun he said was from france, actually from swizterland), this also not the fault of the kitchen but part of the food all the same, all cheeses in good nick.

River cafe prices- certainly not justified! i didn't say that. Their perogative because they are full and can charge what they like. Admittedly i had a white truffle taglierini which was £21, only slightly misleading. I have obviously hit a nerve since you seem to be defending this particular restaurant so vehemently, i am pleased to hear that he has his fans. It does seem to me that we agree on several points. But Enjoyment/quality of food for me almost the same thing especially if some part of the restaurant itself is controlling my enjoyment of it, in this case the room. There are some restaurants where i think the quality of cooking is of an exceptional standard, it doesn't follow that they offer an enjoyable eating experience. Still, some of the food i ate was under par, obviously it is possible i went on a bad day but that is the only point of reference i have.

I wasn't for one moment suggesting that the food cannot be top notch i actually said that the food that I ate was underwhelming, are you suggesting that your meal is representative of all meals served in that restaurant? I do like the river cafe very much (although on the pricey side, but that is their perogative, and not as consistent as i think it should be considering it holds a michelin star - but that is more down to michelin than the river cafe, another day for that one) £50 for four courses is not representative, mine was more in the region of £65, although i did eat on the more expensive side of the menu. I totally agree that the room doesn't match the food, that was exactly my point, it is a restaurant, it consists of a room where you are served food and wine, they are inextricably linked, hence the room doesn't do the room any justice.

Incidentally also met Theo and agree totally that he is a really top guy, just thhink his food would be more suited to a casual dining experience. Also rumoured to have sent all the critics an olive tree and olive oil, Chefsimon take note!!!

Ok, point taken about aa gill, he was just the last person to review and i was using him more as an example rather than citing him as an authority. The room has everything to do with the food, you are sitting in it! If you were under the arches on a freezing cold night would you still enjoy it? Secondly the food was totally underwhelming and i think that the prices, surely you have to agree pretty high, and the room make you judge the food more intently. I think just judging the food is encouraging chef patrons whose only real priority is the food when all the other parts of the dinner fall into second place.

Has anyone read the A A Gill review of Theo Randall? Went there recently and was very underwhelmed (went off the back Jay Rayner's review!!!!) I think that Gill's review is nearer the mark. The room ruins what Theo Randall is capable of producing. I predict it will only be a matter of time before the whole intercontinental/Randall relationship ends in tears. Please Theo do an Arbutus/Anchor and Hope type product to really show off your cooking. At those prices and with the bland corporate feel of the dining room the restaurant is a sitting duck for criticism.

thanks guys, straight on to amazon and found another 6 cookbooks in my basket from a while ago so the new guide has ended up costing me about £100!!!!

I have read egullet for a while but this thread urged me to join. It worries me that you seem to expect a star next year as if then all your worries will be over. I am of the opinion that far too many chefs cook for michelin and this is not particularly good for the customer. Also with an ever changing and secretive criteria created by michelin it's hard to know how to get a star these days. If the only thing you focus on is pleasing your customers then they will come back and give you repeat business, it will be slow at first but will pay off in the end. Take the advice on this thread it is all sound. All chefs know how much divers are but customers don't give a toss, what are you going to do advertise the cost price so that the customers know which dishes are better value comparitively? When you have lots of happy punters the critics will come, if they don't like you it doesn't matter because you are busy anyway. If they come too early and don't like you it could break the business. Remember, we cook for a living, we are not superstars