LizzyWizzy

Arbutus for lunch yesterday, not been for a long time, to long in fact Good bread and butter as always, well priced wine A mixture of starters all pretty good, tripe went down better than expected, pigs head was good deep flavour Just cannot help but feel the squid mackerel burger had that little to much garlic Mains, again all cooked to perfection, pork belly de jour beautiful and piggy, rabbit looked sharp and tasted better, Bavette as tasty as you will get Cod a great size portion and could not be cooked any better anywhere in London Desserts, what can I say ? Apple tatin 3star without a shadow of a doubt, even better than the classic Ramsay version, the Greenhouse should go to Arbutus for a Master Class!!!!! a very poor attempt recently for dinner there, it was absoulutly perfect, everybody should have the chance to eat it!! Also brulee as good as you get, and the cold chocolate fondant/mousse again as perfect as you can get, all simple but technically perfect Service as good as ever, they really do have it just right at Arbutus, to me it is definatly one of the best restaurants in London!!!! Will be back soon

Had a very nice lunch here yesterday, booked on friday, a table for 2 at 2pm, we arrived a little early so popped in the running horse pub 50 yards down the road,for a G&T, a very nice pub with a dining room on the first floor, I had a look at the menu and will definatly be returning at some point to sample charcuterie, terrine, daube of beef, pear trifloe etc etc Now to GR at claridges A massive choice of menus, saturday lunch 5/5/5, ALC , tasting menu, we thought we would stay with the set lunch at £30 which was a good choice Amuse- beetroot and goats cheese salad, with just a fork to eat it, a little tricky and not much to it, my pumpkin veloute saute mushrooms was a lot better good deep flavour. Starters- The other half had Parsnip soup poured at the table on to a little roasted venison fillet, runner beans and caramelised baby onion, good deep flavour in the soup, very tasty dish, the soup here hence the different amuse bouches I had a crab and beetroot salad, white and brown meat, again very pleasent, very large portion, 3 tians, am sure 2 would of been suffecient, accompannied with beetroot gastric and some creme fraiche Main Courses- Pork belly with great crispy skin, and a lovely piece of braised cheek, red cabbage and mustard sauce, nothing new but faultlessly executed, just the right size portion Salmon wrapped in air dried ham, girolle and basil risotto, lovely well seasoned piece of pink salmon, crispy ham, nice risotto, would not of minded a couple more girolles Cheese as a supplement course to share, had 6 or 7 cheeses a mix of English and French, all in great condition, helped us finish a good rioja Desserts- I had the Cinnamon creme brulee with sliced fig and strawberry sorbet, brulee was perfectly cooked, lovely texture, Cinnamon was far to strong for both of us and I imagine most people Trio of mousses, dark and white chocolate and caramel, cut with a lime ice cream and served with warm chocolate madelines, a very nice way to finish the meal, simple but perfectly executed again Coffee and petit fours, good coffee, horrible chocolate truffles with mint liquid centre Overall a very good meal, great value at £30 per head, I have eaten in a lot of poorer 1 star places this year I will be returning for dinner very soon The wine list is now on an IPAD, which I was not really a fan of has anybody else experience this anywhere? Lizzy

Same wine same vintage

I was really genuinly disappointed as I had heard so many good things I was at Pied de terre a month or so ago, Petrus a couple of weeks ago and the Ledbury just cannot be compared in the same bracket on my experience from Saturday night It was quite tricky to get a reservation, would they just be cramping evrybody in on a saturday? Thinking they can get away with it at the weekend? Probably 4 tables in the vicinity of mine were turned, and myself and the lady on the table next to me did have a giggle about how are chairs were touching. I visited when it first opened and i just remember it to be so airy, it just seemed dark and unfriendly! With no love for the customers. I forgot to mention the first bottle of white was a touch on the warm side I mentioned this and was told it was the correct temperature, I had guests and did not make a fuss as they were happy, it was funny how the second bottle was very cold!!!!!

David I visited for dinner approx 9 months ago, I cannot remember exactly what I had, all very luxurious, lots of bread,lovely sliced pig as amuse, cannot remember the breed!! a ludicrously large portion of foie gras to start, I was definatly not complaining Assiete of pork, very rich, dessert not sure, large selection of cheese, I recall being very full by the end It had all the frills, service was very good beautiful room A couple of nice bottles of Burgandy and a hefty bill Definatly in my top 4 meals in london last year Liz

That is absolutly perfect for the job!

Went to the Ledbury for dinner last night, very disappointing considering all the rave reviews i have read, plus all the good feedback from friends who have visited Service very poor from the start, very cramped table in the middle of the room, turning tables all around us, personally i felt there was 4 or 5 to many tables in the restaurant I found the menu not very inspiring and considering its 2 star and £65 for3 courses, not many primary ingredients on the whole menu Foie gras macarron very light and flavoursome plus nice bread to start Uninspiring amuse of tuna and wasabi mayonnaise Starters nothing jumped out 1 measly mackerel fillet and a small piece of bland pickled cucumber, ravioli of egg yolk under seasoned, again the signature of ash baked celeriac adn wild boar kromeski, lacking in seasoning and flavour Mains got a little better john dory very fresh, pigeon nicely cooked A slab of suckling pig in the middle of the plate, very tasty but hardly 2 star inspiring presentation Dessert Pre dessert reminded me of mini milks as a kid, very clean and refreshing Date and vanilla tart soggy pastry and not much else Rhubarb bland, nice warm doughnuts Chocoalte dessert very small Very negative i know, but the sevice was poor, there was no personality or presence, the tables cramped, the food was not horrible, but i just could not help but think i was getting ripped off with cheap cuts of food and measly portions, ( I am quite happy to pay anything for a meal as long as its enjoyable )that saying there is nothing wrong with using cheaper cuts, but at this level there needs to be a good mix I am really not sure how this place got 2 stars on last nights showing, I should add all the good reports i have had from friends have been from the lunch menu!!!

Sorry that was for dinner Went to the old Petrus about 2 and a bit years ago, whole experience if i had to go again next week i would probably go new petrus, food is a bit more simple than Marcus, obviously very Gordon, in fact you could spot it a mile off,would like to go back to Marcus to see how his food has evolved since he has been on his own, in fact i will soon

Evening all, Visited the new petrus last week, what a beautiful restaurant, Well worth a visit, very nice reading menu, a great deal at £55 , no supplements for now, lunch is £25, there not turning tables at the moment Canapes, Polenta chips with tomato sauce, nice enough, lacking seasoning Bread was a little poor, a couple of bought in sour doughs, a little dry, brown was better than the white Amuse, roast onion lyonnaise veloute, very tasty, very Gordon 2001, served in a beautiful little dish with a removable lid, I would not want to be reponsible for putting them on in a busy kitchen Starters all simple, very crispy sweetbreads, cooked really well, langoustines with water cress veloute, to much soup which over powered the small langoustine Pigeon with sweetcorn exceptional, Main courses, Pork and black pudding the highlight, simply served with creamed cabbage, Best end of lamb, shoulder and carrot, nice enough, puree could have been better, Beef nicely cooked served with braised shin, nice sides of boulangere and carrots cooked in lots of butter Desserts, Chocolate sphere with warm chocolate sauce poured over the top to melt, highlight was roasted fennel brulee, again all very simply presented St Simeone cheese in great condition, oat cakes poor, beetroot under seasoned Chocolate almonds and 72% chocolate to finish, again served in a nice vehical Overall, very enjoyable evening, service was fantastic made to feel really comfortable in the restaurant, efficient, professional but not stuffy, food was good, sure it will improve with time and confidence, I think we were told 14 chefs in the kitchen, not quite sure what they were all doing!

Coming to vegas next week for 4 nights, where would be recommended Dinner for 2 top end, best food in vegas? Dinner for 7 mid range, i ve heard bouchon would be a good choice? anywhere else for lunches Something asian? thanks for any ideas

Hi all Will be visiting New York from England in March, and looking for 1 standout meal top end, where should i go? also suggestions for a little more relaxed everyday dining all types of cuisine lunch and dinner, am there for 3 days? thanks Liz

Similer to David after looking at the inspired menu had to go, so from thursday afternoon we were booked in for friday night, a room and a couple of spa treatments on the saturday We had very much the same tasting menu, a few ingredients swapped here and there, on the whole absolutly fantastic, i just thought there was maybe an ingredient to far on many of the dishes, or just not enough of the stated flavours to warrent a mention, 3 droplets of pomelo is hardly a taste, what does that bring to a dish, portions were almost to small as just when you were enjying the dish it was gone, i almost feel maybe six course of a larger portion would be a more enjoyable dining experience, the bread was poor, petit fours unbelievable, service was good and friendly for a 5star hotel, they told me i could only book at 9.30 which we did, we were taken in about 9 after a couple of drinks on the terrace, and half the restaurant was empty, very strange, i also heard them turn somebody away at the reception desk when checking in, because they were full, which certainly was not the case!! very interesting food and certainly one of the most appealing menus around at the moment!!

Sworthen, from taste of london where would you go and where not?, Can i ask how much you spent?

Very valid if not claiming on expenses would not have gone myself, all i can say is well done to waitrose best dish of the night, by a long way!!!!

Visited taste on Friday evening, would be interested to here anybodies else views of the event this year?

Is that because he has nobody else who can??

Agreed, i m sure the judges will still say they just cant believe whos menu is whos!!!!

Sorry should of been more specific, american one or 2 star cooking please, not worried about cost

In Hawaii for a week at the end of the month staying in maui any suggestions for a couple of lunches, dinners, both local and international cuisine?

Hi all, I have got 2 days in San Fran on the way to hawaii, any recdcomendations for Sunday night dining would be great? staying in civic centre in which is pretty central i believe thanks in advance Lizzy

i would be led to believe this has been on the cards for sometime now! it definatly was not overnight!!!

nice to see some good looking food this week!!

Very very good chef, does anyone know what he is going to do next?

I totally agree, the only way to sample her food is an expensive trip to Royal Hospital Road. Must admit though, its not been on my to visit list, but then again The Fat Duck was'n't either, but thats fast approaching now. Going to buy some trotters, bet there cheap as chips, and bags of flavour. ← Probably about a £ each David Is it really her food at RHR?

I am selling an ice cream machine if anybody is interested, its a restaurant standard stand on the work top Robo Coupe piccolo RRP £615 Hardly used Sensible offers considered