[Great British Menu 3]

I am sure the quail dish is nice but that ravioli/technique was on the menu at hospital road back in 2000/2001, hardly cutting edge modern british cuisine!

[The New Launceston Place]

Morning all,

visited here last night, generally everything was cooked very well indeed, just thought it lacked a bit of something to bring everything together

Restaurant was very nicely done i thought the tables were a little close together, lovely little room downstairs on the way to the toilet with a plasma of the kitchen, i popped my nose in to have a look.

3 course £35 we also had an additional scallop tasting course, staff very friendly and happy to accomodate this request

started with some potato crisps and taramasalata they said, lovely texture bit garlicky, not very taramasalata like amuse was a cauliflour truffle cream hot and cold thing, very good and nice service dish to drink from then followed the scallops, perfectly cooked but served on a stone, looked good but a little difficult to eat, it was standing on sea salt and you cant help but eat it off the plate aswell so get some additional salt which was needed,

followed by home smoked salmon with a glass cloche full of smoke, lovely smell no taste, the other half had roast foie gras rhubarb, again beautifully cooked and very tasty, very small portion and no spoon to eat the something milk i think served with it, my bowl was also a little wobbly on the table

Mains suckling pig for him, cooked to perfection again, lacked seasoning again in potato salad very tasty pig not much of a portion though, i had veal a very big portion compared to the pig purple sprouting brocoli and a pure beetroot puree which was spot on, wild garlic, best dish of the night

pre dessert brulee type thing in an egg cup, where have we seen that before

dessert chocolate for the man, very good indeed with porridge oats and bay leaf ice cream and i had lemon slices with thyme which was ok, did note the apple charlotte to share both tables next to us had and that was a massive portion maybe to make up for the smaller portions earlier in the meal both tables commented on this, good expresso and chocolates thmye again and a little packet to take away which was in a very tacky package, would of been nice touch if done a little better

Overall very accomplished cooking, could clearly see the ramsay influences, just felt it need to come together a bit more with service, seasoning and a little bit of thought into how people are going to eat the dishes, all of this with a bottle of reisling and a very good argentinian malbac, a glass of juracon about £166

Sorry forget the cheese 5 british cheeses, colston basset outstanding of a good board

[Alexanders at Limpsfield]

hi everyone

looking through old threads this afternoon!

Cannot believe what has happenned to this restaurant, has anybody seen the website recently www.alexanders-limpsfield.co.uk

Possibly one of the worst restaurant websites and menu i have ever seen, even poorer than when they first opened, at least the food looked intresting then!

Does anyone know what happenned to the first chef? where he has gone? what happenned?

Lizzy

[Swanage, Dorset]

Going down to the flat in swanage easter weekend,

Any suggestions of where to eat, upmarket and casual?

Thanks in advance

[Wild Honey, London]

Hello Everybody

Went to Wild honey this week for the second time, after visiting once in its early stages, which was a very good meal, i couldnt get into arbutus, which i love so thought i d visit again.

Unfortunatly i wish i hadnt!

not a very friendly welcome when the guy eventually decided to look up and talk to us, then sat at a table with no more than 6inches either side, definatly crammed in more than at the beginning, and saying that a lot of turning tables going on, very noisely around us.

Ordered some wine when Mr Wizzy asked if he could and it was nice bottle of reisling, I had smoked eel, tasty but 2 mouthfuls only, also one of three items which was more expensive on the bill than on the menu, the other half had foie gras terrine £15.95 which came out in 2 triangles from the end of the terrine, the terrine was tasty but expensive, a bit stange aswell that tables next to us got a nice slice, i forgot to say bread and butter good, the large crack out of the slate the butter was served on not so great!

Mains of bavette and venison, both over cooked, we were not even asked how we wanted them cooked, also mentioned by the very well to do ladies dining next to us,

The wine again with the main course, ordered with a waitress after asking if we could, name and bin number, bought over by a very arrogant somelier/who knows what he was? Who told us we did not need to taste as it was fantastic,he preceded to poor, it may well have been, but for nearly 3 times the price you would hope so, he was politely informed it was the wrong wine and scuttled off to replace mumbling under his breath

Cheese, 2 of the smallest pieces i ve seen, in good condition though,

dessert honey ice cream lovely, blood orange and sabayon very poor

No Coffee, not any change from £155 No goodbye or thank you from the 2 guys behind the bar, management of some kind, so to sum up after a restaurant winning a michelin star in the same week, very poor, too many people in shirts doing not a lot, basic manners forgotton and no attention to detail, it looked to me like they were just getting through the covers, i will be back to arbutus many times, never had a bad experience, but this disappointed me greatly, eating out to me is the whole experience!!

One of my first posts, i hope you do not all find it negative, i have many positive ones to add, hopefully my writing skills will improve to

Lizzy

[Dinner in Surrey/Greater London?]

went to Drakes on Friday evening, very disappointing. 

The main dining room looks like it was designed by my mum, and decorated by me. 

Not a bad looking menu, but it couldn't deliver: chewy duck, dull mullet and oceans of spume frothed over everything.  Beef cheek quite good but not enough to prevent us feeling that the place is a bit of a dog.

The winelist has more holes than a stripper's fishnets; my local wetherspoons has a better selection.

Why on earth this place has a michelin star is beyond me.  It's everything we should be turning our back on in restaurants.

Most hated:  the waiter blatantly interrupting us mid conversation to routinely ask if everything was OK.

If you want somewhere decent to eat in Surrey, try the French table in Surbiton - that's a cracker.

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Or the Westerly in Reigate, very good unfussy food just got a bib gourmand and won remy martin best restaurant award, or one of there awards, think its been mentioned on another thread, Jay Raynor also gave it a great review, Drakes use to be very good a few years back

Thats my first post after being an avid observer, good afternoon everybody