Harters

Well, we finally got there, some six months after we'd originally planned to be there. Mrs H's health prompted a cancellation in October. The view out over Ullswater allows you to forgive almost all of the very few little quibbles that one may have about the food here. That is, once youve allowed the view to distract you from the hotels decoration which, if one was being charitable, one might describe as fussy. No surface is left unadorned by knick-knacks; no wall unfestooned by prints, pictures, plates and the like; no opportunity to hang a tassle is lost. It's not a place that's going to suit everyone. But it is likely to suit folk who are not necessarily in their first flush of youth. So we were fine. A "smart casual" dress code is advertised but it's still very much a place where most men will be wearing jacket and tie. Not me though - smart casual is smart casual, innit. The food here is not cutting edge. Its soft, gentle and elegant and what they do, they generally do well. In the best traditions of the country house, dinner is 7.30 for 8 and you join the other guests for aperitifs and canapés in one of the lounges. That said, Ive always thought of a canapé as something you can pick up and you dont need a fork for. Not here and the offering was just odd. A few prawns, dressed with marie rose sauce and a quenelle of guacamole. Very nice but not a canapé in my book. The starters were, perhaps, the best plates of the meal. Saddle of rabbit sat on a potato pancake, which in turn sat on some wilted spinach and wild mushrooms. Very tasty bit of bunny. The other starter saw three scallops quickly sautéed and topped with a strip of crisp pancetta; a few asparagus spears and a drizzle of a vermouth and lemon sauce. Here, everything perfectly cooked with the sauce doing its job of bringing the other elements together. The next course is soup or fish. We both took the plaice which came with a smoked haddock kedgeree. Fish was soft and bland (it is plaice, after all), the kedgeree providing a bit of oomph. Then comes a spiced berry sorbet a bit too much dessert-like this one. Mains were both good, although not faultless. Beef fillet came cooked exactly as requested and was topped with a raviolo of oxtail (powerful flavour here) roasted shallots, cherry tomato. The red wine sauce was overly sweet and detracted. An excess of sweetness was also present in the other main, in the form of their own black pudding, which accompanied pork fillet and some belly pork (no crackling), cabbage, potatoes, apple & sage sauce. Good plate of pig, in my view. We took cheese as the next course (the menu has it at the end in the British style). About 10 British & Irish on offer. Between us, I think we tasted almost all of them all in perfect condition. They came with biscuits and celery who needs more. Sharrow Bay claims to have invented the sticky toffee pudding so that was my dessert decision made. Without doubt, this is the finest version Ive tasted light, yet deliciously rich. Perfect caramel sauce. Less than perfect, was a rhubarb jelly with vanilla custard and ginger snaps. There simply wasnt the sharpness that you expect and want from rhubarb. Coffee was served in the lounge along with indifferent petit fours. Dinner costs £70, although we were staying for two nights on a dinner inclusive basis. And herein lies the major issue. Come the second evening, we look at the menu and see that little has changed from the previous. The starters are identical. Plaice still forms the fish course (kedgeree replaced by brandade). The mains and desserts unchanged, except the pork replaced by lamb. Now, Im not saying that we struggled to find something to eat but it was very much second choices. I dont necessarily expect a complete menu change every night but even local bistros manage to offer more choice than this. That said, the benefit of staying two nights is that you get to eat two breakfasts. Sharrow Bay may well have invented the sticky toffee pudding description; it may well have also invented the phrase Full English. Faultless. Service had also been faultless both from hotel and restaurant staff.

I had dinner in Leeds last night. I was staying out in Headingley prior to doing soem research at the University library. Mrs H and I should have been on hols in Cyprus this week but we'd had to cancel last month due to health reasons (not that we'd have been flying ahywhere this week of course). It seemed appropriate then to book a table for myself at the Greek Cypriot Olive Tree on Otley Road (another branch is GFG listed). I’d made a reservation and, even though 20 minutes early, was warmly welcomed. Small tables were available in the back room but, though the place was busy, a four-top in the main restaurant was offered and quickly reset just for me. Grilled halloumi cheese was one starter and was fine. A bit bland as cheaper halloumi can be but OK. Perhaps more disappointing, because I expected more, was the melintzanosalata. More familiar to me as the Middle Eastern moutabel or baba ghanoush, the aubergine dip looked good, with some texture still remaining. However, it was bland - none of the smokiness that you get from charring the aubergine skin; nothing of the taste of the advertised tahini. Pitta was, however, hot and fresh. My main was a perfectly cooked lamb kebab. Tasty lamb cooked just short of medium and which came with flavoursome rice. A side salad of lettuce, cucumber , tomato and pepper was dressed at the table with olive oil & lemon. Certainly, this was a pleasant solitary meal which was served with efficiency and friendliness. If I lived locally, I might be something of a regular – but I suspect I’d always wish there was somewhere a little bit better in the neighbourhood.

Happy to accept that my cynicism last week was unwarranted. I wonder if this means Aiden Byrne's star is waning - can't see him being asked back a third time. Mrs H is starting to mutter that we still havnt been to the Church Green even though it's just down the road. I'm starting to mutter about the bleeding prices.

Interesting they're getting asparagus. There was a little item in the paper yesterday saying that, because of the bad weather, they werent expecting it to be available until 1/5. Evesham's a good area for farm shop "finds". I seem to recall there is (or at least, was) a couple of crackers along the road from the town to the M5. Mainly in season veg, of course, but some absolutely belting genuine home-made pickles and chutnies.

Indeed - the Miss Potter suite will set you back upwards of £500 a night including dinner. Mrs H thought I was worth it.

I'll stick to Middle Eastern (as I don't live in London and only visit as a tourist). The Noura group have about five restaurants offering very reliable Lebanese. Slightly cheaper, the Maroush group have a number of places around Edgeware (sp?) Road - again reliable. As a stand-alone restaurant, I was also quite impressed with the Lebanese offering at Ishbilia in Knightsbridge (although I was less than thrilled with the closeness of the table spacing and the very fast speed with which I was in and out - eating at around £1 a minute spent there. If you're unfamiliar with "traditional" British food, you may like Rules (I love it). All the places have websites.

Couple of years since we were there - our last "big" anniversary where we took their most expensive suite for a couple of nights (great outdoor hot tub). Like David, I thought the food was quite safe, described as Anglo/French it played very much to its Gallic side. They make the mistake of having some old review cuttings on display - mistake when it's several years later and menu items are unchanged. We're hopefully popping up to Cumbria soon but Holbeck won't be on the list.

PEN-Y-BRYN, COLWYN BAY As you'll have seen upthread, I'm normally a fan of the Brunning & Price places but here's one to miss, based on today's lunch. Usual B & P set-up - lots of tables big enough for a large group, decent looking menu, good service and so on. But then it was downhill. Fishcake starter had barely any fish. Potted rabbit & belly pork with pickle and toast read very well - and it could have tasted quite nice - except for the usual B & P practice of serving most starters fridge cold. Mince meat pie looked nice and had some decent taste but everything was swimming in "canteen gravy". So the perhaps once crisp chips werent. My main - braised lamb shoulder - sat on a slop of tasteless root veg. The gravy was again unpleasantly out in force. Best thing on the plate was some dauphinoise potato which had managed to avoid being drowned. Poor do this - I've eaten worse food in the factory canteen when I was working but I've also eaten better.

Well, I'm having to watch every night this week, what with it being north west. Cynical ba&tard that I am, I have doubts about how kosher the whole exercise really is - and therefore I'll suggest that this year it's Aidan Byrne's turn to win the heat. As a more general comment, has the programme now got a format of having the third chef there really just making up the numbers. Last week, now this week.

I rarely eat inside the M25, although I do eat quite a bit outside and I find the GFG quite consistent and reliable. So, for instance, I know the standard of a Cooking 3 in my home area around Cheshire and have rarely found that a similarly scored place elsewhere is much adrift from that.

In the sheer awfulness that has been the Masterchef commentary, I'd forgotten how deeply irritating Jenny Bond is and how much repetetive padding out GBM has. I think I may start watching just the Friday programme. Otherwise it really is 60 minutes progamming dragged out to 150.

Off to a reasonably good start, I reckon.

Welcome to the board, Dave. Look forward to reading your thoughts after the meal - as you'll have gathered it's a favourite place of mine.

An interesting application of inflation? Pam's meal five years ago costing £97.50. Today, the similar meal - £150. I feel Pam got the best of this.

Anything that takes my mind off the dreary repetitive nonsense that is currently Masterchef is fine with me.

I went to have a nosy at Shiraz as recommended upthread. No menu posted outside so I dont know what's what but it was packed with middle eastern looking folk (not always a recc, I know). However, only a curry was going to do. Went to Rose Murree (pun presumably intended) almost opposite the Shiraz. A cut above your run-of-the-mill curry house which, apparently, used to be "the place" in the area but is now losing business to the ever expanding Akbar chain (which was literally next to my hotel. Food has a Kashmiri spin so I went for a recommended masala fish (nice spicing "burnt" on to the fish) as a starter and the lamb rogan as a main (this much more delicately spiced than the usual offerings). Rice and tandoori roti to keep upo my carb intake. They're making a bit of an effort - proper napkins, nice white serving dishes, friendly service (they must be used to single "business" diners, as a newspaper and magazines were offered). I liked it.

Thanks, mate. Jan is still raving about her two fave dishes - the scallops and the lemon meringue - and has insisted I mention them (I wrote my earlier post without consulting).

I've Googled and you're right. Apparently they grow in the wild in Scotland.

It’s a goodly while since we were last at Fraiche – not since it gained its Michelin star. The cooking has developed since then – now described as “modern European” rather than “modern French”. Flavours are more subtle and more rounded; the whole menu comes together more easily as a single entity; yet there are dishes still to surprise and enjoy. As on the last visit, we’d opted for the “bespoke menu” – the multi-course surprise tasting affair. It was therefore with some surprise and great pleasure to be told we'd been upgraded to "menu black" (thanks, Marc). It gets mentioned briefly upthread as, I think, a still unactivated part of the website. But in food terms you get extra dishes which allows Marc to dabble a bit in even more creative plates. I presume "menu black" is as yet only available to folk "in the know" or folk who Marc takes a shine to. For the amateur reviewer, this sort of meal poses a dilemma. Do you take pen and paper and faithfully record every mouthful of the four hour meal? Or do you rely more on an overview with passing mention of dishes that struck home, knowing you’ll miss much out? We opted for the latter. Early on in the meal there was a “fake oyster”. A leaf of some sort, presented on a serving dish of polished stones, with “blobs” of flavourings. Eaten in a single mouthful, it tasted as much of oyster as you’re likely to get without eating oyster. Clever. Bread is a strong feature – appearing as a course on two separate occasions – four different small rolls on each occasion – all of them winners. Marc’s take on tapas was, I think, the final offering of might be thought of as the “starters”. Three different mouthfuls, representing his growing interest in Spanish and, in particular, Catalan cooking. Chorizo & tomato jelly; watermelon “sandwich” and a lovely miniature churro to be dunked in the little dish of buttermilk. Then came two fish courses. Mullet – crispy and packed with flavour; poached sole much more delicate. Both excellent and, for me, the standouts amongst everything we ate. Rabbit with morels is a new dish on the menu and I reckon it’ll become a firm favourite. The mushrooms strongly flavoured yet not overpowering the soft delicate taste and texture of the meat. I took an additional cheese course. An excellent selection of almost exclusively French cheeses that are, clearly, well cared for. There was then a range of desserts, of which my favourite was a lemongrass (?) panna cotta topped with sour cherry. God, it was all good! Service throughout was faultless, efficient yet friendly. If I have one minor whinge, it was room layout. The only other diners were a party of seven or eight. They’d been seated at two tables facing each other (the diners seated on banquettes against opposite walls) with the walkthrough area between them – meant because of the distance between them, conversation levels would louder than would perhaps otherwise have been and was a bit intrusive.

Glasshouse at Worcester? Not "fine" and no longer with Shaun Hill but, according to the GFG, cooking is still Shaunesque. No personal experience but a mate mentions Mallory Court at Leamington (28 miles)

Evesham's "down south" as far as I'm concerned. How far do you fancy travelling from there? John (writing to you from the year 1825)

Yes, please, David. I was wondering if it was going to be worth the schlep. There is a Chester steakhouse thread for you to add it to. The Chester@large restaurant forum gives it a good mention.

I wouldnt normally tip an Indian buffet. Of course I make an exception for Nawaab in Levenshulme. Well, it looks like I'm going to have to make an exception for the GRAND BUFFET, corner of Princess and Whitworth Streets. Food quality is on par with the "curry cafes" in the Northern Quarter,IMO. Usual poppadums and chutney to start. Nice crispy onion bhaji. Not so nice uncrispy samosa. A range of mains - couple of lamb dishes (keema/peas and another with koftas - both perfectly OK) couple of chicken (didnt try these - the tikka massala was a very lurid colour) - and four veggie things , including a good chana daal. £6.50 gets you thr all-you-can-shovel-down food. Another £1.50 for unlimited fizzy drinks.

I was surprised how busy the place was. We've been to the Manc one on a number of occasions and there'd been few punters. Last night, we'd only been able to get an early (7pm) table. I've previously thought this was to do with "London prices". With everything separately priced, it's comparitively easy to rack up a thirty quid dinner that's just steak and chips when it comes down to it. Maybe there is now some adjustment for places outside the south east as the steaks at Manc now come with chips or salad in the pricing - something of a saving when a mixed salad is priced at £4.75.

GAUCHO, ST MARY'S STREET I haven’t been to a branch of Gaucho for some months. Last time was in the summer and it was the Richmond branch, where I had a distinctly average meal. Therefore it was with some trepidation that I suggested a trip to the Manchester one as part of the nephew’s 18th birthday celebrations. I reckoned it would be the sort of food the “trainee foodie” would enjoy and, also, that he’d enjoy the buzz of the place. I just love it when Uncle John gets it right! I think the room’s great. Modern, sleek and slick - yet still retaining features of this Grade 2 Listed Building that I vaguely remember from its original incarnation as a Methodist chapel. Service was also modern, sleek and slick throughout. They’re getting something very right here – place was packed all evening. I have a niggle with the table size – it’s damned cramped for 4 people and there seemed to be a constant need to rearrange condiments, glasses, side dishes, etc. Some good bread was brought with a bowl of chimichurri sauce for dipping. Nice The nephew rated his crab cakes highly - good crabby taste. His mother thought her squid salad was OK – but to me it looked like you had to search hard for the squid. I went with the “Peruvian Shrimp Causita”. Causita? No, me neither. So I Googled it. Apparently Peruvian slang for Peruvians – so a meaningless name. And meaningless is what the dish proved to be. Supposedly a concoction of shrimp, olive, onion , chilli, smoked paprika – it proved to be just a bland mousse sort of affair. The four of us all went for steaks – 2 rumps, 2 sirloins. Well, what else are you going to have? Mine was far better than the Richmond experience (which had been a scaggy piece of meat), although my partner wasn’t at all keen on the taste of hers. She also wasn’t keen on the taste of the chips which she reckoned had been fried in very old oil. Have to say, I found mine were OK. Not OK was the béarnaise sauce – as soon as I tasted its blandness, I recalled noting after Richmond that it needed far more tarragon. Humitas are my side of choice at Gaucho and they were, as always, thoroughly enjoyable – nice sweet flavour of corn, presented wrapped in corn leaves. I was full by this time, but the other three had desserts. Two pancake orders and a vanilla flan – all reported to be tasting as expected. Good coffee finished the meal. I know it’s not the “done thing” to praise chain restaurants. I also know that meals at Gaucho are not without faults. It does, however, offer what I think is the best steak in the city centre.