felixhirsch

And what lunches! My last meal here was stunning again. There was a lot of game on the tasting, and some stunning scallops. It couldn't be better, and I absolutely adored it. The best dishes this time were the salmagundy, the wigeon and turbot. The rest was exceptional too, with the only less shiny course a few slices of raw scallops topped with Stephen's ham and apple mousse. The apple was too tart and dominated this little dish completely. Apart from that, it was a stunning meal, which I hope will be just as good when I go in a good week. All in all, I can only recommend to get a few people together, order the tasting (must be done in advance), bring lots of nice wine and have a brilliant time.

I don't think I had the best meal of my life here in late January, but the finest I've had at the Ledbury so far, and one of the very good meals of this year. We also had quite an extended menu, with lots of stuff that wasn't on the written alc, and most was just brilliant. To pick favs is difficult, as pretty much all of the courses except for the lamb were just excellent. What was great was a bergamot tart, which was the strongest dessert of the night. This rare and precious citrus fruit has just quite a bizarre (in a good way) taste, which one hardly sees in desserts. In addition we had some very drinkable wines, which were unbelievably well-priced. Their wine list is just unreal (at least some of the pricing is). I can';t wait to go back, and will do in a bit of time.

Sorry for the late reply Phil, Yes there are some great moments here. My problem with such inconsistencies is the price at which they come, and the fact that it is in Paris. In this city one can each better and more consistently better food in a large number of restaurants, therefore I will give it quite a bit of time until I will go back.

I went to Mosconi back when I was in Luxembourg in mid-January, and was a little shocked. This is a 1* place at best, as the food seemed imperfectly executed and rested on products that were mediocre. If one looks at the pics, one finds that the dishes are very simple. Without top quality products such food doesn;'t work, and here the quality is not what it should be. Otherwise the place is beautiful, very elegant and romantic, but the (mainly) boring food was a little disappointing. Otherwise I went to a Chinese place in Septfontaines called La Cuisine de Zheng, which was very good. I wouldn't say it beats Hakkasan, but the food was not bad at all and quite authentic, according to my Chinese dining companion. That is much more enjoyable an evening than Mosconi, and less pretentious. All I can say is that Luxembourg is best avoided in terms of serious food, but one has more than enough alternatives in the area.

I don;t know if I would go as far as saying that it is the best meal of this year, but it certainly was a highly enjoyable and very good one. THe olive oil was good, but I didn't really notice anything special (can't remember anything, and didn't take notes)

I can only support that! I had a stunning meal here too. Not everything was perfect, but out of 14 odd courses, there were at least a good 10 that I loved. At 65euro for dinner, that is unbeatable! At least in Paris with food of such a high level. The food was incredibly beautiful, tasty, interesting, and different, which I hugely enjoyed. All of the rest: wine list, service and decor are at least as charming, and make this really worth checking out. Book early though, as you won;t get in if you give it no less than a couple of months.

From a meal a couple of weeks ago at Le Cinq, I was left with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Briffard did some incredibly tasty food, like the pig's trotters, ears and foie gras "tartine", and the mignardises, but on the other hand, the main, amuses, and a little intermezzo weren't all that memorable. The dessert itself was good, but not much more, and I thought that one will maybe have to give him a little more time, or let him fine tune his dishes for a littler longer to see real 3* food. I was only on the lunch menu, which probably changes the perspective quite a bit, but the general aspects of the cooking were very present even on this budget version. THis being said, I will certainly return here more or less soon, to try the other options. A few of the dishes really do make me want to come back.

Thank you! Yes it really is worth a visit I must say.

YOu won't need a tie, and you most certainly won't get the fall menu. THey had a different one, when I went 2 weeks ago. That means no Pithiviers, but possibly a magical pig's trotters and ears dish.

Wissler showed what he is capable of again in late December, when I returned to Vendome. Along the 25 courses (we added one, as we were scared that 24 might not suffice), there was an incredibly high level of perfection. Nothing was less than excellent, and I would not want to miss more than two or three of the 25 courses... With Bau, Wissler is the best in Germany, without doubt. A must visit for anyone who wants to know how far one can go with food.

Bau is still on top form, is stil one of the best in Germany, Europe and elsewhere, and gets better and better. On my last visit in mid-December, I particularly enjoyed a grandiose scallop dish, a fantastically light, powerful oyster/hamachi/sea cucumber dish, and a great crab starter. The rest was no worse than those, but these were the stand outs. Wine-wise, the menu is equally interesting, and very, very fairly priced for a restaurant with a * or more. I can only recommend this place to anyone, no matter where you are.

What you missed in Luxembourg around new year? Not much, everything that is somewhat good is closed at that time, be it in Luxembourg or Germany. Not a single place opens, except for Bau, who closes only at the beginning of January.

I'm going back in January, and will def ask for some of those dishes! They sound pretty damn good.

As my first meal was that good, I decided to go back shortly afterwards, and treated my sister to a lunch. Again, Brett cooked a faultless, fantastic meal, which really shows that he deserves that 2nd star. Service and wines were equally good, and I am already waiting for my return once I come back to London. Two dishes blew me away this time: A pigeon dish, which was very complex but worked and a turbot and scallop dish. Both showed top notch products, perfect execution and a very interesting and unique conception. Let's see how far Brett can go this year...

Howard, I can only speak for my experiences, which were all very positive so far. It might have changed a thing that Phil was in the kitchen at each of the meals I've had, although a brigade like this shouldn't let a difference appear. The cheeseboard is changing at the moment, and the guy in charge of it was pretty good. NOt quite as passionate as the amazing cheese specialist at the Greenhouse, but he knew all he needs to.

Had another fantastic lunch at the Square. Phil Howard showed what one cant produce in a £35 lunch menu (with a few other extras from the normal menu, and a few more not on it). The venison Wellington was fantastic, as was the John Dory, and woodcock. In general the meal was amongst the finest I've had in London, and worth going back for, which will soon happen. I don;'t know how to phrase it, but this is one of the most consistently good, perfect, enjoyable restaurants in London. Here's the article with pics.

Had a surprisingly good meal here a few weeks back. Save for one horribly bad dish (the only "Modern-Asian" one), we had a pretty strong meal. Apart from slightly overcooking a pheasant breast, I can see why they have 2*. MOre would be a little too generous on Mr. Bibendum's side, but the whole thing seemed like a good 2* experience. As many others, I believe that £48,60 lunch deal to be very good for what you get, and worth a try. Here's the write-up.

I can see why you might not like Ducasse that much Julien, but to put the job of Christophe MOret's brigade on the same level as what is served at Ami Louis goes a little too far, to be even remotely close to a somewhat objective appreciation of the food. In terms of techniques you would be surprised how straightforward the kitchen there runs. Few are the restaurants using as little sous vide, texturas, or other gimmicky things as ADPA. Everything (except for example something like a tendron) is cooked in the old school way. To say that roasting a sea bass and serving it with citrus fruit and oronges (no mistake, it's a kind of mushroom also called amanite des cesars) is not really making you feel rich. UNless you know what mushrooms you are eating, which 95% of the guests there don't, as goes with a number of other dishes. But even there, it is not anymore pretentious than, say Ledoyen, or all of the other grand restaurants. In the end these discussions will always stay where they are, as some will continue to loathe this cooking, whilst others, if they seem to be a minority in this forum, will still love that food.

Possibly, but since Moret has come there, the style has changed, for the better as far as I can tell. He started introducing more citrus fruits into dishes, using less posh cuts of meat, and doing dishes that just deliver in terms of stunning product quality, and all that needs to be there. It is quite bizarre, because a number of chefs all say that the restaurant, that continuously wows them is this place, whilst lots of bloggers seem to despise anything remotely attached to Ducasse. I don't see why luxury is a problem, at least if you are to pay such prices. After all, if you're paying 70+ euro for a starter, you might at least expect to get more than a beetroot (depending on where you are obviously). I don't know what is pretentious about perfect ingredients, perfectly conceived, executed and presented dishes, great services (more relaxed than in any other high-end place in Paris I've been to) and a great room. Although, the latter is obviously very posh, but so are the others. I can't figure out what pretentious seasoning means, so if you can explain that, it would be great.

Antonin wanted me to try a grouse pithiviers, and I asked him to do a lievre a la royale, so I returned here in late November. Overall the food was very good again. All of it was on good 1* level, but there were too many problems to give more. Langoustines were not bad, only a little mushy, which is a pity, especially if Phil Howard can get such brilliant ones, a few blocks away. Sea bass, had the same problem, although the dish was great, however the hare was absolutely DIVINE. This was serious stuff, nothing for someone, who doesn't like strong tastes, but if you do, this will blow you away. It is the fairly classical Ali Bab version, a little re-worked, and made lighter. After this we had the pithiviers, which was overcooked (this inconsistency during busy services gets problematic for the restaurant), but could have otherwise been stunning. Cheese was stunning, as was a lemon/basil tart. Wines were superb, and provided a worthy partner for the food. Ronan Sayburn really is a fantastic sommelier, who knows his stuff. Here's the full review, with pics.

Julot, to say that Ducasse does not deserve three stars might be a little harsh. You might not like the approach of it, or the fact that it is part of a group, or even the fact that the food revolves around some more or less beaten tracks, but what is on the plate is without doubt perfect in every sense. WIth the great room and service, this is without doubt a very fine three star.

yea, I'm not even sure if they didn't misinterpret something on that programme or so. After all, if you go by those standards, you really would starve, as any professional kitchen will not be innocent in terms of jokes, remarks and so on...

Well, Gareth, I don't know if that is questionable, but it only shows how much of a perfectionist he is. However, if that troubles you, rest assured that there are women in the reception. YOu would miss out on some great food, if you don't go. It really is worth it. Will go back to it in January or so

Had an equally good experience here. Everything was perfectly cooked, well seasoned and faultless. But on top of this, the pasta was clearly 2-3* quality, and far, far better than anything else in this country. A piece of foie gras was also textbook perfect quality, as was a great dessert and a pheasant. All in all, a meal here is worth a visit! Michelin should have at least one more place to list on the star list. http://felixhirsch.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/apsleys-at-the-lanesborough-a-heinz-beck-restaurant-london/

I'm quite interested in this place in general, but would anyone be able to tell me if they still rush people out as soon as possible? If it is the way they play, I can't be asked to go there. If however, you have enough time to eat in a relaxed way, then it would warrant a visit.