david goodfellow

DId you go from London? We took the train from Victoria and it took 1.20h + 10min cab ride. All in all, reasonable for such a meal. You're right, the pricing is just unreal. Looking forward to the details. ← London? I wish. We live fifty miles north of Birmingham, everywhere worth dining at is a journey for us. Still there are very few disappointments, so we accept the travel problem. Just enjoyed a piece of the stunning red onion and rosemary focaccia that they gave us as a doggy bag

Felix is right, it is worth a special journey. Our drive there today took nearly four hours, and the stop- start motorway journey back, another five and a half. If you asked me if I would do it again next week, no. Next month, perhaps. Its a heck of a day trip for us and really deserves an overnight stay in the area. If it were my local we would eat their twice a week, its that good, and the pricing is perhaps the best for quality anywhere. Will write it up soon

Do you specifically require dinner or would lunch be ok? The best value by far is at lunch.

According to Big Hospitality, head chef at Midsummer, Mark Pointon is joining Alimentum. Anyone know who is replacing him? http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/item/3378

Richard, I think a weekly visit to eat his food would be in order if we lived in Edinburgh. I can categorically claim not to be on the payroll, or receive any special treatment, but admit to being a bit of an obsessive of late ← You do right David! Its great that you enjoy your eating. Edinburgh now seems to boast an excellent draw, when it comes to decent restaurants. Certainly wish I could visit more often. Wisharts is still the place for me. Enjoyed some grand food there, although the portions can be a wee bit on the tame side! Also, No 1 at the Balmoral is definately worth going to. Again have enjoyed it there too. Not sure about the Plummed horse though. For saying it recieved a star, I wasn't impressed one bit. To my reckoning it was no more than the michelin looking after their own, so to speak. Would be interested in hearing others comments on this place. So wheres next on the agenda? You certainly get about a bit!!! ← I might just beat you to the Sportsman, I know you fancy going, all the reports are great including Andy Haylers recent visit http://www.andyhayler.com/food_blog_view.asp?id=188 Its still a heck of a treck though, over 400 miles round trip......... still

Richard, I think a weekly visit to eat his food would be in order if we lived in Edinburgh. I can categorically claim not to be on the payroll, or receive any special treatment, but admit to being a bit of an obsessive of late

"I tried to get a table at Purnell's .....but........well,.....Thats another story" So said the "suit" at the table for eight enjoying a pre lunch drink. "Still this place has a Michelin star as well" As the table next to us was in earshot I tried to listen a bit, for more of the banter, but the menu was more appealing This was our second somewhat overdue visit, having really enjoyed our dinner on the previous. Drinks in the comfy lounge were slow in arriving, as indeed were the menus. Part of the reason was the singular drinks list, surely they can print two? Pricing is high, indeed grasping when compared with The Kitchin, where two campari sodas can be had for roughly the price of one here. The lunch menu is somewhat of a true bargain, especially if you like wine because half a bottle is included in the price. When you add in all of the extras like an amuse, pre dessert and petit fours you begin to see excellent value. Almost a bakers dozen in the kitchen including the main man Luke Tipping who was at the pass. A little wave of acknowledgement was appreciated as we sat at one of the tables close to the glass walled partition looking into where all the action was. The main room is in the form of a conservatory with great views over the garden, its very light and spacious between the tables. Bread is home made daily and is high quality with a choice of five types, its all very more-ish. Amuse was a shot glass of something? with curry foam, all I remember was it was tasty. Slow cooked belly of Suckling Pig, seared scallop, five spice, cashew nuts, bok choi. Risotto of Lichfield asparagus, crispy duck egg, smoked oil, aged parmesan. Home salted Cod, tomato, courgettes, preserved lemons, black olives,& thyme Roasted spring Chicken, salsify chips, foie gras, green salad. Chocolate ravioli, cherries, kirsch ice cream. Thai mango crumble, exotic sorbet. The Suckling Pig was wonderful, the scallop was divine, as best as you may imagine. The whole dish was excellent The asparagus and duck egg were typical, tasty, but lacked seasoning. As it was salt and pepper were on the table, as I think it should be. The chicken did not appeal to me so I went for the cod. This was a big mistake as the chicken was far better. It was fabulous, loads of flavour, as good as chicken gets. The salsify chips were top notch, and the foie gras added the extra zing to the dish. Like Birmingham on the day, my dish lacked sunshine. I've had this dish loads of times on the Cote d'Azur where the courgettes and tomatoes actually taste of the type, sadly we have to put up with tasteless import tomatoes with their thick inedible skin and bland inards. The salt cod was ok-ish, but the preserved lemon jarred a bit. Pre dessert was a very tasty donut on a stick, sitting atop a bed of apple? puree. We dodged the mango crumble, it did not look appealing, and had the chocolate ravioli which was a fitting end to the meal. We did not take coffee, however we were served the wonderful petit fours, which consisted of a selection of chocolates ( delish) and macaroons. All in all a pretty good meal, poor choice on my part, made it stand out for criticism, some of it was excellent, especially the chicken, and the suckling pig. Worth a visit? Most definitely. 2 set lunch inc 2 half bottles wine £60 2 Manzanilla £11.50 service charge £8.94 Severn trent tap water FOC

Small article in Metro lamenting Manchester's loss to another great City, of the Maestro PK. http://manchesterblog.metro.co.uk/2009/05/...manchester.html

One contributor pointed out that it is less than three weeks until the proposed opening day: hardly enough time for any ideas to be utilised. However, not bad PR for a new place. I do have quite a morbid fascination for the thread; it is a really interesting insight into what people want in a restaurant. If I assume the WoM site represents a fair slice of the dining public, it is clear the British public get the restaurants they deserve. Which is quite sad. We don't live far away so may take a trip and report back. The menu seems limited and affected i.e. the water buffalo steak. Today Matthew Norman (in The Guardian) gives a rave review to "At the Chapel" in Bruton small village 30 miles from Mat's Beaminster restaurant: it will be interesting to see the restaurants compare, one already successfully catering for village locals the other aspiring too. ← I hope Mat takes the best advice on offer, that is to open asap, don't spend a lot on the place, that can come later. He needs to start taking money very quickly as overheads are relentless. Looks like he has a terrific amount of support out there, including moi, lets hope it all works out for him

The drinks are on you then?

Well, well, the speculation was indeed correct, due to a busy day I nearly missed this tasty morsel. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_...icle6395950.ece

Review in todays Scotsman by Richard Bath http://living.scotsman.com/features/Restau...rgh-.5317551.jp

He's been twice in recent weeks, we were not that impressed on our visit I have to say. There must be a cheap way for preparing sous vide recipes. I know there is a very lengthy thread on the subject on here, but not read it fully. Glyn's dish is now on the back burner, so to speak, Nigel's hotpot is getting the treatment today, minus of course the Lonk lamb, I'm using local, but its perhaps just as good. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...eho_91265.shtml Cooked Marcus Waring,s version a couple weeks back it was delish http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...ith_81803.shtml Hope I still fancy it later on the sun is beating down, looks like a scorcher

Looks like Paul has got a great discount on Lethicin............ ← I think this is Pauls wonderful attempt at introducing healthy eating to high end dining http://www.howtodothings.com/health-fitnes...t-from-lecithin

One of the first newspaper reviews on offer today. http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/food/arti...2&in_page_id=26

Just stumbled on these wonderful photies of Pauls food. Food porn at its best http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=21212+rest...erer_searched=1

I know that I have been banging on a bit about Glyn's cooking recently, but it would seem justified by his fish course. No doubt it will be on his menu soon, at hopefully not too big a supplement For those who can't get there, or for that matter those who can not wait, here is the recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...ish_91048.shtml I just may give this a try myself

How does the lunch pricing work? Is £20 for two courses, with price building up to the £60 for the full 21212 shooting match? ← I never asked the question. It looks that way on the website, although being lunch it surely has to be quite a bit cheaper than dinner. Anybody been for lunch yet? A report would be appreciated Ps Thought I might give em a call, but they close Mondays.

It was magical on our first and last visit, and every one in between. It will always be special, glad you enjoyed it. I think it was always expensive, but we never came away feeling in anyway shortchanged As strange as it may seem on our long journey back from 21212 we discussed our memorable visits and wondered if they still put the little pastry fish shaped decoration on the edge of the plate? it was a bit of a signature thing with them.

Be great to get some recent reports. Sharrow Bay was our introduction to fine dining, quite a number of years ago now. In fact part of our honeymoon was spent at Sharrow when the fantastically hospitable Brian Sack and Francis Coulson were in charge. I think many people will have fond memories of dining/staying here. Fingers crossed for some recent visits.

Just stumbled across this wonderful bit of historic insight by Tony Naylor. Missed this one originally. The comments are illuminating http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wor...whenchefsgrowup

There is no point in front of house not quickly and effectively dealing with a bad dish, the repercussions can be swingeing, especially if the customers are bloggers Really poor show on the waiters side, it should have been compted, at the very least the manager should have been informed. I had a bad dish at a mid market Italian a few months back, it was whisked away, no fuss whatsoever, end of. Imagine how they must feel though, when the punter cocks the job with a cremated beef request. Still no fuss is the best way forward I'm sure you will go back, it surely can't happen again?

Welcome aboard. Glad you enjoyed it Nice to get your take on the "white stuff" We could'n't work it out, perhaps your right. There were a lot of flavours going on that were, little teases on the palate, but we could not get them all. Most definitely part of Pauls skill is making one think a bit more about the food. I asked the man himself for a bit of a breakdown on the dishes, but he playfully shrugged his shoulders and said " its no good asking me". A lot of thought has gone into the detail, and you mentioned the (imo) stunning little cheese knives, which are made by Dudson a pottery company, that Katie really liked Equally the glassware, the wine glasses cup into the hand perfectly. Portion size is a bit close to my heart, I'm a trencherman, although my wife reckons as I am ageing that she can out eat me now. I know where you are coming from, we did not leave peckish, perhaps on reflection a bit more of the main would be welcome. That said however the cheese course alone is quite filling(if you like cheese of course) We dined at L'Enclume very recently and really enjoyed it. We took lunch at the Kitchin (see my post) on Thursday and again really enjoyed it Not been to Wisharts, but will on our next visit, we did however pass it when we went to the Kitchin, its not the best of sites is it? Leaving the food to one side, and comparing the three places that I have dined at, by far, and I mean a country mile the most glamorous and totally special in every way is 21212. Its just stunning.

2008 winner James Nathan has not been quite so focused on a restaurant, although he still wants the chef part badly. http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008...hef-winner.html

Just an update on Mat, I almost feel that I have a vested interest At the very least he will have his own restaurant, thats one of the boxes ticked. http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009...-in-dorset.html