Scott

you don't mean that. if anyone were self indulgent in comparison to durack it would trigger cold fusion.

this the real issue, that perhaps should not be distracted from. I think this is totally misleading, and very poor form. Regardless of what anyone's office straw poll says

Samantha, I HATE to tell YOU, but caps lock doesn't really add anything to your argument. as for your argument, if in your overly dramatic (imo) manner you consider this point to be service failure, thats fine. Do you really think though, that it would be considered total, unredeemable, irreconciled service failure by a majority of people? it's a minor point and hardly worth bringing to the nations attention

I think I agree with you Matt, and in turn Andy, I see yet another storm in a teacup. If Jay likes to pour his own wine, ok, if he insists on dining at a certain time, ok, but frankly I don't want to read about it. I utterly fail to see how this is an important part of conveying the important details of the meal to the readers. Jay, I'll happily believe that perhaps its not your intent, but this seeming petulance is getting Winner-ish.

Derek, does it concern you that the range of 3 designations is potentially too narrow? As it stands there very much seems to tiers within certain designations. In each class, there certainly seems to be "first among equals". I specifically refer to the 1 star standard where there seems to be some margin between the highest and lowest quality of food. those tapping on the door of 2* are very far removed from those who seem to be moving down out of the awards. I appreciate that any sort of system will necessitate this 'margin' to some degree, in my opinion in seems to be too wide to be entirely reliable at the single star level. is there any agitation or concern at michelin headquarters about these issue?

Tarka, the single best restaurant in Australia is Cheong Liew at the Grange in Adelaide. Rockpool is dreadful, and the flowerdrum in Melbourne is amazing. cheers s

last week: numero uno - fab trad italian clapham junction Churchill arms - great gastro pub in paxford jim thompsons - god take me now; we had booked Mim's on the kings road, but found out on the cold street, that they have moved to Kingston. One of our group commented that it was customary for a restaurant to mention that at time of booking. so we ended up in jim thompson's, first and last time.

lol cheers Garry. I see a key element however being that the guy is 20, you just do not know how a serious place like this will respond to someone like that. Are small things magnified, taken the wrong way, because ultimately you don't think they should be there? I can't see many reasons for the exchange that took place, to take place. I would not expect, nor tolerate such treatment, but you or I probably wouldn't be subject to it either. at least that's my feeling. now where is that St John thread..?

Guys, I don't post so much any more, foolishly working and doing a masters part time is killing me. However I have just read through this thread, and as always, have 2 ence to share. I think Pweaver has every damned right to express their opinion without people questioning his/her motives. I do not accept, that these critics of the critic, would be so righteous if it were just any other restaurant. Who cares what the other side of the story is, the customer is always right. I was at Gordon Ramsay about 3 weeks ago, and some very loud american ladies took exception to the no cash rule, and paid in cash requiring 8 pounds change. The waiter rushed off to the tesco, changed it, came back, but apparently took too long so this lovely and even tempered upper east side madam's proceeded to rant like there was no tomorrow. of course the restaurant apologised, they left, and whilst many eyebrows were raised around the room, that was it. Confronting customers is not on. end of story. if they upset you so much, refund their money and throw them out - invalidate their custom. However, all I can see here is someone expressing an opinion, and patronising sneering towards someone who dared not be happy with their experience. Where does this end, when the way we respond is to so brazenly question their motivations? From what I can glean our intrepid travellers are relatively young, so they are starting on the back foot anyway. I see the potential for this being an issue of stereotyping, I wonder if this table had been full of rotund, middle 50's bankers, whether any comments or attitudes from the table would have been met by the same short shrift. Maybe I am barking up on the wrong tree, but is egullet developing a culture of group speak and dominant norms that may not be deviated from , unless by those accepted participants??? fuck it, I am going off to trash St John some more.

it's already open, called Morell. californian/french influenced. I enjoyed at lot more than I ever did the previous establishment. A lot less poxy and pretentious, but a might lower amibitions than the previous. 3 courses 27, and nice wine list.

I certainly wouldn't pay anything like 45gbp for the food I've had at thyme upto this point. will be interesting to watch it develop nonetheless

as far as an all time list goes, do you feel he rates above a short listing?

maybe, but from I understand is that at present it's quite the opposite. There was quite a run on early, but it's been downhill since. though I might be wrong.

Andy, that might well be true, however none of these people are likely to be influenced by anything he has actually done; rather maybe what he supposedly stands for. I can't see anyone saying I was inspired by the alchemy of his lovely jubbly salad. It is likely only to be his personality and not his professional competence that might inspire future generations. if it is, given him credit, but not credit for serious work in the kitchen.

I've been a few times, and always fairly impressed. the room is a little stuffy, but that's small beer.

I think it is a fair stab at it. Alice waters raised an eyebrow, but hey... can't please all the people all the time

tremendously inappropriate!

no you found the right one. Sunday night? maybe Wiltons on jermyn st, a true bastion of pompous english dining - I love it!!

Nahm is getting worse, good food, ugly decor, poor service, too expensive and poor value, most of all disregard for the punter in general. miss it, for the love of god, give it a miss.

Andy, please? Gavroche is still one of london's best restaurants, and I wonder what they are trying to achieve here. attention/publicity/relevance?

are they insane??????

went to sushi hiro last night for first time. very impressive, and such a non assuming environment!

~ poorly expressed ~

Dinner here on Saturday night. I asked for 8:30 - 8:45 and they suggested 8:45. In short food was cracking as usual, service great, some very good value on wine list as always. Chatting with the staff, they are very proud of what they are doing right now and it shows.

Most training restaurants charge a fraction of what others do, not twice as much. Jamies comments do not share a high regard for the customer: I need to make this amount of money, and it's for the kids. Frankly if I am not receiving what I am paying for in the name of charity - I want it tax deductible