Scott

Really? I'd have thought his credentials were the lowest on the food chain. isn't that the point?

Sounds great.

Andy, for me, the problem is that you're not really playing devils advocate - what you say is entirely reasonable. It was conor who brought up the subject of the promotion, and the required attitudes to accompany it. Restaurant week in NY is like a better, more refined version of the FT offer each year. No one is claiming it's anymore than a good value open house in either case. When you offer a 50% off promotion, I don't think it's reasonable to then require the customer to read between the lines to get at what you really mean - and then criticise them for misunderstanding!!!! Moreover, I don't really understand the point Conor is making from a technical standpoint. Surely you should expect the same standard of cooking in a cheaper menu, just less pricey ingredients. I don't see where lower standards of execution and concern fit into the equation. Bottom line, he made a stupid comment without thinking - it happens. My issue is the underlying attitude that this reflects.

Frankly It's just bang out of order to make an offer, and then criticise people for taking it up. which is plainly what is happening here. Michael Flaherty / Ryanair logic at it's best here - for that price what did you expect? I am of the opinion that many people hesitate to take up pre-theatre / early bird offers or other discounts for fear that they will not be treated as well as other customers. Actually, much has been written in Caterer over the years on this very subject. I find it greatly offensive, that Conor would try to mitigate your concerns by suggesting that as it was on offer you had to temper your expectations. Matthew's point is absolutely correct, though you wonder what precisely is being reduced by 50% - Price/standards/expectations/service? one or all? If I breathe deeply for a moment, and give Conor the benefit of the doubt I suspect he did not overtly mean his comments to be so demeaning, but perhaps they give insight to what he and his team really think deep down.

get real - of coruse they're judged. its a loss leader the point of which is to entice them back to pay full whack BLH, the point of a loss leader, is because you're not getting enough punters in at full whack. at which point you are entirely correct.

Nice, fun place. wine is not as good value as it used to be.

are you saying what I think you are?? that Menu & promotion customers don't matter???? I bloody well hope not. Given the standards I experienced on more than one occasion, this conceit should be filed away under "ill-advised"

fabulous place, one of my favourites. upstairs very romantic, downstairs less so. simple, good value fare with excellent value wine. a great, great 'easy' option in soho.

Yes I have heard that too- that's astonishingly good value bearing in mind some of the a la carte dishes nudge the £35/40 mark. Had a very pleasant set lunch there a couple of weeks back which I'll get round to writing up soon. I have used this a few times, just not in the last year - hence I can't confirm it's still valid. It is amazing value if you think about it.

spooky

Gavroche used to do a stonking post theatre deal. after 10:00pm any 2 courses ala carte, plus a glass of wine with each course + water & coffee. £50

Interesting question, I guess I am less concerned if a food critic can discern these degrees, unless he/she claims to be able to. If they lay claim to such expertise I expect them to have it. pretty simple really. now how many would admit to not being expert enough to recognise these traits? I suspect next to none. Broadsheet food notices have more hubris than greek tragedy. as entertaining as many are, these pieces are more about the author and their authorship rather than the subject of their attentions. my opinion anyways.

patrick, not wanting to change topic, as I would love to try this place and intend to sometime soon. but any poll that ranks GR @ RHR as the 2nd best restaurant in the world, obviously has voters who smoke too much leafy garnish.

have you thought perhaps of a cooking class at the Capital or Le Manoir, followed by a meal and room there? might be a bit of a novelty, roll your sleeves up together, and then get sozzled...

I am a bit of a fan of the burger too. It comes with such a lovely chargrilled smoky character to the meat, and is not over garnished.

Conor, I think I know where Marlyn might be coming from. might that is. I went with a table of 6 about 4 months ago, roughly and we had one of the tasting menu's matched with wines by the glass. The wines chosen were frankly, not very good. Not great matches either, I think there was a maury/banyuls/rasteau sweet red (I hope my memory is correct) matched with Foie that I thought was a terrible match. enough sweetness, but not the complexity or firmness to support and enhance the dish. I am sure there is enough talent to sort this out, probably by now, but at the time I was not impressed with the paired selections.

I have to say, I'm with andy I don't quite follow how this thread got to where it has. my summary of the points seems to be: food good; service generally good, but can niggle; front of house perhaps could be more flexible jay has a review to write not everyone attaches the same importance to some specific details. My feeling is that Jay has perhaps overemphasised some things, which to me are not that important. But so what, I wasn't there, I have no idea about what took place - at the time or subsequently. It's drawing a very long bow to suggest ulterior motives, especially in context of the positives of the review.

says you

Please explain more - its at odds with my experience where I thought the food was fairly pedestrain & unexciting To be fair Tony, I don't think anyone else is questioning the quality of the food. Myself, I would not be shocked to see it elevated.

Andy, it was at the halcyon, he was turning out superb food there.

Martin Hadden's saffron risotto is still one of the best things I have ever eaten.

in Vaison La Romaine eat at La Moulin du Houile - robert bardot is turning out great food. in and around CNDP, try La Beaugraviere. great rhones on the list, and sooo much truffle. great value.

Best in Aix is Clos Violette, but try to get out - 45mins by car - to Oustau Beaumaniere in Les Baux. 3* in an idyllic situation

Agreed. though when I have been I have never needed a credit card or had a 15 minute stipulation like you faced. I have also had very good and some dodgy service. the food is cracking though.

whatever it that is being served in an £18.50 glass wine is not relevant, pushing booze of that price/calibre on people who don't want it is very poor form. maybe it's very good, but pushing your value system onto someone else is not on. that's the price of a bottle of house wine, not appropirate someone for someone who has asked for a glass of wine. if they cared that much about their wine, they'd have either asked for something like that, or ordered something suitably grand. Essentially an 18.50 glass of wine comes from a bottle of around £100 on a menu, and many people have no interest in that sort of affair. Footnote having gained 9.5 stone in 2 weeks in the south of france, I have a nice story to compare. dining at Petit nice 2* in marseilles, overlooking the corniche - view to die for. they have a fabulous lunch menu for 50 euro. for 60 you get a half bottle of house wine between 2, and for 70 you get the former plus the house cocktail each. the latter seemed good value, so we opted for that, and also ordered another half of something quite nice off the wine list. the sommelier came up and said not to worry about the extra wine we ordered, that would substitute the cocktail for a half of red to complement our meal. that would work better. so we got four courses each plus half of white and a half of red included in the menu price. they were decent house wines, on the main list at about 15 euro each. in essence, he figured we wanted a little wine to go with lunch and managed to oblige. This seems quite in contrast with someone recommending a glass of wine - unpriced - that costs as much as the lunch being consumed. know your customer dude.