Scott

Ha Ha, Joe. thanks. I needed that

Disagree with a great deal of the list, it's about being controversial and publicising Restaurant Magazine - not that there is anything wrong that, but it is not a serious list. But I disagree strongly with your pejorative charcterisations of Hakkasan & River Cafe. Nobu - well, you're spot on there.

perhaps you could also spend some time making it all such a less cynical, self aggrandizing, marketing event? maybe you and your voters could even look beyond Sydney when defining "australasia"?

Honestly, there are much worse. I think you're right to be a but offish at their mark ups, but these days they have an unremarkable grab compared to some. they're not cheap, or good value - but they're not so terrible. which is like choosing to be gored by a minor Hun, rather than electing to wait for when Attila arrives.

Was there last week for dinner. Food wise, probably the best I have had there. Potato ravioli with burnt butter, purple broccoli, lemon & pecorino. well balanced. excellent dish, though perhaps a bit rich toward the end. average quality bavette, tough & chewy, with superb braised salsify and a dauphinoise to die for - and judging by the cream, may have been the choices one faced. the lemon tart, was perhaps the best flavour of lemon i can recall eating. a perfectly set custard, creamy and cooling against a pungent and aromatically complex lemon flavour. the brulee on top was underdone. with the exception of a rubbish bavette, very accomplished bistro style food, perhaps slightly too formal in it's platings. but very enjoyable nonetheless. wine prices seem to be getting more stupid, it's always been a myth that the prices were ok here - they're not. but the carafe thing does allow them to be slightly more accessible, not better value. 2 dreadful apertifs sent back because the prosecco was flat as a tack, acceptable replacements. £15 + service for a 250mls of a £13 wine is a little greedy... front of house remains, an utter shambles. but that is nothing new.

See hint here I was sworn to secrecy However, I can tell you that it isn't likely to be open until June. Still waiting to hear what the name is, they've discarded the first idea. Does anyone else think London could support several restaurants like Arbutus? I think it could survive very well in some suburbs as well as central London. If only he wuold come to Croydon ← No. 17 times no. ← Any particular reason why? ← this is a nice restaurant, but it is NOT a new concept, and it is not revolutionary, and it is doing very little new. there is nothing about it that suggests that it should be rolled out. that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the main, but there isn't anything SO right that it needs to go far and wide. because there isn't anything unique here, soon you start stretching your working capital, overpay for slightly dodgy sites, spend more time managing the central control functions than running your main restaurant, new sites start eating capital as they things go a bit slow in the beginning - and next thing you know, you've got a one way ticket to Novelli-ville. the skills needed to run a small chain, are very different to running a successful single site - especially when that main site relies on execution rather than concept. I just don't see anything nearly remarkable enough to head down that path. If they can make the drones site work, good luck to 'em, but maybe that challenge should be knocked off first. imho anyway.

See hint here I was sworn to secrecy However, I can tell you that it isn't likely to be open until June. Still waiting to hear what the name is, they've discarded the first idea. Does anyone else think London could support several restaurants like Arbutus? I think it could survive very well in some suburbs as well as central London. If only he wuold come to Croydon ← No. 17 times no.

Well Done Simon! glad to see you're prepared to take on board constructive criticism, hope this works out well. though my eGut feeling wonders if it took national exposure to perhaps persuade the investors either way, a responsive business is the way forward.

Could some one tell me how a 3 michelin star chef could not be creative please? ← it's a question of degree. no one would compare the creativity of Savoy to Veyrat for example. not that this means there isn't creativity required or involved - just that some more so than others.

Okay Scott, no need to be insulting. clearly I disagree I see, so you were merely regurgitating a few cliches, and didn't expect to be called on them. So why didn't you say so in the first place? ←

What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great? ← you missed the point. the key is the difference between the creative and the technical. passion, creativity, inspiration - the things that the technician doesn't have. ← No, I understood the point. I was challenging you on the evidence for you claim; i.e. is there any? ← oh, you got the point? strange. but the real truth is that if you are asking for "proof" of this distinction, you clearly don't get the point. but I wouldn't expect you would, Heston wasn't mentioned anywhere Now it would be uncontroversial to suggest, that say Van Gogh was more artistic and creative, than perhaps a Constable. You can look at the brush strokes, the sketches, the subject matter, the composition etc. but the real point is that if you are arguing this point, you're in the wrong company

What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great? ← you missed the point. the key is the difference between the creative and the technical. passion, creativity, inspiration - the things that the technician doesn't have.

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist. both great, but a world of difference.

he's never stopped looking. he has sold nearly all of his kit, which is an issue. but is still looking for a modern bistro like take on things.

why is it unlikely? I admit poisoned was putting it a bit strong, for comic effect, but what else does one call it? ← For all the reasons stated, and repeated again in this thread. the timings. the incubation period is much, much longer than what you report. your symptons came on very quickly, and as a result, is likely to be from something you ate the day before, or even the day before that. a typical incubation period is anything from 12 - 48 hours, nothing like as immediate as you reported. Either it's not food related at all, or it relates to much earlier. But this has been said a number of times already.

make no mistake Marco is an arse. he's also twice the cook either of these guys are - and perfect for car crash television- as he knows it!!

Just seen this article. ← Fantastic!

It is unlikely to be this meal. so you've not been "poisoned at all". sorry, you'll have to sue yourself for your evening meal the night before

hmmm... not sure that's right. or at least, I am quite sure the chap behind it has been something like this for 20 years. will enquire.

Was this title not invented by the brothers Galvin ? Has Arbutus taken their crown ? ← yikes, this changes everything! thanks for pointing it out

Tom Aikens - the new Jean Christophe Novelli? ← an excellent analogy I fear.

I'm still trying to work out a difference between the unsung, 20 year old Hoxton Apprentice and its' bastardised for TV ripoff cousin.

so presumably you cancelled your booking and rebooked at Pizza Hut! ← why? are you mark donelly in disguise? would you like his booking

I agree with Bulmer, that Arbutus is every bit as good as Putney Bridge. but that says more about putney bridge than anything else. the context, expectations, price etc much more in line now than they ever were at the dreadful P_Bridge. Now in it's proper form, arbutus is an enjoyable, well positioned bistro deluxe.

sorry Matt, I don't disagree with your opinion or your right to it - merely some of the earlier, quite ludicrous assertions. most of which you have now thankfully distanced yourself from. though I note, you've still not explained what your criticisms of the food actually were, other than the room they were served in!