Simon Gittins

Grimaldi's (while excellent) is down under the Brooklyn Bridge, not the Manhattan Bridge (overpass). Is this areas considered DUMBO now? I always thought it was still part of B'klyn Heights. Also, what exactly is the 'overpass'? Although I have only been resident in this city for a year this type of remark leaves me befuddled. Grimaldis must be all of 15 minutes walk from the furthest reaches of DUMBO. It is maybe 5 minutes walk from the St Annes Warehouse, the probable venue you are going to. Even though it is located it is in Brooklyn Heights, does that really matter?

I too found the wait somewhat of a drag - I went a few weeks ago on a freezing night when waiting outside was not a pleasant option and as there is so little room around the bar we nearly gave up before getting a table. Enjoyed the lobster roll though I noted the grilled fish dishes really appeared to be the ones to go for. However I did have a bad experience with my oyster appetiser. One of the oysters was really, really off. I spat it out as soon as I put it my mouth because of the disgusting taste. It actually stunk and I am little abashed that I did not identify the source of the odour before starting to eat it. Anyhow the wait staff acknowledged the problem immediately and brought a plate of 3 oysters as compensation (which my companion benefited from - I could not quite face oysters again that evening). Anyhow, I will give the place the benefit of the doubt (it is easy to miss a bad oyster) and will return again (outside of peak hours) though I think I will avoid the oysters.

I am intrigued by all this good press on DSGG. I have been there once, about 2 months ago and it was probably the worst dim sum I have had in years. The bau were poorly flavoured and stodgy, and for an off-the-menu place it was obvious some of the dim sum had been cooked some time ago. Lau bak goh (turnip cakes, one of my favourites) were truly awful. The service was atrocious (they forgot some of our orders and got other ones wrong) and I noted that over half the clientele were non-Chinese, no suprise given the mediocre Europeanized food. I crossed this off the list as a place never to return to, but maybe given all the glowing praise above I should try it again.

To me there is no doubt about this - it deserved to go under. I went there during the summer and while the food was okay it was decidedly patchy. I remember no particulary dishes (which is an indictment at these prices), but I recollect feeling rather irritated at forking out £90/head for it. Also the decor was off-putting (1980s hotel lounge) with really silly banquettes for our party of 5 where the waiters practically lie across the table to serve us. The service was friendly but haphazd and inefficient. There was a nice view but it would have to have cost at least 30% less to merit a return visit. As a Londoner I feel that familiar sense of disillusioned deja vu at paying very high prices for a so-so eating experience. Now while I have a real to those breathless postings on bulletin boards like this about "Paris three stars" and the ilk, a few week afterwards I went to a restaurant called Gill in Rouen. Two thirds the price of Neat but gastronomically in a totally different league. A wonderful food experience but as Londoner it did depress me.

I bought some live lobsters in the market at St Malo last summer and they were very fine - sweet and succulent. But I think they suffered somewhat by being pretty moribund. The odd lobster I have bought in England also suffers from its near-death state. Nothing still beats my experiences with New England lobsters bought straight from the sea which were fighting and kicking as they went into the pot, which is I think the most important factor. Maybe (pace Lord Michael Lewis above) if I had every experienced a properly cared-for Eastern Atlantic lobster I would think differently. BTW I find the notion of eating lobsters in restaurants in the various French styles (Americaine, Thermidor etc) do it absolutely no favours. It is best eaten very simply with just butter or lemon.