Matthew Grant

If you like bacon

Fingers crossed you might be lucky and have Hibiscus open by then.

That bodes well for me, I'm going tomorrow night and pre-ordered it to make sure they didn't run out

Went for another try, I really like the feel of the place but the food really isn't doing it for me, I much prefer Brindisa. Better bread and olive oil this time. Jamon de Jabugo was disappointingly lean and didn't carry the nutty flavour you would expect. Ham Croquetas were good, if a little freshly cooked. Padron peppers were, well, Padron peppers with thre or 4 hot ones. I've had afew plates lately and found some hot ones in all of them, is it seasonal? Gambas al ajillo were overcooked, grilled chorizo came on top of the bread but just didn't have the flavour of a good chorizo, I'd be interested to know where they were getting their charcuterie. Lamb Cutlets were good, small and plump, nicely cooked. The grilled quail was also good with a reasonable Alioil. I didn't bother with any of the specials, I sort of gave up listening when I asked how much the Langoustines were. "£14.50" "How many do you get for that?" "They're £14.50 each"

I think it prudent to add that pricing wasn't necessarily down to Simon. It seems to me that the main fault lay with the owners who clearly clearly wanted to run a high end restaurant without realising what that entailed, indeed their website (still not updated by the way) says that they "....approached the task of establishing a fine dining restaurant of the highest quality with considerabe anticipation" (my emphasis). I saw Simon a couple of weeks ago, he was doing well, hopefully he'll come back to the board soon, a nice guy and a talented chef.

I returned to the Mother Ship yesterday evening for an early dinner. I had planned on the pre-theatre menu but couldn't resist the oxtail ravioli which came with a delicate sauce with a hint of ginger. A ricotta salad with charlotte potatoes radishes and Golden beets worked really well, the ricotta itself exhibiting a welcome strong flavour which surprised me a little. My efforts to go to the restaurant undetected were obviously scuppered when we received a comped dish of sea Bream with Piperade. Nice crispy skin and the piperade combining well with some chopped olive. Pork belly with Gnocchi and girolles was an easy choice, Anthony makes some of the best Gnochhi around, the pork firm but tender, crackling on the side. Very simple but very good. The star of the show was top side of Welsh Black beef, which had been well hung and had a fantastic aroma even from the other side of the table. I'm guessing it had been cooked sous-vide and than browned which worked perfctly for this cut. Finished with the cheesecake and blueberries. Beautiful as ever. I must admit that I didn't expect too much early on a Sunday evening (I would normally avoid that slot at all costs) but I ended up with a top notch meal, regular sunday evening diners should be impressed!

My drink addled brain can't remember enough detail to make it worth starting a thread but I had a decent enough meal at Enoteca Turi on Friday night. Good bread, reasonable spaghetti with crab, cherry tomato, chilli and garlic(not enough crab though). Good Rabbit (Coniglio alla stimpirata). Great wine list drank (again) Pieropan Soave La Rocca 2005 - mmmm

Label Anglais - NOT THE SPECIAL RESERVE, the leaner bird is full of flavour. By far the best UK bird I've had. £1.6kg is around £8 or £9 from Wyndham Poultry a lot less than the website.

Another good meal here last night with friends. Really good corned beef with toast and green vegetables and I thought the Mackeral tartare with beetroot and horseradish was superb, everything combining well as a whole and the horseradish being sufficiently potent. A starter portion of the Red wine risotto was also very good with perfectly al dente rice and a lighter dish that you might think. Market fish of the day was wild salmon which came adorned with new potatoes, Brocolli and hazlenuts. The marriage of nuts of brocolli really works for me. Wild Halibut was another well cooked piece of fish, halibut can so often be a dull fish but here it was treated well and served with a simple accompaniment of young market vegetable, olive oil and lemon thyme. Roast peach came with a marscapone and basil ice cream which became the stand out part of the dish. Pannacotta was a good example, suitably wobbly and served with good English Strawberries. Special mention to the service staff who seem to be coping well, especially our English waiter who managed to be charming, witty and professional at the same time.

Nikki, are you sure about the bill, it'd be hard to spend £166 even at full prices!

Mantanah Thai on Portland Road, South Norwood.

Ian, sitting at the bar looked a very nice option! I thought the room was fantastic, Will and Anthony are justifiably proud of it and I've no doubt the Claude Bosi may be a little jealous at the wood panelling which would have been a perfect reminder of Hibiscus. I'll leave detailed analysis of the food to others, it wasn't perfect but this was a first night, soft opening and the food was half price. My gripes were minor, the Creme Caramel was overcooked and subequently a little eggy, the rice with the lamb was a little salty. Aside from this food followed a similar style to Arbutus and certain dishes are lifted straight from that menu. A delightfully delicate Wild Rabbit and Foie Gras boudin blanc came served with broad beans, peas and summer savory. Cornish Pollock with Gnocchetti came with a tomato and anchovy sauce, the pollock cooked just so ensuring that it wasn't swamped by the sauce. Rump and Breast of Elwy Valley Lamb came with a courgette stuffed with the aforementioned rice. A large portion which could probably be cut down a little. Shin of veal hit the spot on this cold winters - blimey, I forgot, it's summer! Anyway it hit the spot though I may have been a little more hesitant in ordering it on a warmer summers evening. This place looks to me like a sure fire hit, a more opulent feel than Arbutus that suits the area. I have a feeling I won't be the only one who is torn over whether to visit Arbutus or Wild Honey in the future. Now I have it on good authority that one EG'er had Bouillabaisse for dessert......

See you there!

I THINK that it is running all week, probably best to check with them first. Anybody else going this week?

As a counter argument to Bibendum, I would read this first. Ermintrude, are you a regular their? Bibendum

What was the disappointing dish?

Sadly I work in IT

I've never been because I never perceive it to be good value. Buy 4 small courses at £5 each (or as the website puts it "sample-sized signature dishes for a fraction of restaurant prices") and its cost you £40 and you haven't even had a decent seat, a glass of wine or a drink and cutlery Come to think of it for an extra 6 pounds you can have lunch at Le Gavroche including half a bottle of wine, water and coffee.

On reflection I don't thikn the Turbot did come with cockles, that was somewhere else recently (I think ) Sauce was excellent though.

I arrived, unplanned, in Padstow on Sunday. Despite a note indicating that they were closed next Sunday the lights remained off and the doors firmly locked so I never even got the chance to try and squeeze in at short notice, lazy bastards . That lazy Basildog was also shut though I'm pleased to say I was able to do a mystery shopper visit to Slackers BinTwowhere we spent a pleasant afternoon on the Terrace. Come to think of it, no sign of Slacker so he also goes on the lazy list Does anybody else think the dining options in Padstow are limited? Aside from Basildogs and Number 6 it seems to me that you are left with Rick's joints (all of which seemed to be packed on a Sunday evening), the fish and chip place on the harbour where I once sent my fish back it was so greasy, a couple of pizza joints and the pubs (Braised Lamb shank with parsnip puree in June ) Incidentally, tried the cod and chips from Steins and it was quite superb, great chips and two of the best pieces of cod I have seen, they wouldn't have been out of place in a fine dining establishment. Thick and flaky, perfectly steamed within the batter. Cooked in beef dripping as well. It would have been outstanding at twice the price. Maybe the trick is to go when it's busy?

I had a very good dinner at the weekend. The Squab with figs and potato pancake and chocolate sauce was very good. Turbot with cockles had a very good sauce with a strong hint of mustard to accompany. The turbot itself was 2 pieces, unfortunately from a smaller fish. I do wish more chefs would serve thick tranches of Turbot, I'd happily pay the extra. Peach Tatin to finish came with an interesting black pepper ice cream. Overall solid one star cooking, I'd like to see a little more adventure but on the whole a very nice meal in what I think is the prettiest town in Cornwall.

Considering he's "not a tv chef" that's quite an impressive amount. I'll take a punt that most of those viewers eat out about once a month down the local Indian or Chinese

Are people still watching this crap?

Marco in talks to be new face of Knorr What a surprise. I'm hazarding a guess that he's running a bit short of cash.

The thing that struck me about the show was how old and tired so much of the food looked. In the first round they chose Sat Bains because they thought he cooked contemporary British food but after that we got tired old combinations, Jeremy Lee cooked a roast dinner, Marcus Wareing poached turbot in red wine (how old is that?), Marcus also cooked braised belly and a roasted Pork chop with crackling, Michael Caines cooked honey roast duckling wiht cabbage and smoked bacon and an apple tart, Stuart Gillies did Roast Loin of pig with mustard sauce - yawn. To me they are dishes that could, and in many cases were, around 10 or 15 years ago. I don't actually object to the dishes themselves but as an example of modern British cooking it isnt really much of a demonstration.