Matthew Grant

Believe me, I was there tonight and saw an EG'er in a red shirt but I didn't make contact and I don't believe I was pointed out to them.

OK, I'm a glutton for punishment, I might try it for breakfast, I hope to be pleasantly surprised

Ok I'll concede that there has been an occasional review that wasn't too bad.

Not the case if you believe the press page on the restaurant's website. ← Hmmmm, some selective editing there. E.g. ""A top spot for lunch" - Daily Telegraph" comes from a REVIEW that also has the following included: and in the interests of being fair: Meanwhile The Independent (Full artcle here: arcticle)) quote doesn't actually come from a review but a piece about Iqbal Wahhab that seems to have been written before the restaurant even opened. The quote from the Times is "National Treasure" This is actually the title of an article written, once again, about the forthcoming opening of Roast (Here. The actual review (Here) from Giles Coren once it opened included the following: I'm not sure how The restaurant got listed in Maschlers hottest meals of 2005 but her main review (Here) seemed disappointed : That press page should come with a warning!

Every review of this restaurant has been truly dreadful, apparently too be avoided at all costs! Shame because it has a nice location overlooking the market.

I only booked 2 on discount nights actually, the rest I will happily be paying full price. I shall be sitting anonymously at my table trying to work out who's who

Most definitely not, I actually feel guilty going along on the discount days, it feels like I'm robbing them

I never took a "packed dinner" to school

This is the menu with the full prices, very competitively priced IMO. Quite a large menu but at least it gives me plenty to work my way through. A few remnants from the menu at Putney Bridge as well and even a couple of dishes for the offal lovers among you. ARBUTUS Soupe au pistou with Provençal olive oil 5.50 Warm cod brandade, young squid, sea purslane, parsley cromesqui 6.95 Crisp braised pigs head, potato purée, caramelized onion and garlic 5.00 Chicken sot-l'y-laisse (oysters), macaroni, broad beans, lemon thyme and hazelnuts 6.50 Slow cooked shoulder of lamb 'boulangère', lamb sweetbreads, spiced dates, radish leaves 7.50 Squid and mackerel burger 'a la plancha', barbecue sauce, vine cherry tomatoes 9.50 Salad of Jersey Royals, watercress, spring onions and goats curd 7.50 Smoked eel, pressed beetroot, horseradish cream, young leaves 10.50 English asparagus, soft boiled egg, vinaigrette, Parmesan 7.95 ••••• Salt beef 'pot au feu', spring vegetables, green sauce 13.50 Pied et pacquets (tripe parcels and trotters), soufflé potatoes 10.50 Roast Hereford beef rib, fat chips, shallot sauce (for 2 persons) TBC Roast rabbit, shoulder cottage pie, Hispi cabbage, mustard sauce 13.95 Breast of veal lacquered with spices, butternut squash, cavolo nero 14.00 Poached and roasted chicken, tarragon gnocchi, garlic leaves, lemon and bacon 12.50 Elwy valley rump of lamb, tortellini of goats cheese, artichokes, tomato, Taggiascha olives 14.50 Fillet of pollack, spring greens, slow roasted onions, anchovy and rosemary 13.50 Sea bream, risotto of sea lettuce and cockles, light juice 12.00 Young Dover sole, field mushrooms 14.50 TBC Puff pastry pithivier 13.00 ••••• Floating island with pink praline, custard 4.50 Vanilla crème brûlée, Breton biscuits, langue de chat 5.00 Classic cheesecake with strawberries, strawberry caramel 5.00 Warm chocolate soup, caramelized brioche, pecan nuts 5.00 Alphonso mango, empress rice, sorbet 6.00 Selection of ice cream and sorbets 4.50 Seasonal cheese served with a small salad 2.50 (per cheese) _______________________________________________________________________ Also - Lunch (daily) and Pre-Theatre (5pm-7pm Monday-Saturday) 3 courses £15.50 (Sample Menu) Poached hen’s egg, lentils, shallots and parsley salad Leeks vinaigrette • Slow-cooked belly of pork with crushed potatoes Fillet of sea bass with Provençal garnish • Chocolate tart Seasonal cheese with salad

It's odd, we all know the stories about restaurants losing money hand over fist and the stats for restaurants going out of business are quite horrendous. But none of us talks with much authority about restaurants making money and surviving for a long time, they do exisit but we all (myself included) seem to concentrate on the bad side of the business. Anybody got any successful sotries instead?

Very confusing, take the answerphone message as Gospel and ignore me. Edit to add: Just spoke to Anthony, he misinformed me Hoping to get the menu soon. Prices will be low though, starting at £5 for starters, £10.50 for main courses.

Due to my being an idiot the introductory offer runs from Monday 15th May until Friday 19th May inclusive (not Thursday 19th May as previously stated).

Mainly because I'm in town 3 times that week to meet friends who are looking for somewhere reasonably priced to eat so this fits the bill. Otherwise I agree with you, I wouldn't normally go to a place in the first week let alone 3 times. I'm curious to see how good it is in the first week, I fully expect them to hit the groung running and if it does the food will be a bargain at 50% off.

I'm attending often enough in the first week that they will probably have a commemorative plaque erected next to my table

Turnips at borough market have it as well.

Arbutus now has a telephone number : 0207 734 4545 and I believe they will be taking reservations from Monday. I've still not got menu details at the moment but they will be running 50% off from Monday 15th May until Thursday 19th May inclusive as an introductory offer. After that it will be full price but Anthony and Will are keen to keep prices competitive. All 60 bottles of wine on the list will be available in 250ml carafes which will give people the chance to sample some wines they may not have considered before. House champagne will be £6.50 a glass, Espressos or Macchiato's will be £1.75 and long coffees (latte, cappuccino etc) will be £2.00 - an excellent effort in my opinion. There is also a website which doesn't appear to be open at the moment but it will allow you to make online reservations as well: Arbutus Restaurant

Yep, really tiny buggers, if anybody is planning on ordering one take into account the small size of the ribs.

I'm the biggest fan of Dexter there is. Try aging it for a little longer Gary, 4 - 5 weeks brings out some excellent gamey flavours.

They don't use spoons at all in MacDonalds do they?

Weak main courses last night, I don;t think the vegetarian option looked good and although it may have been lovely The hotpot was copied from an elderly Lancastrian woman and looked sloppy.

Heinz spaghetti on toast

Arbutus will be opening for business on 15th May with a 50% discount for the first few days. I've seen some drafts of the menus and a 50% discount will be a good deal, you may even get a chance to eat the rabbit cottage pie that I liked from Putney Bridge. I'm hoping to be able to post some more examples from the menu in the next couple of days

When he referred to British critics who retain anonymity he said I took the reference to silhouettes as a reference to recent articles on Marina where she has appeared as a silhouette. Apologies for the earlier spelling

I notice AWT criticised Blckiston for using a puree and calling it French, I was little confused as he made "pesto" with watercress and served what was obstensibly a Vichysoisse . Poor cooking from AWT IMO but I do think we have to remember that this is meant to go out to 300 people. No way that the Blackiston's starter could have been turned out easily for that many IMO although it did look nice. I think there must be some history between these two, Blackiston recalls meeting him twice at cookery demonstrations, AWT has never even heard of him. How embarassing having to invite Blackiston to a steakhouse to show of his cooking skills Next week in the South London heat we have Sharon vs Dave. Dave has never eaten any of Sharons food so visits her at MacDonalds "The chips are nice" Says Dave guardedly. Sharron returns the visit to Daves eponymously named "Daves cafe" in Bermondsey and bemoans the fact that he uses fresh tomatoes rather than tinned and deep fries his fried slice "That ain't right issit? This ain't proper"

more of a rant at Marina McCloughlin (Circeplum) I would have thought given recent articles about her.