Matthew Grant

Basildog, I don't think we are worrying about the cheaper end of the wine list (up to £10?). We've already had a long discussion on this subject , which I can't find anywhere (damn that search engine). But some points that came out were : A bottle of wine purchased by the restauranteur for £10 generally takes the same amount of preperation and time to pour as a bottle costing £15 so why the blanket mark up? We also discussed the fact that wine drinkers were subsidising the non drinkers. If we paid for our wine by cash instead of credit card would the price be reduced.... If anybody else can find this thread please post it here!

I was moulting!

I visited the Seafood restaurant for lunch during the winter months last year. Although high the food is good, the best things are simply done. Langoustines with mayonnaise were good and Dover sole with parsley butter was cooked to perfection. Rachel ate Red mullet with a chilli sauce (if I remember correctly) which was very nice and I can't remember for the life of me what the other dish she had was. I doubt that you will get fresher fish than this, although the high prices could be hard to justify when you consider that the fish market is less than 10 seconds walk away and Rick probably misses out the middle-man but I left with a smile on my face. We wished we had stayed the night as there were good deals midweek for a room including dinner which was only a few pounds more than our lunch. I'm not sure whether they do these deals during the summer months. I would also recommend booking well in advance, Padstow was quite busy when we were there in November (?).

I didn't have cocktails on Saturday, but when we last went a little while ago, the cocktail waiter was very good and happily made (good) drinks not on the menu. Guess it depends whose working at the time? :confused: You'll be happy to know, I shaved my head a few years ago so that Imy hair didn't keep falling into my food and to prevent myself being called a floppy fringed nitwit.

Old and fogey are not words I take kindly to! I reckon I'm younger than most people on here! I listen to Lemon Jelly and Goldfrapp during dinner parties and I have been pleased at SOS. I agree that the middle floor is good value, I enjoy drinking on the ground floor and the cocktails are great on the 1st floor. However, when it came to the top floor, at these prices your chips should be cooked properly and the waiter should know the answers to the questions without resorting to the kitchen! :confused:

The Lobster in a white port and ginger sauce is one of my favourite dishes. I have also made this at home quite succesfully Desserts at the Waterside are in my mind superb and, in answer to another thread on Egullet, prove that Cooking can indeed be art.

I was at the Top floor at Smiths oin Saturday. Its a lot noisier than I remembered it but it had a nice buzz and the views are good if you're at the right end of the dining room. Starters were distinctly average, Langoustine ravioli tasted tired, scallops with sticky pork and a trio of sauces (this is all from memory so don't take it as gospel) was 2 scallops, tasty but slightly overcooked, with some shredded pork which was cold and definitely not sticky. I couldn't identify the one sauce I could find but think it may have been plum. Our dining guest poured so much black pepper over his smoked salmon that I couldn't give it an honest appraisal. Mains were better. Between us we chose Longhorn Sirloin (£26), Belted Galloway Rump(£24), Fillet (£28.50 and unidentified despite my request to our waiter) all aged for 26 days and provided form Gary Wallace farms. The Cote du Bouef was unavailable and there was also a Hereford rump. The fillet was suitably tender and had good flavour for fillet but didn't really set my heart on fire (glad I didn't order it), although my better half thought it was good (she hadn't ordered it either), my non-foody dining partner (I'll spare their blushes although they are a blood relative and they used to be married to my Mother) thought it was "Ultra" . The rump was good, strong beef flavour (in a good way), nice yellow fat that was perfectly edible, it was slightly overcooked for my liking though (I had asked for medium rare but I would say it was far more on the medium side). The Sirloin was fantastic with strong gamey flavours, this was the meat of the night, in hindsight I wish I had chosen it. It was my first choice but wanting to try different cuts and letting ladies go first put paid to that. If she's reading this (don't pretend that you're too busy), I hope she appreciates it! We ordered 3 potato sides, mash (poor) Chips (almost undercooked) and Dauphinoise (good) I had the ice-cream and Sorbet for dessert which was good but overshadowed by the glass of Tokaji that came with it. Overall an average experience but meat that you could have fed to the dog. Earlier in this thread I stuck up a little for the prices, my second opinion leaves me thinking that I would have been far happier paying £18 - £20 a steak, especially if the potato dishes are going to be so average.

If your trying for a table on a Friday make sure you are on the phone at 09:00, they will probably leave you hanging on but will come to you in turn. By 09:15 table choice is severely restricted or quite possibly full I have had tables at various times (later rather than earlier) and have seen people coming in to eat at 10.30pm. With regard to the sittings, I think I am correct in saying that GR won't have lots of people arriving at exactly the same time because of the strain it puts on the kitchen, and subsequently bookings are staggered. If you go early though, you can expect to lose the table but this is explained when you book. I'm with Cabrales , GR @RHR and La Tante Claire would be my first choices in London. If you want to head just a little outside, I would recommend the Waterside Inn. I have only eaten there in the evening but imagine it would make an excellent venue for Sunday lunch, especialy if the sun was shining. Take wheelbarow loads of cash or check your credit limit before you go.

Did everybody get complimentary starters or do you know somebody there? I'm about to book for a couple of weeks time!

It's an Italian suppository!

Blimey, as if on cue! Fay Maschler went to Lindsay house this week and gave it a 2 star rating, although the review itself didn't sound that great and mentioned a poor dish cooked in his absence. The review is here.

I also had a terrible meal at Lindsay house and wouldn't give it another chance. I can't remember the last time I saw a positive review on it. The more I read about it the more I believe that it is an average/poor restaurant that strikes lucky on a few occasions (when Richard Corrigan is in attendance perhaps).

The sourcing of the beef varies, I can't remember specific breeds although these are normally rare breeds which are specified on the night along with the farm the meat came from. The waiter I spoke to claimed that the line of each animal could be traced back over 100 years.

I've eaten here twice, one on the 'Top floor' and once at the 2nd floor restaurant. I found the second floor cooking perfectly adeqaute food for the money, the top floor was a revelation (this was about 18 months ago). The American waiter was knowledgable about the food and was more than happy to talk to us about it. We both had Sirloin steak from different producers and hung for different lengths. The difference between the two was incredible and I still haven't tasted such high quality meat since. The fat was not too trimmed and added greatly to the cut. Although the prices are high, the view is great and I think I'm right in saying that the meat is hung on the premises, which obviously should ensure better quality.

Cabrales, please report on your meal at La Tante Claire, I haven't been for a while and Pierre Koffman is certainly one of the best chefs in Britain.

I think the state of our teeth is probably more down to poor dental hygiene than the state of our dentists. I don't think us Brits care too much for spirit level straight, Daz white teeth, the whole nation would look like a bunch of clones. As for Ale, beer comes into this category and France has several famous beers including Kronenburg and the Alsace region is famous for its beer. Also Normandy and Brittanyare famous for their cider. As for pies: A pie consists of a filling topped with a crust (usually pastry) and baked. Traditionally a British pie is made in a deep dish and has a pastry lid but not a base. Pies with a base are 'raised pies' (Larousse)

Wilfred, if your Ostrich was tough and dry it has definitely been overcooked, If it is served rare it is a lovely meat. If you want to try stuff like Ostrich, Emu, Giraffe, Cockateil, Aligator etc. etc. and you happen to be in Africa you must go to a restaurant called Carnivore. There is one in Nairobi and I believe there are a couple in South Africa. All the meat is cooked on a huge Barbeque and carved at your table. Rare Zebra leg was great! Don't worry about poaching, all the meat is farmed or has come from culls. As for London, I haven't got a clue, but some of the African game meat is very interesting and would be worth serving in a more daring establishment.

Adam, the £10 markup was just an example, however, I don't see that it will make cheap bottles too expensive, it would only become uneconomical (compared to the 300% mark up) for the consumer on bottles costing under £5.

Margaret, you mention Plumpjack Cafe, we had a fantastic night there last year when on Holiday, the food was good (not outstanding) but the winelist is great and the staff wonderful. We had a female Sommelier (I think she may have been assistant manager) who was more than happy to o[pen bottles for us to try before making up our minds, we settled on a wine from the Flowers winery which we thought so ggod that we lugged some back to the UK with us. The night finished with us alone in the restaurant (and by this time more than a little tipsy), we were left alone at our table while the staff had a quick cigarette break and they deposited a bottle of 1963 Taylors Port on our table for us to pour ourselves (this may have had something to do with the large tip). A great experience and definitely a place to recommend. Overall our trip to San Francisco was a great culinary success. We ate at numerous restaurants with barely a bad meal among them. Gary Danko was exceptional, Citizen Cake is good for a light lunch, Enricos was fantastic for people watching (Nicholas Cage on the night we were there). I also thought that Slanted door served some great food. Can't wait to return , so many more restaurants to try!

Basildog, I think we all understand that there are additional costs in running a restaurant but as Adam says, why such large mark ups on the more expensive bottles. Surely the staffing cost of a waiter pouring a £12 bottle of wine and a £60 bottle of wine are exactly the same (please correct me if I'm wrong). This would also apply to the accounting costs on that bottle of wine, national insurance etc. etc. Wouldn't it be fairer to build in the necessary charges to the food cost and a standard mark up on each bottle of wine (e.g. £10). Also, as Adam says, most restaurants seem to charge a 300% mark up on the retail price not the wholesale price, is that fair?

Tony, I would say that my choice of dishes possibly highlighted the skill of the kitchen a little more than the lamb and the Crab Ravioli, I think that is where the lack of the 'WOW' factor comes from, the pigeon was an especially good dish. The meal came to £178 including wine and coffee (we also had a couple of glasses while we waited). The A La Carte is £50 a head with a couple of supplements (fois gras and caviar). I wouldn't say I was disappointed but I think that Rachel might agree that the meal wasn't as spectacular as she had perhaps hoped. As for the wait for starters, as you say it would normally have been unacceptable, fortunately, the service during the rest of the meal was exemplary.

I had dinner at Petrus on Saturday evening. Shock horror, we started with a drink at Quaglinos (for research purposes only) as I didn’t get the recommendations in time! Quaglinos is looking a little tired around the edges now, I remember it when it first opened (I was very young at the time) as a grand dining room, extremely cool and with reasonable fod, subsequent visits over the years were disappointing although it always seemed to impress non-foodies if we were taking them out. Cocktails were poor, mixed away from the customer and not strong enough. Surprisingly the bar was standing room only and the restaurant appeared to be full at 19:45. Onto Petrus, I am not sure about the dining room, it’s a little too dark for my liking and the tall ceilings don’t add much of an intimate feel (unlike the Oak Room who’s large size is remarkably intimate). Once seated at our table (in the middle on the back wall), service seemed a little ragged, we were offered water but we had to wait 20 minutes for the menus and I was about to complain when they finally arrived. A lot of attention was being paid to a couple of large tables and it appeared that too many people had arrived at the same time for the restaurant to be able to cope comfortably. From sitting down to receiving our starters took 70 minutes, we weren't too bothered though, I enjoyed watching the show as it went on around us. The large table next to us managed to get through starters and main courses before our starter arrived and it was fun to watch the American gentleman on the table next to us struggle with the concept of holding the knife and the fork at the same time as eating, still he seemed to enjoy the food once he had chopped it up and scooped it into his mouth one handed. I ordered Scallops with poached Oyster, truffle gnocchi, truffle and lobster bisque, Rachel had the crab ravioli with ginger cream and a fennel and cucumber salsa. The scallops were cooked to perfection (not too difficult a task) and the lobster bisque was a powerful reduction that was a good contrast to the sweetness of the scallops. The poached oyster seemed an unnecessary addition to the dish although the slice of truffle could never be out of place, the scallops were layered on top of (no prizes for guessing)a small round of spinach. The gnocchi were well flavoured with truffle although maybe a fraction heavy (I often find gnocchi heavy) The crab ravioli was well executed and the hint of ginger in the cream was perfectly subtle. The cucumber and fennel salsa was refreshing but not to Rachels taste and I would question whether it was necessary to the dish? Rachel complained about the use of yet another 'cappuccino' sauce. Is this becoming the new spinach/coriander/sun-dried tomato? For mains Rachel chose Canon of lamb served with potato fondant, braised onions, shallot purée, tarragon jus and I had Anjou pigeon breast with a truffle jus, braised onions, spinach (I think) and a small game tart. The lamb was a touch overcooked at the ends but had good flavour and was very tender. The potato was fine and appeared to have been cooked in a stock instead of the usual butter and water. Braised onions and shallot puree? There is a whole lot of onion going on there. The tarragon jus was fine but to my taste not enough tarragon (incidentally I used tarragon over the weekend and found it to have a very weak flavour, is there a season for it?). This is a nice dish but not spectacular which made Rachel wish she had ordered something else, unfortunately she is a sucker for lamb. This dish, or variations thereof, seems to always to be on the menu at GR related restaurants, she has promised not to order it again in the near future (she currently has self imposed ban on lobster and chocolate dishes and I recently lifted my self imposed ban on scallops and have had to hold back on the Fois Gras). The pigeon was, in my mind anyway, the star dish of the night. Beautiful flavour, texture and colour in the Pigeon combined wonderfully with the heavily truffle scented sauce. The tart was wonderfully small and flavour packed, it was apparently goose, although it had a stronger flavour than I would expect from goose and I found it very pleasing. To accompany we had a 1998 Cornas “Domaine De Rochepertuis” by Jean Lionnet at £49. A well chosen wine by the sommelier, still a little young but suitable for both dishes For Dessert Rachel ate vanilla crème brulée with almond sable on roasted rhubarb and blackberries, strawberry and sorbet whilst I chose Earl Grey tea cream with granité, macerated golden raisins and currents in a warm brioche, served with Baileys ice cream. The crème brulée was predictably perfect and all the flavours combined beautifully, the blackberry and strawberry sauce being particularly good. The Earl Grey tea cream was unusual on its own, the strong flavour of the Earl Grey coming through well but not ideal on its own, the cream itself was perhaps a little heavy. However, when combined with the Baileys ice cream it came together wonderfully. The macerated raisins and currants were fantastic and something that I will now have to try at home. The accompanying Baileys sauce was suitably alcoholic and could have been just warmed through Baileys. The tiny brioche tasted a little dry, perhaps as a consequence of its size. Overall a good meal, in my opinion deserving of more than its one star, but not reaching the heights required for three. Although Marcus Wareing is the chef I think he needs to make more of his own mark on the menu, it reeks of Gordon Ramsay (not always a bad thing, you may have noticed I'm not a GR knocker) and it might help him if he tried moving away from the old formula.

Simon, you are of course right, I didn't entirely let it go. I reduced my tip to around £10 (the bill totalled approximately £250) and did let them know that I wasn't happy. They apologised profusely and didn't blink at the lowly tip. I considered leaving no tip at all but service only became unbearable after dinner had finished - no drinks were offered (we were about to top of our meal with some a nice Brandy which would have probably brought the meal closer to £300) and when we tried to pay my credit card disappeared for over 30 minutes while the credit card swipe was broken, I was only told this after asking for it twice. Fortunately the food was sublime at these prices and this compensated for the other problems that were evident.

Maybe I've been lucky, I've eaten at Aubergine, RHR and Claridges a total of 10 times, I was in Claridges in October (on a Saturday) and RHR back in February last year, each and every time I have been I have seen Gordon Ramsay in chefs whites, Of course this doesn't mean that he is cooking but it does normally mean that he is in the kitchen. I agree that he is about to spread himself a bit thin but as long as RHR continues producing such high quality food I'm not really bothered. The meal I had at Claridges was exemplary apart from the service which I forgave due to it being so soon after opening. Where did you hear the vicious rumour about him being absent from the kitchen for 3 years Andy? I'd also find this incredible as he got his 3rd star in that time, I'm sure if I was head chef in a kitchen that won a 3rd star without GR ever being there I would be shouting about it!

Can't help jumping on the bandwagon here. I had, without doubt the worst meal I ate last year at Lindsay house. The food was terible, several people left a fish main course (Halibut I think), my rabbit was overcooked and service was only just adequate. The room was drafty although I can see that it may be viewed as friendly if the weather is a little warmer. All the bad reviews I have read all seem to come about whn Mr. Corrigan isn't in attendance.