Winot

Any updates on DC delivery? We've just got back from a week on the Eastern Shore and haven't the energy to cook or leave the house. Ideally sushi or something spicy. We're staying with friends on Fulton St NW behind the russian embassy. Thanks.

And at the other end of service, we have used it successfully many times for a pre-theatre meal.

Racine? French comfort food a 10 min walk up Brompton Rd.

Sounds good, will try to give it a go soon. Are your opening hours constrained by the market hours as for Ecos previously? For example, will you be open Wednesday lunchtime when the market has half day closing?

Is this in the old Francos/Eco site in the market? Or are you from Eco?

It is L'Astrance - well spotted. However the missing dish is the "ravioli" of crab, with avocado slices taking the place of the pasta. This was the Menu du Printemps of June 2002 (a bargain 60 Euros lunch) when it was still 1*. Jay's turn...

Lucky guess. OK, this is a two parter. First guess the restaurant; second guess the missing course. And to make it a bit harder these are descriptions from my notes made after the meal not directly from the menu. Amuse - melon puree on violet yoghurt topped w/ and olive oil emulsion 1. [guess the missing starter] 2. Languostine w/ coconut sauce 3. Confit of salmon w/ carrot & ginger salad 4. Puy lentils w/ fermented lentil broth, chorizo cream and onion sorbet Surprise course here - chicken stock, pain grille, smoky bacon 5. Lamb, date & geranium paste, coriander & mint sauce, lemon zest 6. Madelines & fruit 7. Chocolate brownie w/ pistachio ice cream & pistachio spun sugar 8. Jasmine scented egg nog. Over to you...

Escoffier?

We went for lunch a few weeks ago and thought it was great. Yes the space is difficult but on a sunny day it's actually stunning in a minimalistic way. The service couldn't have been friendlier or more relaxed and the food was on the whole fantastic (the only let down was fishballs and tofu that you cooked yourself in a pot of fish stock at your table... I'm always suspicious of food I have to cook myself). The menu structure wasn't too difficult to navigate but the portions varied wildly - the last dish was a pot roast of blackleg chicken which was HUGE. Luckily we are greedy. Just looked back at the bank account and the damage was £128 for two inc. service (and some sake) so I suppose it is quite pricey but we didn't feel ripped off.

Tayyabs?

If it were "gigot a sept heures" I would have said Les Halles, New York.

Similar idea to tailors offering £45,000 bespoke suit (all handmade and we will fly anywhere in the world to fit you etc.). Crap marketing bollocks leftover from the 80s. *waves loadsamoney wad*

[double post]

Agreed - our toddler loves sitting on the worktop and helping out - sometimes it's the only way to engage her interest and get on with what needs doing at the same time. Have some great photos of her sticking garlic slivers and rosemary in a venison haunch and (this Christmas) brandishing a goose leg she was helping me confit whilst pointing to the Hugh F-W cookbook. [/proud parent]

Congratulations to Upstairs in Brixton for their Bib - as it's 3 mins from my house I hope I can still get in.

St. John takes lunch reservations till 3pm. Or The Wolseley.

Thanks Timothy.

As Andy Lynes points out we do have restaurants. The asian restaurant scene is marked more by quantity than quality. There are some fantastic cheap and cheerful dhabas offering home-style food, a wide range of vegetarian options and countless tandoori restaurants on a scale from poor to good. In the last three months there have been two very intersting openings Red Veil , which is at the fine dining end of the scale, avoiding huges lists of slightly different curries and offering items such as sea bass, scallops in goan dressing, lamb shank in kashmiri spices etc. Then there's Halli which offers first rate Southern Indian vegetarian from Karnataka. Both of these are less than three minutes walk from the Station so timid types who fancy trying them won't have to walk through strange city. In other cuisines Entropy is definitely worth a visit and also very close to the station. There are some other decent restraurants but much of the best food follows the money out into the county, such as Firenze in Kibworth Beauchamp, The Grayson in Quourn, Horse and Trumpet in Medbourne and of course Hambleton Hall in Rutland. Oh, and right on Sat. ← Does anyone have any recent recommendations in Leicester? We are visiting the in-laws this weekend and are looking for somewhere to go after seeing a film at the Phoenix. Indian would be fine so unless there are any other options we may go for Halli mentioned above. NB Entropy and Red Veil both appear to have closed, or at least not renewed their domain names.

Do they turn tables at Le Gavroche? If they do that's a shame. I always assumed it was the sort of place that would never be so uncouth... J ← Only for "early" reservations (defined as those before 8pm I think). As we have a toddler and a 4 month year old and are usually in bed by 10pm it shouldn't be a problem in our case.

I am taking Mrs Winot for her birthday in a few weeks - have managed to squeeze into a 6.30pm slot which we've got till 9.30pm. It'll be the first visit for both of us. The Time Out Guide suggested that there is a tasting menu for £95 (£150 with matched wines) but I can't see it on the web site*. Anyone know? Otherwise, any recent visits/recommendations? *Edit to add - just realised I was mis-reading the web site and a sample tasting menu is on there ("Menu Exceptionnal").

a la carte

Had lunch there today and was disappointed. The alc isn't available and the lunch menu was very uninspiring - only three mains on offer of which I had an average rib eye steak and Mrs Winot a below average chicken dish which was overcooked. Starters were a bit more imaginative - red mullet with artichokes and smoked haddock tortelleni. The fish was superb but the dish as a whole was let down by an overly vinegary dressing. The pasta was fine. Puddings were the best of the lot - an apple cake with apple sorbet and gingerbread, rhubarb and an excellent lemon grass pannacotta. Wines by the glass were quite interesting - viognier, picpoul de pinet, something from the Cahors area. Overall the impression was a kitchen punching below its weight. I've had better meals there in its earlier incarnations (Stepping Stone then the Food Room). I guess they have made a business decision to offer an accessible and cheap lunch menu and save the fireworks for the evening. Even so there was only one other table occupied there today. I'd be interested to hear reports of the alc, but I certainly won't be going back for its poor cousin. Edit to add - website here.

At the risk of being a me too, had a great lunch a few weeks back and they didn't bat an eyelid at our pushchair monstrosity despite the fact it's quite City at that time. Food reminded me a bit of the simpler dishes served at Trinity in Clapham - as noted above very meaty bold flavours French bourgeois/British.

How about a suckling pig at St. John? They are meant to feed 14-16 diners (scroll down the menus page). And I've had some fairly drunken - sorry, lively - meals there.

Green & Blue in ED is excellent. They have recently opened a branch next to Clapham North tube and the food is really good (as well as the wine of course) but the service leaves a lot to be desired (based on three visits).