Carlton Restaurant Awards

[Andy Lynes]

Click here for a full list of the nominations. Note that Racine appears no less than 5 times.

[cabrales]

With all respect, Chez Bruce, L’Escargot Picasso Room and Racine over GR, RHR? What is the Picasso Room at L'Escargot, by the way?

[Matthew Grant]

Fay Maschler (I think) reviewed this a few weeks back, it got a very nic review. Apparently, it is a fine dining room above the main L'escargot restaurant. Somebody else maybe able to enlighten us further.

[Andy Lynes]

With all respect, Chez Bruce, L’Escargot Picasso Room and Racine over GR, RHR?    What is the Picasso Room at L'Escargot, by the way? 

Well, the award is for French restaurant isn't it and I think that selection is a good representation of that catagory across the styles and price points. It would be pointless to have awards if you always defaulted to the Michelin definition of best eveytime.

L'escargot has a star and the reported talents of Jeff Galvin, Chris Galvin's brother.

[Simon Majumdar]

Intersted to see Racine get so many nom's...... particularly for "front of house" where they were singularly shocking. Almeida on the other hand, although not great food, was by far the best of all the Conran places for service ( credit where credit's due )

Also nice to see J Sheekey getting a mention for service. If there was an award for consistency, I think they would win it hands down

Cinnamon Club????????? That's some kind of joke isn't it?

S

[Scottf]

L'escargot has a star and the reported talents of Jeff Galvin, Chris Galvin's brother.

It is only the Picasso Room that has a star though. The downstairs room doesn't. I also believe that both rooms have different chefs/kitchen staff, two restaurants in one building really.

[macrosan]

Well it's a bit like the Honours List, I guess. You either attach credibility and importance to them, or you don't. If I don't attach any weight to (let's say) a knighthood or a CBE, but the person receiving it values it highly and (perhaps) is willing to pay for it in one way or another, then no harm is being done to me, and I have no problem with the Honours List.

Same with this type of award. I'm not a big fan of "Best of ..." anything, and I just view culinary awards (especially those run by people like Carlton) as a sometimes interesting starting point for more intelligent discussion.

[Mrs Woman]

Carlton award winners here...

[Andy Lynes]

Nice to see Dan Lepard get an Outstanding Contribution To London Restaurants award. (Dan is a longtime eGullet lurker BTW).

[danlepard]

Thank you, Andy. I do post sometimes, but I struggle to find anything relevant to add (other than the odd post about Turin and Newcastle, two places I know well).

It was such an honor to stand next to Randolph from Neal's Yard, someone who's work in promoting British cheesemaking is markedly grander than my own attempts for Britain and it's bakers. And my word, Ronnie Corbett to boot....my editor at the British Baker (our trade journal) tells me that Ronnie's father was a baker. He's a hero of mine, and if you watch tommorrow night (ITV S.E. region, 11.30pm) you will hear a cheer go up as he walks on the stage.

Other unusual highlights....listen out for the naked one waxing on about how he used to read Gordon's books when he was a youngster (Hmmm, how long ago?).

Dan

[Andy Lynes]

"Passion For Flavour" was published in 1997 I think so that's way back in the day when he was a mere 21 year old.

[circeplum]

also brilliant to see the utterly lunatic oslo court getting a mention for their gorgeous approach to their customers.

not only is it one of the maddest restaurants in london - you can still get things like veal holstein and duck with cherries! - but you can't leave without thinking that the staff love you, they really, really love you ...

[Tonyfinch]

I'm pleasantly amazed to see Oslo Court win an award. For those who've never heard of it, it is set on the ground floor of a block of luxury flats which overlook Regent's Park. It has been there for decades and it caters for a middle aged to elderly well off clientele, many of whom are from the North London Jewish community or are St John's Wood and Swiss Cottage old MittelEuropean ex-pats.

At weekends the place is packed with Jewish families celebrating boobah or zaida's 70th or 80th birthdays. The staff know the routine and make a fantastic fuss over the birthday boys and girls and go out of their way to make everyone feel relaxed and at home.

It is not a kosher restaurant (though I doubt they serve pork). Instead, as Circe said, the menu is stuck in a 70s timewarp, with "continental" dishes majoring and things like "Chateaubriand for two with bernaise sauce" and Peach Melba and the like. And actually they do it very well. The food is very nice, but its not somewhere to go if you're looking for even the remotest hint of culinary modernity or innovation. It represents the antithesis of all that.

It is by no means a cheap restaurant . I hadn't seen it in a guide for years and wasn't even sure it still existed until I went for a relative's birthday two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. How nice to have Roast Duck with Cherries again! Maybe I'm just getting old but I want to go back and eat Veal Holstein!

[jayrayner]

I'm glad there's approval. I knew we had given the award to the right place, but I can not deny taking a deep breath on Monday night when it was announced, what with the combined might of London's hip, fashionable restaurant-atti at our backs, most of whom - I suspected - weren't even aware of the place.

In the end that category came down to a choice between Oslo Court and one other. The clincher was when one of the my colleagues said of the competititon: 'Can you imagine them dealing with a room stuffed full of 100 kevtching elderly jews?'

The day was won for Oslo Court and rightly so.

[Simon Majumdar]

Only been there once many moons ago but loved it. It was indeed for the 70th birthday of a jewish grandmother who invited me to meet her grandaughter ( Matchmaker matcmaker, make me a match etc etc )

The food was entirely unreconstructed but none the worse for that. The service was hysterical and they kept referring to the elderly woman as my sister which of course went down a storm

I do, however remember a horrible dessert ( kugel, I think ) that is still, I suspect, working its way through my lower intestine.

The last time I had Duck with Cherries was at The Gay Hussar, but that is whole 'nother story

S