Racine

[Tonyfinch]

You're sure Sam wasn't referring to the lead in Scott's pencil?

[Miss J]

I think the worst comment I can make about the place is that it was more a throwback to the type of French bistro/restaurant that I used to find in London pre the food revolution occuring there, then the type of place I've come to expect.

Coming from you, that's pretty severe, Steve.

[Scottf]

It's funny, as I sit here feeling a bit peckish, but this pencil tastes nothing like that wine

[Tonyfinch]

. Macrosan and I put on a show for Scott and Sam about how two Jewish men, one almost middle age, and one already elderly  can bicker in a friendly manner.

I've met you both and i'm trying to figure out which Jewish man was which.

[SamanthaF]

You're sure Sam wasn't referring to the lead in Scott's pencil?

Er,..... No

[macrosan]

. Macrosan and I put on a show for Scott and Sam about how two Jewish men, one almost middle age, and one already elderly   can bicker in a friendly manner.

I've met you both and i'm trying to figure out which Jewish man was which.

Thank you for that, Tony. I couldn't work it out either

[Andy Lynes]

So I emailed the URL for this thread to Henry Harris, who has read and responded to me via e mail, but it doesn't look like he's going to respond on this thread. I've asked him if I can quote his response to me, but he hasn't come back on that, so I'm not going to.

Macrosan - you said in your original review that "I was not surprised to be told that Henry Harris was not present that evening (Sunday). Racine has been open only a few months, the waiting staff are raw and poorly trained, there are obviously big problems in the kitchen, yet Harris feels he can have the night off."

Racine is open 7 days a week and it would be entirely unreasonable I think to expect a family man, or anyone come to that, to be in their kitchen all the time. I do know that Henry worked 8 weeks without a break when the restaurant first opened, sufficient I would have said to get the thing launched.

You say that "there are obviously big problems in the kitchen" , which is rather a presumptuous statement to make if I may say so, and they where certainly not evident on the 2 occassions I ate at Racine. It's an obvious thing to say, but a head chef relies upon his brigade to deliver whether he is there or not. Either they can cook or they can't. Henry can certainly put a rocket up their collective arse when he is working, but it really isn't as simple as "head chef in: good, head chef not in: bad" no restaurant (apart from one man bands) could survive on that basis.

[SamanthaF]

Racine is open 7 days a week and it would be entirely unreasonable I think to expect a family man, or anyone come to that,  to be in their kitchen all the time.  I do know that Henry worked 8 weeks without a break when the restaurant first opened, sufficient I would have said to get the thing launched.

I'm sorry but from what we have said Andy, obviously not.

The whole evening (aside from the company and wine) was pretty much second rate.

[Andy Lynes]

I'm sorry but from what we have said Andy, obviously not.

The whole evening (aside from the company and wine) was pretty much second rate.

I certainly would not presume to doubt that your experience was anything other than you have described it.

I think it is unfair however to make broad brush statements and draw conclusions about the kitchen side of things on the basis of what appeared to be a problem of communication between front and back of house, and from eating fish in a London restaurant on a Sunday night (Macrosan - doesn't your wife have something to say about that as well ).

Why I'm being quite so defensive about this, I don't really know, other than the fact I've always enjoyed Henry's food and think it a shame that you have not shared that experience. Right, I'm going to shut up now.

[macrosan]

... it would be entirely unreasonable I think to expect a family man, or anyone come to that,  to be in their kitchen all the time.

Andy, I don't expect it at all. It's up to Henry. But just going by his reputation, I'm guessing we might have had a better experience if he had been there.

You say that "there are obviously big problems in the kitchen" , which is rather a presumptuous statement to make if I may say so

No, you may not say so. I consider avowedly miscooking a grilled dover sole to be a big problem. How would you describe it ?

[Andy Lynes]

From your report, there was a problem with cooking your order. That does not amount to "big problems in the kitchen", I would be more inclined to describe that as a cock up. I would repeat that your statement is presumptuous because you are extrapolating from a single failure wider problems which may lead to the closure of the restaurant.

Based on my own experience, it's rapturous critical reception and what Henry has told me, Racine is already a roaring success. Its failure would be an amazing turn of events.

[macrosan]

Oh Andy, please leave me my hyperbole. After all, what is life without a little hyperbole?

[Andy Lynes]

Oh..........alright then.

[Adrian York]

I went to Racine with my family (8 of us + 2 babies!) for a Sunday lunch just before all the reviews came out. Henry Harris was in the kitchen and Eric Garnier was out front. Service was smooth and very friendly and the nosh could not be faulted @ the price point. The room felt very comfortable and stylish without descending into some of the grotesque design statements that aspirational Michelin joints tend to favour. If it was a Sunday you went on maybe Henry and Eric were at home!

Adrian York

[Andy Lynes]

Adrian - henry definately wasn't there which was one of Macrosans criticisms. Don't know about Eric, but I do know that in the pre launch publicity , henry did say that at least on eof them would always be at the restaurant.

Notice this is your first post BTW, so welcome to eGullet.

[SamanthaF]

Ignore me, I'm not here

[Andy Lynes]

Ignore me, I'm not here

Well, if you want.

(Has she gone yet?)

[Andy Lynes]

Spur of the moment lunch at Racine today. I arrived at 11.50 and had a long chat with Henry, mostly about this site (and this thread in fact). The main room was full by around 12.45, with some tables in the back room also occupied. Sue Lawley was at the table opposite looking very elegant I must say (she was the reason I was a regular Nationwide watcher. Well, it certainly wasn't for Frank Bough).

I started with Garbure from the set price menu (£16.50 for three courses), made with white beans, duck confit, cabbage some tripe and the jelly you get when confiting duck. It was a lovely dish, perfectly seasoned and finished with just enough parsley. Next came a freebie portion of jambon persille served with sauce gribiche (very Bibendum/Simon Hopkinson) which was excellent.

Main of grilled onglet with crushed potatoes and creme raifort (horseradish. I had to look that up, just to make sure) was my first encounter with this particular cut of beef, and very nice it was too. Cooked rare and served with a very sharp knife, the flesh was very flavourful and tender but with more texture than your common or garden steak might have. Dessert was a terrific spiced warm rice pudding with mango compote.

The room was buzzing and service was relaxed and professional. The whole front of house operation seems to have settled down since my last visit and has a more assured and confident air about it. I'm hoping to return in November for dinner.

[Scottf]

and had a long chat with Henry, mostly about this site (and this thread in fact).

Are you able to air Henry's views here Andy?

[Andy Lynes]

I think that would be inadvisiable for a number of reasons (none to do with what was actually said) but mainly because they are Henry's views and not mine.

He did tell me however that Pierre Koffmann had dinner at Racine recently and loved it.

[Barney]

I've eaten at racine twice now, both for lunch and dinner, and both times I have found the food exemplary. The tete’ de veau was the best I have eaten this side of the channel, (like Matthew Fort I ordered it as a homage to my mother) and the mont-blanc was everything it should be. I do agree about the liquorice ice cream though, both times I have been my dinner guests have sent it back.

[Simon Majumdar]

I am at racine tomorrow night for the first time.

Given the mixed response, I am not sure what to expect, but lok forward to finding out

Will report back

S

[Andy Lynes]

Simon, look forward to hearing your opinion.

[Simon Majumdar]

With most new openings you get a feel from the reviews and word of mouth about the worth of a place. But, with Racine, there has been so much variance of opinion it was impossible to pre judge.

When a date suggested the new ( ish ) Henry Harris place for an early ( ish ) supper. I thought it might be worth a try.

They are obviously doing very well as we could only get a table for two at 7.00pm and, although the place was almost empty when I arrived, it was packed by the time we left.

I got there a little early and after navigating a rather bizarre assault course of curtains to get into the room, I was seated quickly and efficiently by the front of house.

My first impressions of the room were not favourable. It is small and a little dingy. I also did not like the fact that the windows were open to the busy street and everyone gawped in as they passed. The tables were also too damn close together. Not quite measured in mm's in a Blue Hill style, but still uncomfortable.

Some places give you early indications of their intentions and I took the appearance of good organic butter on the table as a very good sign. This was soon undone by the appearance of some risibly bad bread. I don’t eat a lot of bread as

CARBS = DEATH

But this bread abused the right to be called bread.

It was also pretty alarming to find that the waitress had no idea what a dry martini was. In the end I settled for a ( very badly made ) Gin & Tonic. Not a good start.

My date arrived and we ordered pretty quickly. She ordered from the set menu and I ordered a la Carte.

There was a lot on the menu that seemed interesting with a lot of staple bistro ingredients like rabbit and duck, but I was pleased to see that, despite the location, the prices were more than reasonable. Hats off to them also for having Robert Carrier’s herb terrine on offer for the set menu, a lost classic.

We started with a garlic and saffron mousse with mussels and a croute of goat cheese and leeks. My mousse was the better of the two, the mussels were very fresh and the mousse had a real taste of Saffron. The croute was poor. Very tough pastry, a salty goats cheese and a slightly nasty anchovy sauce. The sauces for both dishes had formed a skin, I think by being held under pass for too long.

We had a glass of Vigonier with it which did not go well. Our bad choice and no fault of the restaurant.

For main courses, we had a Confit De Canard and a Fillet of Gunard. The Gunard was over cooked I suspect as they crisped up the skin which was quite good. My friend said it was no better than ordinary. The duck confit was crispy and very tasty. The bed of beans on which it was served was overcooked and the sauce lacked any real flavouring. I had much, much better at La Pigalle

Side orders of a cucumber and mustard salad and roast vegetables were microscopic in portion and not cheap. I felt quite ripped off by these

To drink we ordered a Pique St Loup which at £15 was the highlight of the meal, served at the right temperature and good value

For dessert we had a non descript poached pear and an entirely nasty liquorice Ice cream. I had heard good and bad things about this dish. The bad ones are true.

We did not stay for coffee as we wanted to head to Salvatore’s for drinks.

The bill for two came to £90. Not cheap for what I would view as very ordinary food indeed. The bill included service which was efficient but perfunctory and, I hate to report, entirely without charm to the point of being unfriendly. We felt processed not served.

Henry Harris has run two restaurants that I liked in Fifth Floor and Hush, but this is not a good addition to his CV. I got the impression that it was no better than a Café Rouge without any of the financial advantages of being in a chain.

Sorry Andy

3/10

[Andy Lynes]

I was getting a bit worried about you Simon, what with the celebratory Restaurant thread and the polite question to Heston. Glad to see you are feeling your old self again.