Morgan M

[Marlyn4k]

My visit to Morgan M was a few months ago, seemed to remember having a very enjoyable evening, save for the passenger window of the car being smashed and my mobile being stolen, otherwise all round good value. The post meal chat with Morgan was a nice touch. I'm just put off by the journey and the lack local (safe) parking.

[dallardice]

...and our meal last night was truly excellent. Went for the tasting menu:

- Gazpacho with tomato sorbet and pesto

Fantastic tomato taste, very fresh. I'm not a huge gazpacho fan but this was excellent

- Ravioli of snail/Ballotine of Foie gras

I had the ravioli - two large ravioli with chunky snail, spinach, poachd garlic and a great, rich chianti sauce. The foie gras also went down well

- Red mullet in a light lobster broth

Very well-cooked - nicely flaky - but probably the least inspired of the courses. Very nice, but not exceptional

- Rabbit with lemon confit/Lamb

The rabbit was a revelation - the lemon confit really cutting through the sweetness of the rabbit. Probably the best rabbit dish I've had.

- Rice pudding with raspbeery sorbet Pre-dessert

- Chocolate molleux/apricot and rosemary tart

THe chocolate molleux (sp?) referred to frequently here was indeed sensational - you can choose from two different types of chocolate and I went for the 70% valrhona. I was informed that the rosemary was a fascinating and worthwhile addition to at tatin-ish apricot tart.

Service was excellent throughout, almost too fast through the early courses but no longeurs and was friendly and efficient. Probably got a bit more attention following our abortive trip last weekend. We went for the matching wines which were good without being dramartically impressive - I would probably go for a bottle of white and a bottle of red next time.

Bill came to £179 for two tasting menus with matching wines, two bottles of Hildon and four glasses of Banyuls (no matching wines with the desserts). Initial reaction was this was quite pricey for the location but bearing in mind it isn't that far from the Almeida where we can spend £150 for much less interesting (but well-executed) food it does seem reasonable. We'll be back.

[silverbrow]

Not wanting to be bah humbug about it, I can't be bothered with Valentines Day but nonetheless did succumb to some of the commercial claptrap so ended up going out for dinner, but was intent on going local. Possibly the best decision I've made in the last 12 months.

When I booked Morgan M I was told there was a set price (£57) for both the Garden and normal set-menus and we were offered the 6.30-9.00pm service or the 9.30-close service. I went for the earlier one.

First off I want to say the food was fantastic and the service was excellent, there were none of the issues I've read here or elsewhere.

Both of us went for the garden menu, something I wouldn't normally do but given the excellent reviews its had, I was intrigued.

The first of the five courses was a sublime cream of turnip soup with shaved black truffles. The dish was simple - did what it said on the tin - and tasted sublime. There were dices of turnip at the bottom of the dish and atop that was the shaved truffle, the soup was poured around this little group. The soup wasn't too heavy, but had enough weight to it to be able to stand up to the fantastic truffle.

The next course of a pumpkin tarte tatin with butternut sorbet was frankly my least favourite. This sounds strange but it was just a bit too orange for me. The butternut sorbet didn't quite work because there wasn't enough oomph and flavour to it. Had you not been told what it was, you wouldn't have known.

Next along was a sublime gnocchi with tomatoes and cooking juices, there was also a generous handful of basil. It was a simple dish but fantastic. The gnocchi managed to be both light and soft but dense enough to soak up the sauce created by the tomatoes. The tomatoes were definitely not the common or garden English variety. They had a flavour, sweetness and depth you rarely get outside of the Med.

Next up was a canneloni of spinach and ricotta which seemed to be sitting on top of a chestnut puree, all of which was surrounded by a mushroom veloute. By this stage we were getting pretty stuffed and this was a fairly substantial dish to bring the main part of the meal to the close. Despite its size it was very good and all the flavours worked well. It quickly got mushed together, therefore losing its elegant looks, but frankly tasting that good, who cares?

Finally (at last) we each had one of dessert options. My chocolate fondant was fantastic, with the toffee served with it truly sublime - frankly they could make a dessert of just that. The milk sorbet that was served as an accompaniment was true nursery food stuff - it reminded me of those milk lollies you used to be able to get. The other dessert of pineapple souffle was fantastically executed and sitting tall and proud. The texture was just the right side of eggy. However, I'm not the biggest fan of cooked pineapple and the flavour was so intense it reminded me slightly of pineapple concentrate.

Coffee and petits fours (all eaten far too quickly) rounded off a great meal. This restaurant deserves to be full (which it was last night) and if there were any issues with service these have been ironed out. We decided to go for wines by the glass, including a great Chassagne Montrachet i had with one of the various starting courses. Frankly, I can't recommend it highly enough.

My one niggling issue is that of the cost. I thought that what we paid was fair value, but the Garden menu was the same price as the normal menu. The normal menu had the same number of dishes and included ingredients such as foie gras, lobster and venison. If cost is directly equated to the cost of ingredients then we were ripped off. If cost is equated to enjoyment, service and most importantly quality of meal then we did fine. Nonetheless it does seem slightly odd that an entirely vegetarian meal can cost the same as one including delicacies from the sea and our four/two legged friends.

[tony h]

Sunday lunch at Morgan M

First – silky white bean soup pour over three little mounds: lemon confit, tomato dice & pesto. This was very good – great finish. Interesting contrast between the flavours. Very satisfying.

Next – I had carpaccio of scallops (two) with shredded asparagus, puree of asparagus & ice cream made from sheeps cheese. The ice cream did dominate a little too much so I ate it on its own. The shredded asparagus had been marinated for some time which gave an lovely acid hit which complemented the scallops & puree. My companion had foie gras terrine with ratte potatoes in the terrine. Exceptionally good foie gras.

Then – turbot with ravioli of lobster all set in a fabulous thickened sauce (Morgan M wasn’t giving much away when I quizzed about it).

Mains finished with veal& sweetbreads for me & lamb for my companion. The veal was a small piece of lion on a bed of lemon scented spinach. Pieces of sweetbreads scattered around the place as were morels and jerusalem artichokes. This all came with a light cream sauce. Simple wonderful. The lamb dish was rack & leg confit with gnocchi. Great reduction.

First dessert – rice pudding wrapped in a tuile. If you like rice pudding, you’d love this. I am not fan of rice at the end of a meal.

Other desserts – mine was layers of strawberries & raspberries with crisp discs separating them. This came with red berry coulis & lemon verbena ice cream. My companion had passion fruit soufflé – I am no great fan of soufflé but this was pretty good. Came with exceptionally good passion fruit sorbet & passion fruit & vanilla sauce. Two great dishes.

All that for 39 pounds each – a bargain. The food has improved enormously since last visit about a year ago. The cooking seems a lot more confidant but they do skimp on the bread. He’s definitely shooting of a Michelin star & don’t think he’ll be waiting too long before he gets it.