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Anthony's, Leeds

Andy Lynes
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Bapi

Bapi

Posted
Posted
will the jacketless potato feature again on the menu?  I never got to try (despite my best efforts to keep going back) ... and feel as though I have missed out!!

Did note that they had the homage to the pina colada amuse when I was there a few weeks ago ...

Yin

Yin

Like wise - this is one dish I too would love to try, as I remember Gary liking this specifically. The dishes conception sounds intriguing and I would love to see( and of course, taste) how it is executed.

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted

Tony has wanted to do a tasting menu virtually since day one but had to get his kitchen sorted, for a long time there was only 2 in the kitchen and they really need three/four to fulfill his ambitions so they were sticking to the ALC, and believe me he's not someone who likes to send out anything that is not spot on!

he did say on Saturday that he's promised a lot of people that the tasting menu was coming and is aware that it's not yet materialised.... but they have just enlarged the kitchen and i think they are pretty much sorted in the kitchen now so hopefully it'll not be too much longer.......

what we had on saturday was pretty much the full new ALC, we are happy guinea pigs /greedy so they know they can give us anything and we'll happily eat it, it was so new even Olga hadn't seen the dishes before!

cheers

gary

ps i think i last had jacketless potatoes at christmas, they were as good as ever, in a short space of time he's got some very memorable dishes that would sit nicely on a tasting, however i don't know how time consuming they are to prep which might be an issue.

you don't win friends with salad

Suzi Edwards

Suzi Edwards

Posted
Posted
Tony has wanted to do a tasting menu virtually since day one but had to get his kitchen sorted, for a long time there was only 2 in the kitchen and they really need three/four to fulfill his ambitions so they were sticking to the ALC, and believe me he's not someone who likes to send out anything that is not spot on!

This is strange as Fraiche in Birkenhead produces a la carte, and two tasting menus (6 and 12 courses) and they only have two people in the kitchen. That said, should Anthony's start offering a tasting menu, I would go back if I was in the area.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

adt

adt

Posted
Posted

how many covers do they manage roughly, with only two in the kitchen?

what about dish washing, etc., I guess they have additional staff for that? please forgive my ignorance in such matters - I'm really interested in how few staff you can run a serious kitchen with (likewise for Anthony's).

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
Tony has wanted to do a tasting menu virtually since day one but had to get his kitchen sorted, for a long time there was only 2 in the kitchen and they really need three/four to fulfill his ambitions so they were sticking to the ALC, and believe me he's not someone who likes to send out anything that is not spot on!

This is strange as Fraiche in Birkenhead produces a la carte, and two tasting menus (6 and 12 courses) and they only have two people in the kitchen. That said, should Anthony's start offering a tasting menu, I would go back if I was in the area.

why is it strange?

is the fewer the chefs in the kitchen now an indicator of quality?!

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted (edited)
how many covers do they manage roughly, with only two in the kitchen?

what about dish washing, etc., I guess they have additional staff for that? please forgive my ignorance in such matters - I'm really interested in how few staff you can run a serious kitchen with (likewise for Anthony's).

covers are the key, anthony's are full every evening which is 32 covers i think, plus lunches and they are booked on saturdays until july, although a nice situation to be in it puts pressure on the kitchen as every guest be they trade, press, guide or ordinary punter expects the place to live up to its great reputation.

Holly said there is no quiet night, every night for them is saturday night (but at least on sunday they get a day off!) so everyone in there is working just unfathomably long hours- how does 6-ish am till 2-3 am grab you?!

Even their 3 course alc becomes 6-7 courses with cocktails/amuses/bread/pre deserts.

As for other places 2-3 man top kitchens are not uncommon in the provinces but it is all relative to the number of covers/complexity of the cusine/number of services- shaun hill was a very busy one man band but he didn't do 10 services a week.

Places such as le champignon sauvage, hibiscus, black pig etc are not likely to be that busy every day, or it's a steady upward progression and the restaurant grows into its stature, anthonys has only just been open for a year and has been coping with full services every night for some time yet. Most places are little more slow burn eg merchant house/hibsicus/ludlow phenonemon.

but at the winteringham/ramsay level you are looking at 10 chefs plus easily, hence the term 'brigade' for the kitchen staff, it's like a military operation comprised of lots of specialists each doing their own part of a bigger piece.

cheers

gary

Edited by Gary Marshall (log)

you don't win friends with salad

adt

adt

Posted
Posted
everyone in there is working just unfathomably long hours- how does 6-ish am till 2-3 am grab you?!

Totally unimaginable, after more than a couple of days. I wonder how they do it.

Even their 3 course alc becomes 6-7 courses with cocktails/amuses/bread/pre deserts.

As for other places 2-3 man top kitchens are not uncommon in the provinces but it is all relative to the number of covers/complexity of the cusine/number of services- shaun hill was a very busy one man band but he didn't do 10 services a week.

Hmm. I was imagining that without undue suffering, one chef could perhaps manage 20 covers with one kitchen assistant (vegetable chopper, dishwasher loader etc.), evenings only...?

Incidentally, I hope my earlier post didn't come across negatively, I was very enthusiastic about what they are doing at Anthony's. Most of the dishes I tried have already been thoroughly deconstructed on this forum I think. We could each have eaten a distressing number of their spider crab and grape jelly amuses quite happily. I thought their black olive tatin's caramel was particularly well rendered, pushing the savoury-salty aspect pleasingly to the very limit. I was more skeptical about the choice of pineapple as the fruit, which seemed somewhat astringent, but it seems I'd be utterly out-voted on this count from previous posts.

If only one could order their home-made black pudding through the post, I'm sure they'd be inundated.

Thanks for the detailed reply btw.

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted

i didn't think you were being negative, you just sounded interested!

there appears to be a particular form of sado-masochism that comes from working in kitchens with michelin aspirations. For tony & co it almost appears a challenge to see just how hard they can work.

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

Bapi

Bapi

Posted
Posted
i didn't think you were being negative, you just sounded interested!

there appears to be a particular form of sado-masochism that comes from working in kitchens with michelin aspirations. For tony & co it almost appears a challenge to see just how hard they can work.

cheers

gary

So what can we expect this weekend then Gary? :smile:

Can you tell- I am a smidgen excited? :biggrin:

HINT- That Mullet / chicken skin/langoustine dish would be , er nice. :wub:

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
i didn't think you were being negative, you just sounded interested!

there appears to be a particular form of sado-masochism that comes from working in kitchens with michelin aspirations. For tony & co it almost appears a challenge to see just how hard they can work.

cheers

gary

So what can we expect this weekend then Gary? :smile:

Can you tell- I am a smidgen excited? :biggrin:

HINT- That Mullet / chicken skin/langoustine dish would be , er nice. :wub:

what can you expect?

given the company, probably a headache :laugh:

you really are obsessed with langoustines aren't you?!

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

Bapi

Bapi

Posted
Posted (edited)
i didn't think you were being negative, you just sounded interested!

there appears to be a particular form of sado-masochism that comes from working in kitchens with michelin aspirations. For tony & co it almost appears a challenge to see just how hard they can work.

cheers

gary

So what can we expect this weekend then Gary? :smile:

Can you tell- I am a smidgen excited? :biggrin:

HINT- That Mullet / chicken skin/langoustine dish would be , er nice. :wub:

what can you expect?

given the company, probably a headache :laugh:

you really are obsessed with langoustines aren't you?!

cheers

gary

Aye, guilty as charged.

Claire at Hibiscus was egging me on to eat both mine and Rosie's course of langoustines - when she had popped to the loo. I did give it some thought- but then again, I am both physically and spiritually attached to my testicles.

And re company- I have earplugs on order, for me and some bromide for Slacks. :raz:

Edited by Bapi (log)
Suzi Edwards

Suzi Edwards

Posted
Posted
Tony has wanted to do a tasting menu virtually since day one but had to get his kitchen sorted, for a long time there was only 2 in the kitchen and they really need three/four to fulfill his ambitions so they were sticking to the ALC, and believe me he's not someone who likes to send out anything that is not spot on!

This is strange as Fraiche in Birkenhead produces a la carte, and two tasting menus (6 and 12 courses) and they only have two people in the kitchen. That said, should Anthony's start offering a tasting menu, I would go back if I was in the area.

why is it strange?

is the fewer the chefs in the kitchen now an indicator of quality?!

cheers

gary

Not at all and that isn't what I said. I know you find it hard when people don't like Anthony's, but I'm sure I'm not the only person to feel that the experience didn't live up to expectations (expectations set primarily by people whose opinions I trust on this board, I might add) I was pointing out that smaller kitchens are able to produce tasting menus but the kitchen size is always the reason why Anthony's don't.

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
I know you find it hard when people don't like Anthony's,

i know you think that, but it's simply not true.

i've taken a lot of people to anthony's from leeds locals to world weary, been there, seen it all 3* veteran new yorkers.... and i expect every time someone is going to say 'no'- 'it's just not that good' or ' i ate that in el bulli 2 years ago' and so far no-one has, which adds to my belief that i am right, and it is a truely exceptional restaurant, but I don't need the validation from other diners, it's good that others agree but i can certainly cope with any contrary views!

there's another nine people coming this weekend several of whom write here, maybe some of them won't like it, and if they don't i'm sure they'll write about it, then we can have a debate about it, i won't find it hard i'll find it interesting.

cheers

gary

ps the kitchen has just been extended, i'm sure the tasting menu will follow shortly.....

you don't win friends with salad

daw

daw

Posted
Posted (edited)

HINT- That Mullet / chicken skin/langoustine dish would be , er nice. :wub:

I had this Saturday night and it is very good, although the enoki could be omitted for me, as adt suggested. The chicken skin was perfect on this occasion.

Overall on Saturday starters (braised pork cheeks, duck neck) and deserts (lemon, and cucumber) were spot on the mains could be tweaked - remove enoki, artichoke heart not good in turbot with smoked eel, although fennel was perfect foil to eel.

Desert riesling recomended by Olga was to die for.

Gift of a bread loaf from Olga was a real hit with the kids on Sunday morning.

All in all Anthony goes from strength to strength, I made two more reservations :raz:

David

Edited by daw (log)
Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
All in all Anthony goes from strength to strength, I made two more reservations  :raz:

georgio locatelli (clang!) once said to me that everyone said nice things about his food to his face but he really took notice if they made another reservation.

glad you enjoyed it david

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

adt

adt

Posted
Posted

I'd agree that this thread has set astronomical expectations, and although I wouldn't judge a restaurant as a whole from a single visit, my particular visit didn't meet them in the way that, say, the FD did, due to what I felt were compositional flaws in each of the principal courses. However, some of the ingredients, ideas and combinations were magnificent, and the enthusiasm and attitude of the staff was, as the GFG would say, infectious.

I'll certainly be making another reservation when I next get the chance. As I lamented with georgio when I was over at his villa, how does one persuade one's less gastronomically-plagued friends in Leeds that visits to Anthony's ought to be bimonthly rather than biennial affairs??

Ian

I go to bakeries, all day long.

There's a lack of sweetness in my life...

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
However, some of the ingredients, ideas and combinations were magnificent, and the enthusiasm and attitude of the staff was, as the GFG would say, infectious.

I'll certainly be making another reservation when I next get the chance. As I lamented with georgio when I was over at his villa, how does one persuade one's less gastronomically-plagued friends in Leeds that visits to Anthony's ought to be bimonthly rather than biennial affairs??

this is the key for me,

something i have found in every meal at some point there's a 'f*cking hell that is good' moment that i just don't seem to get with the same frequency anywhere else.

it might be an amuse/ a pre desert/ a sauce/even a strategically placed garnish or whatever but it's always there and that's what keeps me going back just to see what he'll come up with next.

the love of what they are doing in the kitchen comes through in the service and just makes it a very special place.

Hibiscus is the only place like it to my mind, both future 3* imo.

cheers

gary

ps say hi from gazza next time you see georgio :laugh:

you don't win friends with salad

YKL

YKL

Posted
Posted
how does one persuade one's less gastronomically-plagued friends in Leeds that visits to Anthony's ought to be bimonthly rather than biennial affairs??

If Sat night bookings are now taken till July then six monthly may be all that's available! :wink:

Are Saturday lunchtimes still booked up? If not, I might try and venture in this weekend - the lemon / cucumber dessert alluded to above sounded quite interesting.

cheers

Yin

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted

Are Saturday lunchtimes still booked up?  If not, I might try and venture in this weekend -

best call them quickly, i've got two tables of five and there's two other sixes in as well!

if you go come and say hello.

cheers

gary

you don't win friends with salad

YKL

YKL

Posted
Posted (edited)

Party of ten ... so is this the final confirmation that Anthony's is really a private dining club for you Gary?!? :laugh: just kidding ..

Sounds like it could be fun to meet some of the people who post on EG - although not having any luck getting through at the moment - phone's been engaged for 10 mins. Hmmmm ..

If I get to go ... I'll be the quiet one in the corner with a paper, demolishing entire loaves of bread by myself, without having to share it with nine other people on the table. Friends are important ... but sometimes you have to prioritise ....

Edited by YKL (log)
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