Menu vs. The Grill

[sgfrank]

Hello all,

I will be venturing to London this coming June, and on the recommendation of a friend plan to try the dining room at the Connaught. However, on browing GR's website, I see that there are two different dining rooms. Are they simply different spaces with the same food? Would anyone here care to put forward a recommendation for one over the other? (Or for that matter, will I have a good meal at the Connaught? No horror stories to report?)

On that vein, I also intend to make it to GR's RHR. Will reservations be attainable for a lunch? Do I understand correctly that you have to call 1 month in advance to the day to book, or have I transplanted that factoid from another restaurant?

Thanks,

Simon

[MobyP]

Hi sgfrank.

RHR is usually pretty busy for dinners, but lunches are usually attainable. Either way, the more heads up you give them, the better. I don't know what the lead time is on opening the books for dinners.

Menu has had a lot of mixed reviews. If you wanted two exceptional but different high gourmet meals, you couldn't do much better than RHR and Fat Duck.

[sgfrank]

Thanks MobyP, that's pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

As much as I would love to hit the Fat Duck while I'm there, I think that dragging the rest of my party out there might be somewhat prohibitive (it's a fair train ride, correct?).

Do you or anyone else have any suggestions for another dinner out, perhaps something a bit less dear than RHR? I was browsing over the list of 2 stars, but I'm afraid the list was pretty meaningless to me. Is there anything particularly worth visiting (2 star or otherwise) near South Kensington? I am woefully ignorant of the neighbourhoods in London, and thus I have no idea if one is likely to find anything there.

Thanks again,

Simon

[MobyP]

If you want cheaper you should head away from the star places. You won't get change from 2 stars in this town.

It's about 30 mins by train to FD, and it's immensely picturesque - what about lunch? You could walk through the village afterwards. Go down to the river. Throw stones at the ducks and rich people. It's very romantic.

Otherwise you have the non-starred 'places of interest.' St. John. Thyme. Hakkasan (which may have one star). I'm sure people will give you their lists. There's a lot of really good food in this town. But cheap this place ain't.

[Gavin Convery]

Personally, I would skip RHR and go to Sketch..about the same price with the new menus. If you want dinner at RHR then you have to book exactly one month in advance as you mention. Sketch is much easier to get in to.

I wouldn't miss St John Bread and Wine, probably at lunch and have the razor clams if they're on...but it is a fair way from South Ken.

South Ken area is good for Racine.. much liked on this site and you're not too far from Foliage and the Capital, both good choices although I would probably go for the Capital over Foliage. Tom Aikens isn't too far away either and I think you have to book exactly one month in advance there..it seems to be quite difficult to get in as I have not succeeded as yet.

[howardlong]

Hello all,

I will be venturing to London this coming June, and on the recommendation of a friend plan to try the dining room at the Connaught. However, on browing GR's website, I see that there are two different dining rooms. Are they simply different spaces with the same food? Would anyone here care to put forward a recommendation for one over the other? (Or for that matter, will I have a good meal at the Connaught? No horror stories to report?)

On that vein, I also intend to make it to GR's RHR. Will reservations be attainable for a lunch? Do I understand correctly that you have to call 1 month in advance to the day to book, or have I transplanted that factoid from another restaurant?

Thanks,

Simon

Hi Simon

I've been to the Connaught about 15 or so times since it opened 18 months ago, so I guess you could say I like it.

I've dined in the Grill three times, once for lunch. In the Grill there is no smoking, and the menu is the same as Menu except for the addition of some of the traditional 'old favourites', reminiscent of the old days at the Connaught before Ramsay took over all the food and beverage there. There's seating for about thirty in there.

The main dining room, Menu, is where I usually dine and seats about fifty. Smoking is allowed, but the tables are well spaced and I've never been bothered by others who do smoke in there, even if they're sitting at the same table (I am not a smoker). I prefer the main dining room because of the ambience in there. The Grill seems to be less popular, and often appears to be overflow from the main restaurant.

If you can make up a party of six or more, the Chef's table is enormous fun, and you dine right in the kitchen as well as having a go cooking some of the eight courses on the menu.

Nice touches include an antipasto freebie with bread as you browse the menu, and a wonderful ice cream and sorbet selection as a pre dessert.

My favourite items at the moment include the pan fried foie gras with baby tomatos for a starter, and the sweetbread for a main. Lamb is always good there. If they have a risotto starter, it's highly recommended. The cheese trolley has a good selection of French and Italian cheeses (twenty or so of each). For dessert, the warmed Gorgonzola and Pear is to die for, especially with a sweet dessert wine.

The wine list is extensive, concentrating to a large degree on Italian, but there's still plenty of French as well as a significant number of other European and New World selections.

Since gaining their Michelin star I have found it increasingly difficult to get in during the evening at no notice, however they gave me their 'private number' last week when they asked why they hadn't seen me for a few weeks. Whether it works or not I have yet to find out.

In general I like the slightly less formal service at the Connaught, but it's still professional, and very well timed, although it's not up to Gavroche standards.

I would find it difficult to find significant fault with the Connaught in any of my trips there.

Cheers, Howard

[howardlong]

Thanks MobyP, that's pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

As much as I would love to hit the Fat Duck while I'm there, I think that dragging the rest of my party out there might be somewhat prohibitive (it's a fair train ride, correct?).

Do you or anyone else have any suggestions for another dinner out, perhaps something a bit less dear than RHR? I was browsing over the list of 2 stars, but I'm afraid the list was pretty meaningless to me. Is there anything particularly worth visiting (2 star or otherwise) near South Kensington? I am woefully ignorant of the neighbourhoods in London, and thus I have no idea if one is likely to find anything there.

Thanks again,

Simon

Hello again Simon

My favourite restaurant is Aubergine which just happens to be in South Kensington. I go there about once a week. If you see a guy in a suit slightly wobbly on a push bike cycling up the Fulham Road at about 1:00am, it's probably me on my way home from there. It's classical French food, and I have yet to taste better cooked pan fried foie gras anywhere. The chef there does some wonderful assiettes de (lamb/pork etc). If the main Maitre d' is there (Thierry Tomasin) he can keep you entertained for hours with anecdotes. Some people find it a bit too formal, although I've never had that problem. It is one star. Avoid the table for two behind the pillar at the back unless you're into romantic tete-a-tete's: you can get ignored.

Another suggestion is The Capital (two stars, Knightsbridge, walkable in ten minutes from South Ken, two minutes on a push bike!). This is slightly less traditional foodwise, but good nonetheless. I love the intimacy of the tiny dining room (perhaps room for barely thirty in there).

Also close to South Kensington is Tom Aikens (one star, Chelsea, ten minute walk from South Ken), and you can see what we've had to say there in a recent thread.

Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental is one star, about ten minutes from South Ken. I quite like it except for the clientele who can be rowdy cell phone wielding types after a few too many at the meat market bar attached.

Petrus is about a fifteen minute walk from South Ken and is another Ramsay place. Highly recommended, but seems to attract power business diners on expense accounts.

For an Indian with a twist (think flavour and not spice) there is Zaika (one star) on High Street Kensington, about a ten or fifteen minute walk from South Ken.

Another favourite of mine near South Ken is Racine which has no stars but has real classical French food at astonishingly reasonable prices. Five minute walk from South Ken tube. It's almost next to my gym too, so there's always a chance of a work out when you've finished - or maybe not.

Cheers, Howard

[robyn]

I was planning to start a separate thread about our meal at Menu - but it seemed like a good idea to add my thoughts here (no sense having numerous threads about the same restaurant). This was my third favorite meal in London (after Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aikens). It was excellent - but not quite as excellent as number one and number two.

I chose to eat at Menu instead of the Grill because I smoke - and was told that all the Grill had to offer (that Menu didn't) was non-smoking and a few old traditional dishes. The decision was a no-brainer for me.

The room is elegant in an old fashioned British kind of way. But the restaurant isn't stuffy. This is probably due to the staff. A lot of the people we dealt with were from Italy. They were knowledgeable - and friendly. They even put up with our terrible Italian . The tables are well spaced. We had a table for two near a table for 8 - and we couldn't hear a single thing they were saying!

I chose this restaurant as one of the places we'd try on our recent trip because: 1) I like to support woman chefs (there aren't many of them - and just a few have Michelin stars); and 2) I had read that Angela Hartnett was trying to inject an Italian influence into what was formerly a very stodgy room (can't vouch for this - this was my first time dining in the room). And influence is the right word - this is *not* an Italian restaurant - it *is* a restaurant with Italian influences.

My husband and I started with an amuse of celeriac soup. Delicious. My starter was the roasted breast of quail with onion ravioli. I love quail - and I loved this dish. My husband started with roasted Scottish sea scallops with a smoked red wine sauce. I tried some of his. Good - but I wouldn't give him half of mine .

We had to make an important decision before this trip. Offal or no offal. We figured what is eating in Europe without offal? And we're getting old enough that we won't die young anymore (of mad cow disease or anything else). So our mains were all offal - all the time. My husband had a special not on the menu. Liver (fegato) with potatoes and cabbage. I had the carmelized sweetbread with grilled asparagus, green beans and veal reduction sauce. Here - we had a wash. Each of us ate half of the other's dish (as well as half of our own) with great gusto. These dishes both showed the Italian influence. They were relatively restrained - and allowed the main ingredient to shine.

For dessert - first there was a dessert amuse of tiramisu. Somewhat of a cliche these days - but it's a cliche because - if made properly - it's delicious. And this one was made properly. Then I had the poached pear with gorgonzola cheese. I will never pass up a poached pear anywhere. And I was correct not to pass it up this time. This particular gorgonzola was creamy and not too sharp - a perfect foil for the pear. And when we ran out of pear - we finished off the rest of the cheese with some cheese biscuits (which the staff was glad to bring over). Again - this was an Italian influenced dessert - fruit and cheese. My husband made an unfortunate choice for dessert - the passion fruit baba au rum. I don't recommend it.

As for wines - like I've said before - my tummy doesn't get along with wine - but it seems to embrace champagne. I had perhaps 3 glasses of the house champagne (can't remember what it was). Very nice. I haven't mentioned it before - but at every fine restaurant we went to in London - I loved watching the people who poured the magnums of champagne - balancing the bottles on their arms. Perfect pours. They should have signs on their backs though - DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! My husband had wine by the glass (as he frequently does). He can't remember what he had - although I remember that he enjoyed the white with his starter very much - and was disappointed with the red (this is unfortunately common - it's easier to get excellent white wines by the glass than reds in finer restaurants). For those of you who drink wine by the bottle - there are tons of relatively inexpensive Italian wines on the wine list which should pair nicely with the food.

All in all - a really nice meal. Relative bargain too. Three course fixed price dinner for 50 pounds. It's a Michelin one star - and I think that's exactly what it is. Not the best in London - but very fine indeed. Robyn

[robyn]

There's a lot of really good food in this town. But cheap this place ain't.

Correct on both counts in my opinion.

After we were in London for about 24 hours - we figured out that what costs $1 in the US costs about a pound in London. Which means that it's about 80% more expensive. I think the person who started this thread is from Canada - so his sticker shock will probably be greater than ours. Robyn