Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road

[Pweaver1984]

I really like the room, although it did get a bit loud as the clock crept towards 4.00pm and the table of 8 having the tasting menu worked their way through their matched wines -but much rather that than a hushed reverance.

I'd second this, was there last monday evening with a reservation for 2215. First thing that hit me was the noise of the room. But had a fantastic meal, everything I'd imagined it to be. Whoever said he was the Pete Sampras of cooking (somewhere on the board) I definatly know where your coming from. Its not a bad thing either...

What did you go for Andy?

I opted for:

Slow Braised pied de cochon pressed then pan fried with poached quails egg, ham knuckle and hollandaise.

Line caught turbot roasted on the bone with coriander papardelle, braised vegetables and a citrus butter sauce

Shared a Cheese

and

Assiette de l'Aubergine

One thing I found a bit distracting was seeing a lot of the kitchen brigade coming and going from the restaurant over to what I presume is their new staff accommodation ( I was seated at the window). They could maybe drop the curtains when it gets a bit late into the night/early morning? (Am I nit-picking? )

Paul

[Andy Lynes]

There's real warmth, character and personality, particularly from maitre'd Jean Claude, which is so often missing. 

Ahh, there's nothing so pleasing on these boards as the gentle sound of fellatio.

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That's actually quite hilarious coming from someone who in the Lynes household is routinely referred to as Gordon Ramsay's official PR (you can blame my wife for that one). As you can imagine, we're anxiously awaiting your report from New York - going soon I take it?

[jayrayner]

!

Edited November 5, 2006 by jayrayner (log)

[Andy Lynes]

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?

[Champagne Sadie]

Whoever said he was the Pete Sampras of cooking (somewhere on the board) I definatly know where your coming from. Its not a bad thing either...

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If you mean Chef Ramsay, he ain't cooked in that kitchen for years.

I think we may see even more of Chef Ramsay in the press over the coming weeks. (If that's possible).

[Bu Pun Su]

I am just wondering how many michelin stars does GR at Claridge's hold?

How much different is it from the GR at RHR? Like Keller's FL vs per se?

Thanks

[Jon Tseng]

I am just wondering how many michelin stars does GR at Claridge's hold?

How much different is it from the GR at RHR? Like Keller's FL vs per se?

Thanks

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* vs. *** for mothership so not same relationship as FL and Per Se

Sylistically the menu at claridges very similar to RHR - the closest to RHR of all the GR joints (but I guess he has is name on the door so it should be).

The general view is the execution isn't quite as good. NB its a much bigger operation too (about twice the covers on my calcs) so you'd expect the cooking might not be as focused

My advice If you had to go to one of them?

Go to neither. If you want modish mod-French with bells and whistles try the Greenhouse instead

J

[Matthew Grant]

Go to neither.  If you want modish mod-French with bells and whistles try the Greenhouse instead

J

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Pre or post Bjorn van der Horst?

[Jon Tseng]

Pre or post Bjorn van der Horst?

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Post. been there twice since and actually prefer it to the bjorn-again noisette - think hes toned down his cuisine too much since then and is still hamstrung by the room.

plus GH has a wine list that could double as a prop in Lethal Weapon - its on the website:

look, but don't touch!

J

[Matthew Grant]

Is the atmostphere any livelier since he left? I'm trying to persuade the other half to return but she's not keen on the room and the hush that everyone seems to eat in.

[Jon Tseng]

Is the atmostphere any livelier since he left? I'm trying to persuade the other half to return but she's not keen on the room and the hush that everyone seems to eat in.

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On a midweek night room was full. Its never going to be loud (if you want hi decibels diners braying 2 ft from your table i can def recomment GR@RHR!) but I would classify GH as initimate rather than hushed. I really like the room, they hid they fact they are essentially in the basement very well.

The other thing is that service is a very very slick operation. You can see it from how they do the simple things like keepign glasses discreetly topped up very well. I think GH and Wolesey have best FoH in London.

the one criticism is that the menu is never going to be as uber-innovative as it was in the bjorn era. its not a carte where i look at it and i see three or four really cool things i reallly want to order. execution on what they do do is top notch tho.

J

Edited November 22, 2006 by Jon Tseng (log)

[ravelda]

Wow - Jon, you really are not a fan of Gordon are you! I have to say that I have never had any problems with noise at any of his restaurants and still rate it as one of the best restaurants in the country, and one of the best in the world (not the best, simply one of!)

[Jon Tseng]

Wow - Jon, you really are not a fan of Gordon are you!  I have to say that I have never had any problems with noise at any of his restaurants and still rate it as one of the best restaurants in the country, and one of the best in the world (not the best, simply one of!)

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I have every admiration for his achievements, but he has sacrified culinary innovation to pursue the volume market.

One of best restaurants in the country for execution, but not excitement or innovation (list of restaurants I would rather eat at? Off top of my head and in no apparent order Anthonys, Enclume, Champignon Sauvage, Bacchus, Sketch Lecture Room, Greenhouse, Juniper and that was without pausing for thought and barely touching the big smoke.)

On a global basis by some distance second tier in all his incarnations. Range and execution doesn't hold a candle to the upper half of the French ***s. To be fair though, he's also a lot cheaper.

J

[Bu Pun Su]

Hi Jon Tseng,

Thank you for the reply and explaination

For the time being, I don't have any plan to come to UK yet

I guess chef Ramsay now is like monsieur Ducasse who rarely cooks at his restaurants' kitchens (I don't know if this is the case as well for Mr. Robuchon)

Don't know about Gordon, but Alain is doing a great job so far (at least for his top 3 dining places). I mean they may not be creative but the dishes really represent (classic) French haute cuisine. Sometimes it makes me curious if Ramsay, Ducasse and Robuchon are still really good in the sense to create new dishes, not simply put their names on the food created by their teams

So, how much is it actually for the degustation menu at Gordon Ramsay RHR (also how much would it cost at the restaurants you recommended - Greenhouse and Sketch)? Does the food at Sketch really represent Gagnaire's at Paris?

[ravelda]

I understand where you are coming from Jon, and on the culinary innovation side I would tend to agree. My question is, whilst it is essentail for cuisine in general to have people coming up with new and inventive food, can you really knock a chef for focusing on the classics and executing to perfection every time. I have always found Gordon's food to be a perfect representation of the classics, sometimes with some modern twists.

"On a global basis by some distance second tier in all his incarnations. Range and execution doesn't hold a candle to the upper half of the French ***s"

Whilst there are better 3* places, I do think that he is on a par with most and better than many, including those in France. IMHO only of course

[camdan]

If you mean Chef Ramsay, he ain't cooked in that kitchen for years.

This is a few weeks late, but I was there on September 5th; the night they re-opened after summer and he was there then, in a very posh but suspiciously clean chef's jacket.

[Andy Fenn]

This is a few weeks late, but I was there on September 5th; the night they re-opened after summer and he was there then, in a very posh but suspiciously clean chef's jacket.

What did you have? How was it? I want to hear more reports!

The Ramsay thing is a big divider these days. I had one of the best meals of my life there about 5 years ago. A couple of lunches soon after were similarly stupendous. So I went this year with high hopes. And was disappointed. I went again, just to be sure. And again I was disappointed. I think I posted on both the meals on this thread. Now his prices have gone up an outrageous 20%, it's unlikely I'll go back unless I receive glowing reports.

I'd second this, was there last monday evening with a reservation for 2215. First thing that hit me was the noise of the room. But had a fantastic meal, everything I'd imagined it to be. Whoever said he was the Pete Sampras of cooking (somewhere on the board) I definatly know where your coming from. Its not a bad thing either...

What did you go for Andy?

I opted for:

Slow Braised pied de cochon pressed then pan fried with poached quails egg, ham knuckle and hollandaise.

Line caught turbot roasted on the bone with coriander papardelle, braised vegetables and a citrus butter sauce

I must admit, the turbot was absolutely superb. That was the standout of my first meal there this year. A 3* dish. But the terrine of trotter and ham really didn't sing for me. Likewise, scallop and beef did not produce the gushing reactions of old. And tarte tatin was just poor, iin comparison with superb specimens at the Waterside (also a poor meal though) and Midsummer House.

[camdan]

What did you have? How was it? I want to hear more reports!

I had the lobster, which was very nice, although perhaps a little strongly flavoured, some of the actual lobster taste was drowned out. Then the beef (surf at turf at it's best here) which was wonderful, although I thought the tiny shavings of truffle were a bit pointless; they were clearly only present so 'truffle' could be included in the description, and there wasn't really enough to give any flavour. The lime parfait dessert was the highlight though and probably the best thing I've ever tasted.

We had a bottle of Beau Soleil, which was a little steeply priced (of course, one expects that at a 3 star) at £72, but very nice. The waitress forgot our drinks with desserts though, which we didn't really mind because we were having such a good time, but we got those (a bottle of tokaji and some Bollinger) for free because of it which was very nice.

And I had a Macallan 25 (wasn't that great to be honest - should have had the Lagavulin, or nothing) and a double espresso (the strongest espresso I've ever tasted and it kept me up half the night) to finish.

Being only twenty I don't have a huge range of experience with uber-food but it ranks in my top four (along with The Fat Duck, Sushi Yasuda, New York and Sushi Kaji, Toronto).

One thing that really annoys me about places like this is being charged for trivial purchases such as a cup of coffee; to be fair if I've been part of a table that's just spent £500+ on a meal, I don't think it's too unreasonable to expect to be given a cup of coffee, alas though, that never seems to happen.

[balex]

Pre or post Bjorn van der Horst?

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Post. been there twice since and actually prefer it to the bjorn-again noisette - think hes toned down his cuisine too much since then and is still hamstrung by the room.

plus GH has a wine list that could double as a prop in Lethal Weapon - its on the website:

look, but don't touch!

J

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This is getting off topic but that is a very good wine list -- and there is some value there -- some Spanish rarities at close to a wholesale price, though the famous French stuff is, ahem, fully priced.

[Scott]

I guess chef Ramsay now is like monsieur Ducasse who rarely cooks at his restaurants' kitchens (I don't know if this is the case as well for Mr. Robuchon)

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FWIW Joel was working in the kitchen at Atelier about 4 weeks ago.

[RDB]

Had lunch here last week and although pleasant not somewhere I will want to return. When we arrived it took a while for front of house to notice us, when they did they rushed over to us so quickly that we had to take a step back!

The dining room which we were informed had undergone a major refurbishment, but in the words of that great philosopher Shania Twain, 'it don't impress me much...' I am not someone who knows much about interior design, but the 'tortoise shell glass' throughout the restaurant just looked like it needed a good cleaning. The carpet looked like it was out of the lobby of a cheap hotel. Anyway I wasn't here for the room but the food......

We opted for the lunch menu, which was a choice of three options per course.

We were reliably informed that the chef wanted us to try a course before our starter, a special course which they serve this time of year, turn away if you are easily offended:

Pumpkin and truffle soup with a tortellini of pumpkin and amaretto and parmesan.

Yes this old staple. I was very disappointed by the lack of originality with this dish. The plate arrived with the tortellini on top of the parmesan and the soup was poured over. It tasted ok, with the amaretto giving a subtle background flavour. However the cheese and pumpkin gave it a flavour very similar to wotsits, the colour didn't distract from this concept much. I also asked was it truffle oil they used or fresh truffles, sadly it was the former. Maybe I am wrong but I thought pumpkin is out of season in March?

Pressed foie gras with sauternes and camomile reduction, pickled vegetables, grilled focaccia

This wasn't bad the foie gras was creamy, the reduction was more of a jelly and the vegetables (garlic, shallot and romanesque cauliflower) were crisp with a lovely acidic bite. The focaccia was quite good and a welcome change from brioche.

My dining partner's blue fin tuna and roasted cep tartar with oscietra caviar, basil puree, spring onions and cep vinigrette was a terrible dish. You would think with so many flavours in one dish you would be overwhelmed, but this dish in my opinion was one flavour, beefy mushroom. The caviar was totally lost and the tuna flacid and bland. It came with a superfluous and pointless ciabatta

Pan fried fillet of Pacific cod, larded with smoked salmon with braised lentils, crosnes and Jerusalem artichoke veloute.

Not bad. Cod was slightly overcooked for my liking but the skin was very crispy. Lentils were cooked well and had a soupy quality, which combined well with the veloute. Crosnes were crisp and sticky but a little heavy on seasoning. Smoked salmon added a nice back flavour. At the end of the day it was cod and lentils, nothing special.

My dining partner had pork three ways which included 'traditional black pudding'. We asked was the pudding made on the premises, he stated he did not know. Ok. 'Well where is it from'? He continued to look a bit flustered and stated he was not sure. Ok.' Would it be possible to find out?' He then came up with the idea of asking the chef. After dessert we were informed in passing, it was from Yorkshire. Where in Yorkshire? Who in Yorkshire? Anyway we gave up, if anyone knows who provides Gordon Ramsey's black pudding let me know, there is a reward.

Gianduja chocolate parfait with passion fruit and guava coulis

This was the best dish both visually and taste wise, a pyramid of delicious parfait with a nice tart coulis. Looking at the other desserts going out I think this is the restaurant's strong point. My dining partner's raspberry and lemon millefeuille was also very good, only to be let down with a very unseasonal garnish of raspberries.

I found the service quite amateurish, intrusive and rusty, a few examples:

> Waiters striking up conversation about all kinds of subjects and keeping it going for ages, and enduring silences in the conversation. Now I am not one to shy from a chat but when you are trying to eat it is a little disconcerting.

> Three different waiters informing me what crosnes are , after stating I knew what they were.

> A waiter who either had severe anxiety or the DT's when serving us a piece of bread, poor lad was shaking like a jelly. Then seemed a little perplexed what to do with the bread after noticing the napkin was still on the plate. We assisted the poor guy and lifted the napkin up for him.

> Far too many staff fumbling and bumping into one another.

> Being shown to the toilet was all well and good, but it was clear that no one had gone further than the door,as they may have noticed the pool of urine under the urinal!

I could go on...........

All in all quite disappointing, with drinks and coffee it came to about 130 quid. I am glad I did not go for the tasting menu! Having visited Arbutus the next day we had better food, better service and a better time. Ok, one visit may not be enough to really understand a restaurant, but a bad experience certainly does not fill you with a joy to return and I certainly will not.

Edited March 12, 2007 by RDB (log)

[gaf]

Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road

When I was studying restaurant kitchens in the Twin Cities in preparation for my book, Kitchens: The Culture of Restaurant Work, I talked with a prominent local chef who explained to me, with some empirical justification, that he believed that his restaurant was the finest establishment between Chicago and the West Coast. I asked whether he could ever compete with those establishments situated in global cities. He doubted it, and I asked why. He answered in two words, “the touches.” By this he pointed to an economic reality of haute cuisine. In second-tier cities, such as Minneapolis-St. Paul there were simply not sufficient diners who would willingly pay for the extra staff to create meals that in their attention to detail that would reveal the chef’s commitment to elaboration, to nuance, to decoration, and to luxe.

Gordon Ramsay has no such trouble. (His troubles are reputed to be otherwise, including those of class cultures, as detailed by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in his accounts of how one’s class background affects one’s interactional style. This forgets that until recently cooking was a job for the lads.) But touches Ramsay has in spades. Ramsay can gather as much staff as he can stuff into his kitchen, both because of the elasticity of his prices and because of the willingness of ambitious culinary tots to stage (star-jzay – or intern) with him, hoping that glorious gustatory dust may rub off. At a recent lunch the touches were much in evidence. And on the floor an army of staff paced, watching for the wayward crumb. This was a salutary surveillance, but surveillance none-the-less.

Gordon Ramsay, one of the most proficient, and often inspired, chefs, suggests that perfection while surely admirable, can have the feel of being frozen in amber, perhaps not always the best advertisement for a cuisine whose cutting edge is hyper-modern. This problem is all-too-common when outstanding chefs leave the stove behind and become overlords. This doesn’t discount the real contributions of the chef de cuisine, but major changes at such workshops require the approval of the masters, a culinary bureaucracy that limits spontaneity. Still, it is hard to have a bad meal at Ramsay’s or even a mediocre one.

One change from my previous visit was the color scheme: the deep, rich plum walls were gone, replaced by creams and silvers and blacks. With the plum went something of the adventure of space, replaced by a more serious, more carefully modulated environment. I preferred the plum.

As amuse I was served a tiger prawn cocktail with Osetra caviar, gazpacho, croutons, mashed avocado, tomato, and cucumber. This starter was a high-end shrimp cocktail that would have been somewhat pedestrian, if tasty, had it not been for the cucumber. This modest bit of salad added the dish a cool, summery lushness – a subtle, slightly sweet, slightly herbal moistness that created an unexpected and welcome taste.

The appetizer revealed just how far the influence of Fergus Henderson of St. John has traveled: from Smithfield Market to the heart of Chelsea. Slow-braised pied de cochon (pig’s trotter) pressed then pan-fried with ham knuckle – and an “egg benedict” with quial’s egg and hollandaise sauce – decorated stripes of Hollandaise and Balsamic sauce – was a creation that very elegant indeed, a work of art, but also a workingman’s craft: haute slaughterhouse. This was the highlight of the meal, and one of the grandest dishes of my British tour: Fergus Henderson waltzing in tux and tails.

As a main course I selected chargrilled monkfish tail wrapped in duck confit with courgette (zucchini) and duck gizzard (Fergus again), served over petite squares of red and yellow peppers, tiny Japanese mushrooms, and red wine jus. It was an elegant presentation, perhaps a little heavy, but hardly a combination about which one could quibble. The tastes blended well, but in total were less startling than the remarkable appetizer.

As a palate cleanser, I was served a raspberry compote with lemongrass crème – a bistro dissert with its admirable crackly coating. The lemongrass was unfortunately overwhelmed by the raspberry – I would have used pear instead. But I daydreamed of Heston Blumenthal testing us with durian crème, a combination that I lust to try with equally intrepid dining companions.

The main dessert was pineapple ravioli with berries, filled with passion fruit, and served with a dense mint sorbet (the later seemingly an alien from some other course). While tasty, the ravioli packaging didn’t quite hold up and the filling squirted about, creating a sweet that was a challenge to eat.

Finally strawberry ice cream balls wrapped in white chocolate: perhaps somewhat icy, but intense in flavor.

Some chefs create their own distinctive style, whereas others, equally creative, are synthesizers, and it is in the latter camp that both of the meals that I have had at Ramsay’s fall. His staff is proficient and smooth and unfailing. Yet synthesizing produces meals that are only outstanding, not life-changing. Yet, some afternoons outstanding is quite enough.

Gordon Ramsay

68 Royal Hospital Road

London (Chelsea)

+44 (0)20-7352-4441

http://www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad/

For photos see:

My Webpage: Vealcheeks

[MobyP]

The appetizer revealed just how far the influence of Fergus Henderson of St. John has traveled: from Smithfield Market to the heart of Chelsea. Slow-braised pied de cochon (pig’s trotter) pressed then pan-fried with ham knuckle – and an “egg benedict” with quial’s egg and hollandaise sauce – decorated stripes of Hollandaise and Balsamic sauce – was a creation that very elegant indeed, a work of art, but also a workingman’s craft: haute slaughterhouse. This was the highlight of the meal, and one of the grandest dishes of my British tour: Fergus Henderson waltzing in tux and tails.

With a small amount of research you would have discovered that Ramsay was doing this dish before Fergus came on the scene. It's a straight swipe of Pierre Koffman's stuffed pig's trotter with chicken mousseline and morels, except served as you say rather than just poached.

[Andy Lynes]

As Herderson ran the French House in Soho with his wife Margot from 1992 to 1994 and Ramsay didn't open Aubergine until late 93, Henderson was "on the scene" in terms of being a head chef and being able to "do" his own dishes before Ramsay was. Given his prediliction for offal and extremities, I would say its not beyond the realms of possibility that Henderson served trotters at the French House before Ramsay had a chance to serve them at Aubergine.

That said, I would indeed imagine that Ramsay first came across the idea of pigs trotter served in a haute cuisine fashion while he was working at La Tante Claire (where I'm told he used to bone a trotter in 35 seconds, partly by using his teeth).

[Zoticus]

I would indeed imagine that Ramsay first came across the idea of pigs trotter served in a haute cuisine fashion while he was working at La Tante Claire (where I'm told he used to bone a trotter in 35 seconds, partly by using his teeth).

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That would be 'debone', surely?