Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road

[VivreManger]

I did the tasting menu for lunch in October 2003.

The courses were -- to the best of my memory:

amuse bouche

truffled consomme, not terribly rich or exciting -- I have had better at Brunoise in Montreal for a third the price of their table d'hote and the broth was better at Leon, a cheap Mexican Chicago resto

First

foie gras, very well prepared

Second

capered turbot, excellent perhaps the best dish of the meal

Third

pig's trotters stuffed with sweetbreads et al.

sweet bread ingredient , too modest, oversalted, though tasty -- Pied a terre did a better version of this

Fourth

Scottish highland venison with juniper berries, okay, but seemed to be farm-raised and not gamey enough for my taste.

Fifth et cet.

At this point the desserts started to arrive and my memory grows hazey, but I had around four of them.

Apple with yogurt, not my favorite.

Creme broule, OK, but nothing outstanding

Prunes with armagnac, very good. Would have had more of these and less of the others.

Bite-sized chocolate covered ice cream treats -- great fun.

I might have missed a course or two or confused some of the dishes. I will check with my dining companion -- who had dined there before -- to see what else there was. I should add that the service was outstanding, certainly three star. I don't think the food is as good.

The portions by gargantuan US standards are modest so I did not emerge sated and stuffed.

Edited April 28, 2004 by VivreManger (log)

[Gary Marshall]

Gary - thanks! But I think your wallet should register seperately - a sort of Good Gary/Evil Gary duo - so we always know who's posting.

i can assure you its always the evil gary that posts.

the good gary is a slight, healthy slim figure who is knocked well out of the way by evil gary who grabs the wallet and heads off to put on another layer in preparation for winter

gary

[Bapi]

the good gary is a slight, healthy slim figure

In his schizophrenic mixed up mind he is sure and I am Carmen Miranda.

Edited April 29, 2004 by Bapi (log)

[Jonathan Day]

I was Vivre's dining companion for this event.

I broadly agree with his judgement of the plates and of this meal, but my overall assessment would be a bit warmer. It wasn't the best that I have had at Gordon Ramsay, but it had lots of the precision, subtlety and elegance that he tries for and usually delivers. There are 3-stars in France that can do better; there are few here.

I love consommé as a way to begin a meal, but this one was just a bit restrained, though the aroma of the truffles came through nicely. The foie was very good.

The turbot was outstanding, perfectly cooked and full of flavour.

Then the trotters, which if I recall correctly we had substituted for another dish. Good, but not what we had expected. As Vivre said, the sweetbreads didn't really make an impression. I don't think this dish was oversalted. Gordon Ramsay and the chefs in his "school" tend to use salt liberally, but where I have had badly oversalted dishes at Pétrus, Ramsay goes right up to the line and stops there.

I thought the venison was fine. The sauce was not as bold as it might have been, but it was clean and direct, and the texture of the meat was very good. It just isn't Ramsay's way to make big, "wow" sauces -- his work is always elegant and a bit restrained.

I believe we had cheese before dessert. If this isn't a false memory, the cheeseboard was in fine condition, and the waiter was knowledgeable about the offerings.

Those salty caramels were wonderful and it was hard to stop eating them.

I arrive at the restaurant rather jangled, after a morning of crazy meetings and calls. I left feeling refreshed and relaxed. Some of this came from the food -- which this time I would have rated as "two stars+"; some from the lovely setting and the caring service; and much from Vivre's conversation, which definitely merits three stars.

[VivreManger]

I believe we had cheese before dessert. If this isn't a false memory, the cheeseboard was in fine condition, and the waiter was knowledgeable about the offerings.

Those salty caramels were wonderful and it was hard to stop eating them.

I arrive at the restaurant rather jangled, after a morning of crazy meetings and calls. I left feeling refreshed and relaxed. Some of this came from the food -- which this time I would have rated as "two stars+"; some from the lovely setting and the caring service; and much from Vivre's conversation, which definitely merits three stars.

I very much enjoyed Jonathan's company that day. It was a pleasure to meet him.

One slight correction. He ordered the cheese plate and I had the sweet desserts. Otherwise we had the same meal.

[sarah w]

We finally made it to Ramsays RHR last Friday, we had an excellent night

In many ways i was surprised by a few aspects, some of which we could have controlled.

Firstly my original booking was for 9.15 on a Friday with 3 people for a friends 30th birthday

2 further friends asked to join us and I was able to change the table number, in hindsight

this was mistake as we ended up with a table which I believe was for 4 people thus was

quite cramped for this level of food and amount of glasses..Also i have never "fine" dined with

more than 4 people and found this number of companions far less enjoyable

Anyway enough about the social aspect, We arrived and were promptly shown to our corner table

Canapés were bought quickly before aperitifs were chosen, also we asked if we required water to

which i answered just one bottle (knowing some of my companions wouldn't require) 2 were promptly

bought and a 3rd later during the evening (I do resent this as they were topping up the glasses of people

who had only sipped their water thus allowing them to use more bottles)

We chose a bottle of Boursault Rose champagne and tucked into our canapés.

There were pastry cones filled with what i heard as avocado,taramsalata and a miniscule amount of

caviar ontop. They were pleasant but nothing outstanding. Perhaps a little more caviar would have

helped intensify the flavour

Also we had very thin potato crisps with Cream cheese and truffle (the only discernable truffle all night)

It was mentioned that it was my friends birthday and the maitre'd said he would give us a little something

extra which we assume was the next course.

We each had 3 white china spoons, one with tomato consommé and basil on..Very intense and refreshing

next was a duck rilletes with some foie Gras ontop..I really enjoyed that and finally a mini Caesar salad (a'la the

Ramsays nightmares maybe?) Everyone thoroughly approved

We opted for the Menu Prestige and asked the Sommelier to chose 4 wines around the £30mark

I have to say we found the service to be excellent if not a little more relaxed than expected for a 3* place and the

sommeliers were excellent...I have never experienced English ones, they were very approachable.

Bread was served, i opted for the olive bread which was excellent. My boyfriend who is the chef was not blown away

by the bread i found it odd that it was sliced bread rather than rolls which i have generally eaten at other similar establishments

To start was a foie Gras and smoked goose terrine with a Madeira "sticky" sauce and these most amazing teeny mushrooms that

had such an intense flavour. The terrine was lovely and the smoked goose was almost like a thick,rich parma ham. The only criticism was the lack of sauce with this..We found this with the other courses also

Next was the Lobster/langoustine Tortellini topped with Tomato chutney, expertly carried out and very enjoyable..Again a lack of sauce let this down, when the dish arrived the waitress explained the dish quite hastily and i missed the detail, i then asked her what the sauce was and she went off and bought a small sauce boat of extra sauce (which i think was lemongrass cream??)

The fish course was an excellent piece of turbot on braised gem with caper sauce, i really enjoyed this..It was actually served warmer than dishes are often served where so much plate dressing takes place so it took a few moments before the flavour really came through..

For the meat course myself and my partner had the beef and our other guests had the lamb..The beef was delicous with a slight crust to the outside and meltingly tender inside.

The lamb looked excellent, slices of best end and a doom of confit shoulder..

Things start to get hazy from here but i believe we had a coconut cream in a glass, some papaya and fruit with a caramel crisp as pre desserts.

Then i shared Tarte tartin having enjoyed it so much at Petrus i was not dissapointed, and the others had a chocolate pud., My boyfriend was expecting this to be outstanding but said the filling had no definate flavour and reminded him of a walnut whip centre but less tasty..He felt the desserts let the meal down.

The salted caramels are definately addictive.. I need to learn how to make them !!

The wines were all excellent

We started with a German resiling (vollrads riesling) which was perfect for the Foie Gras and not to sweet

Then an aussie white

A south African chardonnay,Linton Park, buttery and perfect with the fish- it was poured a little late into this course so we had nearly finished

And a French Red for the meat, a Minervois which was very drinkable.

We had a fantastic time and as previously mentioned all the food was perfectly cooked and executed. As many people on egullet know when you have enjoyed many meals in your time you do start to look for something a little bit extra which i am not sure we found here.,,,I would definately go back and would like to sample to a'la carte, dine with less people and spend more time taking in the whole experience.

I found the restaurant, staff and ambience far outweighed my expectations

We for the meal not incl service it was £121 ahead, for the amount of wine,Water !,4 hours and the extra items Mitis and Kiralyudvar? we found on our bill once home we were very satisfied..

[Gavin Convery]

Sarah,

Thanks for that report, it seems to mostly mirror my experience last september. Enjoyable but ultimately lacking...especially as I ate at Aubergine several times when GR was definitely in the kitchen and his cooking was much more flavour driven rather than trying to be understated and elegant. Unfortunately, the race for 3 stars isn't always beneficial for the more adventurous diner.

[Andy Lynes]

My boyfriend was expecting this to be outstanding but said the filling had no definate flavour and reminded him of a walnut whip centre but less tasty..He felt the desserts let the meal down.

Chefs talking about other chef's food - don't you just love it?

[Jon Tseng]

kiralyudvars a hungarian tokay. did some one have a glass with the foie gras?

nice report

J

[sarah w]

My boyfriend was expecting this to be outstanding but said the filling had no definate flavour and reminded him of a walnut whip centre but less tasty..He felt the desserts let the meal down.

I thought it was quite an amusing description andy ! Sure Gordon would love it..?!

With regards to extra items on bill we were fools not to check at the time but we all quite merry by then (about 1am) We all shared the resling with the Foie Gras and have no recollection of any wine with our dessert.. One beer was ordered which wasnt on the bill so who knows..Put it down to experience (or Booze!)

Apparantly Ramsay had been present early on in the evening but then scooted off to Claridges...

Another thought is how pleasantly surprised we were at the liveliness of the place, so much less startchy than we had expected, especially compared to the St James petrus which was enjoyable but far more reserved..

xxx

[Bapi]

Apparantly Ramsay had been present early on in the evening but then scooted off to Claridges...

Mmm, we are at Claridges for an early meal next weekend so I will report back. It will be interesting to see just how it compares with your experience.

Nice report- thanks

[Romaney O'Malley]

Hi guys - this is my first post (have been reading for ages but too much of a chicken). I visit GR RHR mid March and had almost exactly the same menu except for some small details. Is it common for such establishments to do this (for consistency of quality etc) or is there pressure to change menus constantly? I would have also assumed the seasonal produce has changed quite a lot in the last two months. Just curious....

[Andy Lynes]

Romaney - welcome to eGullet, glad you finally made the plunge.

Very generally speaking, the higher you go up the Michelin ladder, the less likely you are to find the menu changing. Consistancy is the key to keeping hold of the full set and the easiest way to achieve that is by having very well rehearsed food. That said, someone like Gagnaire probably changes his menu more than he changes his socks, so there are exceptions.

[MobyP]

Romaney - welcome. I'd be interested in the rate of change at Ramsay's as well - which I suspect would be much lower than somewhere like Aikens which is in constant transit. I still think everything about Ramsay's is essentially a conservative experience. I think by keeping the parameters relatively narrow, he maintains very high standards.

Jon - I've had the hungarian tokaji with foie gras at RHR. Unbelievable.

[Edit to add - oops, sorry. Went back to check my menu, and I'm wrong about the foie. I had it with the tatin. Apologies.]

[robyn]

I am alive and well although still very jet-lagged in London. My husband and I had lunch at Gordon Ramsay today before the Chelsea Flower Show. We know that Gordon Ramsay was not in the kitchen 1) because we paid a brief visit to the kitchen; and 2) Gordon Ramsay made the headlines in tonight's Evening Standard ("Celebrities Walk Out of Ramsay Hell's Kitchen"). We haven't seen the TV show yet - although apparently everyone else in the UK has (our cabdriver to the restaurant couldn't tell us enough about it). Nevertheless - lunch was beautiful (it's a sign of a fine well-run restaurant when things are smooth as glass in the head chef's absence).

My husband had the lunch menu. He started with a cannelloni of cornish crab with wild salmon, baby spinach and a chive veloute. Main of roast fillet of wiltshire pork with crushed peas, herb gnocchi, wild mushrooms and madeira jus. Dessert of marinated rasberries with tapioca, melon and lemon brioche. I dare anyone to find a better meal anywhere for 35 pounds.

I ordered from the a la carte menu. Not as much of a bargain - but well worth the price. Starter of warm scottish lobster tail (I didn't know Scotland had lobster) with grilled asparagus, tomato and aubergine millefeuille, caper and chervil emulsion. Main of oven-roasted pigeon from Bresse with sauteed foie gras, creamed spinach and mushrooms, braised root vegetables and truffle jus. Both of these were seriously delicious - not overly this - or underly that - just plain wonderful. The plates were totally clean when they returned to the kitchen. I forgot to get the dessert menu - so I can't quote you chapter and verse - but my dessert was a tall cylinder of bitter chocolate filled with various layers. The first and most memorable was a ginger mousse. Then layers of several other smooth things - with a layer of crunchy caramel in the middle. Side of vanilla ice cream with thin threads of chocolate. An excellent dessert expedition.

I didn't drink anything except a liter of water (it was lunch and the flower show beckoned). Being from the US - we find it silly to pay for water - but we are resigned to the European custom (when in Rome, etc.). My husband asked for 2 glasses of wine to pair with his courses - and received reasonably priced pairings (white was excellent - red was ok).

We liked the room and the table seatings (the person who wrote about 5 people being cramped was correct - the tables here are for 4 or fewer). The table settings (including flowers) were attractive - and the flowers in the planters outside (mostly hydrangeas) were lovely. Perhaps my only criticism was that the flatware could have been a bit "heftier".

The service was both attentive - and extremely friendly. In particular - the head waiter was both funny and charming. Capable of treating me like a grown up woman while making me feel like a kid in a candy store. What can I say? This is a world class restaurant. Deserving of its praise.

Although I had my camera - I couldn't possibly have whipped it out to take pictures. Would have ruined my mood (taking something magical and turning it into something clinical). I don't eat like this very often - but - when I do - I enjoy every minute.

Note that we got here yesterday. We are staying at the Marriott Park Lane. We ate at the restaurant in the hotel last night - 140 Park Lane. I won't lie and say that it's in the same class as Gordon Ramsay. But we had several dishes that show that the chef has serious talent. Our favorite starter was parfait of chicken liver and foie gras with mango confit and salad mache. Favorite main (restaurant signature dish and a world class dish) was fricasse of monkfish and veal sweetbreads with morels and tarragon. And the dessert - lemon rice pudding with spiced poached pears - was very very good (I'm a sucker for anything with poached pears - and this dessert was both novel and delicious). The service and surroundings - while certainly below 3 star Michelin standards - are nice. The restaurant is currently running a 2/1 coupon offer on london-eating.co.uk - and I would like to give the chef a little free advertising here - because he deserves it. Running a hotel dining room is frequently underappreciated - and this is certainly more than another hotel dining room. Again - I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures during dinner - but perhaps I can take some in the (open) kitchen later this week.

We're having a good time (only complaint is Chelsea Flower Show should have sold 1/2 the number of tickets - it was more crowded than Disneyworld on its most crowded day). Wish you were here (if you aren't already ). Cheers! Robyn

[robyn]

Obviously the menu is the same for lunch and dinner, but I can now reveal the difference between the two. At lunch they don't give you as many amuses and you don't get the "Caramel truffles, strawberry ice cream in white chocolate and orange and almond paste finaciers" (I think we just had a few fancy petits fours ?)

The times they are a'changing. We got both the caramel truffles and the strawberry ice cream wrapped in white chocolate at lunch today. Robyn

[Gavin Convery]

Robyn,

Thanks for that report - the lunch menu certainly sounds nicer even than the menu degustation I had last year which while nice didn't create fireworks.

As to GR not being in the kitchen, I would imagine that he rarely cooks at RHR if ever and there is probably a permanently deputised head chef there anyway. He has too many fingers in too many pies to stay in one place at any time.

Looking forward to your other reports.....

[Minky]

so much less startchy than we had expected, especially compared to the St James petrus which was enjoyable but far more reserved..

xxx

Newbie here, so tip of the hat to y'all.

I don't think I've got much to add to your reviews of Ramsay's. UK's best restaurant, and really quite good value. Nice and informal. Location is toilet though.

But I agree with Sarah saying that the old Petrus was starchy. My gosh - last time I went there the average age was about 120.

I thought I saw someone smile at Petrus once, but I was probably mistaken. I think they throw you out for talking. My grandfather's funeral was more fun than dinner at Petrus. Specially when the bill comes.

[PoppySeedBagel]

Robyn if you're still here in London - the chocolates at GRRHR are by Artisan du Chocolatand are sold at Borough Market as well as at their shop - I bought some bags of mis-shapes from BM last Saturday - a true bargain at £2.50 for about 15 of the little darlings - althiough there was little guidance as to what was in them - but then it was funny detecting what was in them. My favourite had to be the basil one.

[robyn]

Robyn if you're still here in London - the chocolates at GRRHR are by Artisan du Chocolatand are sold at Borough Market as well as at their shop - I bought some bags of mis-shapes from BM last Saturday - a true bargain at £2.50 for about 15 of the little darlings - althiough there was little guidance as to what was in them - but then it was funny detecting what was in them.  My favourite had to be the basil one.

Thanks for the tip. I'm still here (until Monday) but I'm afraid I'll have to work my way through the box of chocolates I took home from Tom Aikens first . We had a fabulous meal there last night. Will write a full report later (today is my husband's birthday and I think he wants to spend it doing things other than watching me write messages on the computer ). Robyn

[Jonathan Day]

Robyn if you're still here in London - the chocolates at GRRHR are by Artisan du Chocolatand are sold at Borough Market as well as at their shop - I bought some bags of mis-shapes from BM last Saturday - a true bargain at £2.50 for about 15 of the little darlings - althiough there was little guidance as to what was in them - but then it was funny detecting what was in them. My favourite had to be the basil one.

This was certainly true a few years ago: the wonderful chocs from Artisan were served at both Petrus and RHR. On my last visit to RHR there were chocolate salty caramels that were delicious but didn't look as though they had come from L'Artisan. Does anyone know who makes these?

[Dan Ryan]

Of course, you could just go to Artisan du Chocolat in person. It's at 89 Lower Sloane Street, near GR's. They got some good stuff...

[Ruth]

Hate to be a nay-sayer. We had the lunch tasting menu in 2002. I went in ready to be wowed. The foie gras was woefully overcooked and had the texture of a chicken liver. I was told by the chef that they seared and then roasted it. The other dishes, including a squab were perfectly well prepared but not particularly interesting. In view of the prices they charge I don't think we'll bother if and when we go back to London.

[MobyP]

The foie gras last year was cooked perfectly (well, can't account for the entire year, but not for lack of trying). Sorry to hear about your meal, Ruth.

[Gareth]

Humble functionaries within Her Majesty’s Home Civil Service are given the afternoon of Maundy Thursday as holiday. Traditionally, this is so that we can watch the Sovereign dispense alms to the poor. We did the next best thing and went to Gordon Ramsay’s at Royal Hospital Road for lunch.

And a splendid occasion it was too. Significantly better, in my book, than a year ago. Although many touchstones remained, a greater degree of variety had been introduced to the menu. There were even the first hints – in the starters at least – of dabbling beyond the boundaries of the strictly French tradition, with elements such as sweet and sour ginger, white radish etc.

The amuse arrived – a martini glass of micro-diced new potato in a chive cream and ‘jacket-potato jelly’ topped with a langoustine. “Jacket Potato Jelly” ? OK, molecular gastronomy it wasn’t. But bloody good it was, and further evidence of an evolving style, rather than stagnation.

Rather than run through the whole meal – highlights of which included a deeply fresh John Dory, a pungently marvellous Epoisse, and a knockout fruit salad (one of a cavalcade of desserts on the tasting plate) – I would pick out the two starters.

Mine comprised two perfectly roast and perfectly presented langoustine tails (how do they get them out unblemished and then manage to present them in such a tight, neat curl without damaging the texture of the flesh ?) on a bed of coarse pea puree next to a succulent slab of pork belly (which looked like a millefeuille) with a cos lettuce sauce. Every aspect of the dish: flavour; texture; visual was to an incredibly high standard. What’s more it had substance – this was a plateful of great food and not just intellectual frippery on a palette.

However, this was topped by J’s foie gras. She’s not normally a foie gras girl – indeed it was the rhubarb in the dish that caught her attention – but there were no regrets here. A lobe of roast liver in Sauternes sauce on a little diced and poached apple was complemented by poached rhurbarb, a rhubard ‘crisp’, and slivers of sweet and sour ginger. This was sensational stuff an instant candidate for Last Ever Meal starter.

I will confess that I approached the meal with a little trepidation (all right, I wasn’t exactly walking to the gallows but you know what I mean…) We have been once a year for the last five years and it has always been very special. I knew I could rely on the service – the brigade there is always marvellous: correct and polished, elevating the occasion without overdoing it – but what about the food ? One year ago I felt it was standing still. And since then Mr R’s media profile – and I assume the associated time commitments – have simply continued to gather pace. There was even hushed speculation before Michelin came out as to whether it would hang on to three.

Well, judging from this meal it has, if anything, stepped up a gear. It consistently hit the highest standards and a couple of the dishes were just sublime. A real treat.

Oh, and Gordon Ramsay was in the kitchen.

p.s. It also allowed for some star-spotting. Not among the customers (unless you count a certain food-critic who was finishing their meal with an Alka-Seltzer and, this being GR@RHR, I can be reasonably certain it was an Alka-Seltzer - at the Fat Duck it could have been anything…) but among the staff. Am I the only customer who has noticed Jean-Claude’s remarkable and increasing resemblance to Bogart ? Something he has complimented by now engaging a deputy who looks like Clive Owen…