Petrus

[Scottf]

JD

Interesting you should mention oversalting. That's 3 members on this thread that have said the same

Perhaps Wareing should put more effort in to correcting his seasoning rather than fighting the AA.

[cabrales]

What bothered me most, though was the food. . . . This is fine if you are having a truffle dinner, as at Terres de Truffes in Nice . . .

JD -- On Petrus' truffles, please consider discussing whether you received any indications they could be from China during certain parts of the year, as was suggested to me at the restaurant. Also, what did the truffles taste like -- could they have been from China or alternatively frozen?

Speaking of Terre des Truffes ...

Another restaurant with rooms is Chez Bruno at Lorgues (3-5 rooms); very roughly about halfway between Nice and Marseilles.  The place specializes in truffles.  Late this summer, I had lunch there with the below menu at 650 FF for Truffes Melanosporum (price would have been a very reasonable 320 FF for summer truffles).

Chou farci aux truffes, braise dans une sauce aux truffes (stuffed cabbage)

La pomme de terre des montagnes cuite en robe des champs aux girolles et creme de truffes (potatoes)

Foie gras avec des pommes vertes et des truffes, sauce aux truffes

Le miel aux truffes (honey)

Tarte tropezienne au leger parfum des iles (only non-truffled dish was dessert)

The previous day, I had had lunch at Terre des Truffes in Nice (close to the opera house), which is also owned by Bruno:

Le foie gras au torchon truffe a 10% a la Truffe Tuber Brumale, sa salade et son pain grille

La Brouillade aux truffes tuber brumale et truffes de saison  (velvety egg dish)

La pomme de terre en robe des champs, a la creme de truffes et truffes de saison (potatoes)

Ravioles de champignons de paris et foie gras, creme de cepes et truffes de saison

La truffe en feuillete au foie gras, poitrine fumme, Tuber Melanosporum (truffe en croute with black truffle)

Moelleux au chocolate, coeur de caramel aux Truffes Tuber Brumale; La tarte aux pommes, caramel de truffes; La creme glacee au caramel de truffes (shared) (chocolate, apple pie and ice cream, respectively, with caramelized truffle sauce).

[Jonathan Day]

Cabrales, if I recall correctly sliced truffles appeared only in the quail dish. The paté had bits of truffle, and there were irregular pieces of truffle in the consommé. I believe the turbot had been dosed with truffle oil, something that Petrus seems to use a lot. Since this was a business dinner I did not discuss the food with the waiter, something I might well have done otherwise. The texture of the sliced truffle was not great -- nor was the slicing that thin -- but I attributed this to the time of year. It is indeed possible that it had been frozen or otherwise preserved. The perfume was slightly muted.

Clément Bruno's restaurant in Nice (it is Terres de Truffes, by the way, not Terre des Truffes) is interesting. The restaurant in Lorgues was once very good and very personal. It wasn't that large, perhaps 30 covers. You got what Bruno decided to cook that day. Nor was it particularly expensive. Many but not all of the dishes contained truffles. You did have to deal with Bruno, a big and somewhat noisy chef, who toured the dining room to proclaim the glories of his own cooking. But some of the dishes were outstanding.

Then Bruno got to be better known. He was called, or declared himself, "the emperor of truffles". 3.5 tonnes of truffles, he said, passed through his kitchen every year. At least one book was written about him. Ducasse came to visit. Bruno earned his Michelin star. He produced aggressively self-promotional brochures. The word I've heard (and this is now hearsay, since I haven't been back in awhile) is that things have gone badly wrong for Bruno and that the cuisine has become slapdash.

Terres de Truffes, on the other hand, seems to have preserved some of the smallness and personality of the original. The truffles we had there were of high quality, and I didn't detect truffle oil in the dishes.

Somehow it wasn't irritating to find truffles in every dish (dessert included) at this place. It was at Petrus.

[cabrales]

Then Bruno got to be better known. He was called, or declared himself, "the emperor of truffles". 3.5 tonnes of truffles, he said, passed through his kitchen every year. At least one book was written about him. . . . The word I've heard (and this is now hearsay, since I haven't been back in awhile) is that things have gone badly wrong for Bruno and that the cuisine has become slapdash.

Terres de Truffes, on the other hand, seems to have preserved some of the smallness and personality of the original. The truffles we had there were of high quality, and I didn't detect truffle oil in the dishes.

Bruno is Lorgues is about the same as Terre des Truffes, based on only one visit to each facility, but with greater variety in the available dishes. I do not know how Bruno's cooking has changed, and I suspect he utilizes frozen (or otherwise preserved) truffles for at least part of the year (??). That being said, I would consider either restaurant worth a visit and as offering reasonably good value for money. Based on only one visit to each facility, I would choose Bruno at Lorgues over Ducasse's Bastide de Moustiers for food, for example, particularly after the departure of B Witz for the Bruno/Ducasse La Celle venture.

There is a chapter on Bruno in "Goose in Toulouse", entitled the "Truffle King".

[Andy Lynes]

I ate at Petrus last Thursday night with chef Bruce Poole. We arrived at 7.15 to a quite empty room, but which filled as the evening progressed, due, I gather from a recent article in Restaurant magazine, to a staggered booking policy that ensures the kitchen is only cooking for one table at a time.

The room had changed slightly since my last visit 2 years ago, with the new wallpaper that Cabrales mentioned (which I liked) and I think they have done away with the smaller tables for two they used to have, so all are now of the same size. The bar area had also been changed and now conisists of a large leather banquet running the length of the righthand side with low tables and leather tub chairs facing. It now actually feels like a bar rather than a collection of furniture in an entrance way in order to appease the expectations of Michelin.

We sat at the table in the front half of the room on the lefthand side by the partition, which now has what looks like a cellar door hanging off it, which is quite bizzare and doesn't add a great deal to the interior design.

We started with some champagne from the trolley, courtesy of Marcus Wareing, and reviewed the menu (which you can do to by clicking here). As with my 3 previous visits, virtually every item sounded appealing, with only the sea bass dish with it's lemongrass nage and caper and raisin puree sounding a bit "forced" and out of kilter with the rest.

I chose the sweetbread ravioli and venison, Bruce the trotter and duck. The meal began with the plate of canapes : foie gras parfait, aubergine caviar, bread sticks, croutons and little parmesan tuiles (I think) all of which were lovely. The amuse was a glorious haddock and potato chowder with truffle. The ravioli was very savoury, the white cabbage and sage providing a nice earthy counterpoint. The trotter was not so good apparently, the skin being slightly rubbery. The stuffing however was thought to be very good.

Next up was a freebie dish of the scallop starter. Scallops are always exceptional at Petrus and these were fine examples. The cepe dressing was a lovely touch, as were the tiny artichoke. The cauliflower puree was limited to 2 tiny dots on 2 out of the 4 scallops. I could have eaten a deal more of it.

Both main courses came in the form of lots of meat with a little garnish and some sauce poured from boats at the table. The venison was the more successful of the two, and I was pleased to see a swede fondant on the plate, as I had come up with that very idea for a dish I cooked at home a while ago ( see this http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?ac...6ba673141b680d6 thread for details ) great minds etc... The duck looked very good, but the garnish was minimal and seemed a little unbalanced to me.

All the food was accurately cook and seasoned, I could detect none of the over salting that has been complained of in other recent reports. All ingredients and accoutrements appeared be of the best quality, as you would expect at this level. Service was of the highest order, and as chatty as you wanted it to be, which helped to overcome the very formal atmosphere. Does dining at this level have to try to appear to be quite so serious?

Pre desserts were shot glasses of raspberry trifle type creations which I thought lovely, Bruce thought "so what". Actual desserts were an orange parfait and a chocolate mousse type affair, both excellent.

We drank a pinot gris from Alsace (can't remember the maker) and a chateau-neuf -de-pape style blend called "Aurel" http://www.wineanorak.com/aurelles.htm. , and some dessert wines which the sommelier chose for us. The bill was pretty enourmous and although a highly enjoyable 3 + hours, I did wonder if I still really like this sort of thing, or if a meal at somewhere simpler like Racine might not be as satisfying, if less refined, an experience.

[Gary Marshall]

Andy,

i haven't worked out this quote thing yet, but your point about whether more simple style suits is interesting.

i found after 'star chasing' for several years that the higher i went the more disappointed i was becoming.

funnily enough it was a great lunch at Petrus that re-ignitied my love of haute cuisine! This was because although i went hungover and sleep deprived it did have an element of comfort food to it (i had the pigs trotter and onion soup, confited belly and tarte tatin) that i craved. Although i'm going to france soon i don't think i'll be troubling the 2/3 stars.

i also found the staff similar, it was very formal until they realised i wasn't standing on ceremony and was happy to chat and listen to their recommendations, i thought them very good overall

[badger0412]

My wife and I were treated by friends last weekend to a stay at the Berkley and dinner at Petrus. Unfortunately even as guests it wasn't possible to secure reservations at the Boxwood Cafe but frankly the experience at Petrus dissipated any disappointment.

We arrived shortly before 9 and kicked things off with a gorgous bottle of Tattuinger [86 i think but I was kept from the wine list all evening] - complimenting the two we had previously at the hotel before we left! This was accompanied by humous [and something else based on olives I vaguely recall]. I should point out I've never particularly enjoyed humous - I should also point out I loved it and was rewarded with 'seconds'!

To the main event: An amuse of Roasted Vine Tomato soup was splendid. For apps we had [and tasted] pressed terrine of confit Anjou rabbit / Quail breast with cepes, pan fried foie gras and reduced quail stock dressing / sea scallops with spring onion, artichokes, truffle dressing / ravioli of duck confit, foie gras port wine sauce and summer truffle. On completing our own and each others apps we proceeded to argue about who had the best - this was inconclusive as all got a vote!

Wine here was a Nuit St Georges - more I cannot offer for the previous reasons it was spot on.

Entrees were as follows: Sea Bass with lobster, Palourde clams, shellfish and basil broth / End of Welsh Lamb, sliced baked potato in lamb stock, sherry vinegar veloute [i understand this is important??] / Fillet of Aberdeen Angus, wild mushrooms, shallot puree, spinach, sauce bourguignonne.

I should say again that all were marvellous. My somewhat safe selection of the fillet proved inspired when I tasted the sauce. it was perfect - seconds again here I'm afraid [didn't know anyone other than my mother offered this dinner option].

By now things got a little ragged [another bottle had surfaced which I'm 99% certain was a pommerol]

Next was either a plum and rhubarb compote [never like rhubarb - loved it] - sorry but I had seconds here as well - or a perfectly executed Tarte Tatin shared with the only remaining dining companion [still eating I mean]. I'm fairly certain a Sauternne made an appearance about now.

Coffee followed - there was no room for the P4s which were kindly boxed up for us. Bill paid, menus acquired and thanks proferred we departed four happy souls [not sufficiently sated as the additional champagne at the Atlantic and the hotel confirmed].

A final brief word about the service - charming and faultless. The M'd even sharing complexion management tips with my wife at one point!

It is entirely possible that all four of us are easily pleased [not possible I assure you] but we all loved every minute and every mouthful. I hope when they relocate it retains its [to me] high standards - I will be returning.

[Jon Tseng]

That's fascinating

Thanks for the write-up

So is Petrus up and running now? D'ya know if Marcus Waring was about?

Cheerio

J

[mrshugget]

Lovely report - really got the sense of a good dinner much enjoyed. Can you confirm if you went to Petrus in St James district or the new Petrus in the Berkley Hotel?

[badger0412]

To confirm we dined at 33 St James St. The M'd is leaving as they transfer to 'take a break after 18 years' but most of the other, extremely friendly and relaxed staff appear to moving with the restaurant and looking forward to it.

Have no idea if MW was about but according to the staff GR turned up at around 11:45 showing off his new [and disappointingly red] Ferrari!

Edited May 26, 2003 by badger0412 (log)

[Andy Lynes]

I believe Petrus opens at the Berkeley in July and "Le Fleur" will open at the 33 St James address a bit before that.

[ginger chef]

i have eaten at petrus three times and have found it one of the best meals i have eaten. i have had no problems with the seasoning and i have even sent staff there on stages and they have come back enlightened. one restaurant that i did have a problem with seasoning was pied a terre. out of the six dishes i ate three were overly seasoned and one dish my partners was almost inedible almost cured. this for a two star restaurant is not what i expect . a restaurant that gets the seasoning and balance right is le champignon sauvage and is well worthy of its two stars . i will look forward to eating at the berkeley in july

[Andy Lynes]

At Pied a Terre, were all the over-seasoned items coming from the same section or was it a kitchen wide problem do you think? Could it have simply been that a particular chef-de-partie was being heavy handed with the salt during the service on that night, or was it further back in the preperation process?

[ginger chef]

the dishes were a variety from the foie gras amuse which was a cold mousse to a seabass poached dish which was the main and the worst culprit it was seriously over seasoned and unfortunately we didnt complain as being in the trade sometimes it is best not to . but it has stopped me going back and all the good reports i have read mean nothing to me as my expectations were not met. i have read reviews in catering magazines that shane works the pass at all times and tastes everything. so the consistency i see was coming from the pass. unfortunate but true and in my eyes very disappointing for a two star.