Grouse in London this season

[alexhills]

Following an excellent time with a grouse at St.John last year I've been wondering where might be a good place to try this season, although I've heard that its been a very scarce one so far. I've got a friend from America visiting next week and thought it would be a good English food experience for her. Has anyone had one so far this year? I guess they are only just beginning to be mature now, although the one I had on the 19th last year was quite ready.

More generally, on the topic of quintessential English eating, has anyone tried Rules recently? Never been but sounds like it might fit the bill... Thanks!

[Stigand]

I tried a bit of grouse off someone else's plate at the Blueprint Cafe on Wednesday of last week - it was very tender but (?not surprisingly on the 17th?) not particularly high.

I got my own grouse at lunch at River Cafe yesterday. Good - again, not the gamiest I've had, but very satisfactory.

On the other hand, both were pretty expensive (around the £40 mark ). At those prices, that's probably my lot for this year...

I haven't really thought through the ethics of eating grouse in a scarce year - is it bad (because it encourages overhunting/depletion) or good (because it provides some kind of livelihood for the people struggling to maintain the supplies and encourages further husbandry)? I had a brief explanation from a shooter the other day basically saying 'keep on eating', but would be interested to hear more.

[Bridgemo]

The grouse are primarily bred to be shot. The fact that they can be sold to restaurants is a secondary consideration for grouse moor owners. So if there is a scarce year, they will shoot less birds in order to preserve stocks, regardless of the demands of restaurants. Unlike most other game, demand for grouse exceeds supply (hence your £40 bill!), although prices certainly drop as the season progresses.

I would echo the "keep on eating" advice. The grouse will always be shot in responsible numbers, so enjoy Britain's most delicious truly wild food while you still can - the season ends on 10th December.

has anyone tried Rules recently?

I have never been. But someone told me you are meant to tip the man who carves your meat at this restaurant, as well as the waiters. Apparently, those who do get a far better cut than non-tippers!

[John Whiting]

Rules is popular with tourists, but it's not a rip-off. I ate there fifty years ago and again last month with friends from the US. Our roast beef was excellent. We did not tip the carver, in fact we didn't even see him. The roast was not trundled around to our table; that sounds more like Simpson's. Instead our plates were brought to us with meat to the degree of doneness we had requested. They contained more than we would have dared to ask for.

The bill for four, including two bottles of the decent house Bordeaux and the automatically added gratuity, came to around £200. Worth every penny!

[PoppySeedBagel]

I went to Rules about a year ago - and had grouse, which was beautifully cooked - not too rare. I made the mistake of declining their offer to take it off the bone. As this was a client meeting, I dealt with it too gently & probably wasted quite a bit of the meat. I liked Rules a lot - I certainly preferred it to Simpson's - it seemed more serious about the food.

[Andy Lynes]

Paternoster Chophouse's "Beast of the week" is grouse with celeriac puree, bread sauce and some other bits and bobs for £40.00.

[BertieWooster]

Lots of estates (at least in Yorkshire) aren't shooting at all this year because of Bird Lice affecting the flocks and reducing numbers. The whole of the Devnoshire Estate at Bolton Abbey is off-limits for instance). I would assume any grouse being shot come from less-affected stocks, so it's sustainable to eat them, while overall numbers supplied to restaurants are down.

OTOH, because there's no shooting on my local Ilkley Moor, there's a problem with over-population of diseased birds, so they might have to introduce prophylactic shooting (the grouse are bright enough to hop over the wall from neighbouring moorland where shooting is permitted).

[battleofthebulge]

The FT had a long article today (weekend section p11) on the state of the grouse season, and rounds it off by recommending The Goring, which apparently has just re-opened after a refurb. The website confirms that the September menu will include 'Traditional Roast Grouse'. No price quoted, though ...

http://www.goringhotel.co.uk/month.html

Sarah