The Ritz Restaurant

The old ways are sometimes...

… the best. And this really encapsulates the Ritz. Yes, it is expensive, yes the decor has seen better days and yes some of the extras are pricey, but and this is the key here: it delivers. In a very big way. The dining room, mainly in the evening, lunch I am less keen on, is beautiful. There is a glow which few other public restaurants have, the candles, the music and food. The food is excellent, not in a cutting edge way, but in a classic well taught and well executed way. The team of Sommelliers are excellent, and contrary to popular belief are not there to rip you off at all – much to the contrary. On a recent visit, I was guided towards a better value bottle which is a rare and very pleasant experience. The Ritz then does not try to compete with some of the very modern two and three star offerings, it is a far more timeless and tested experience, which is not there to educate or to push boundaries, but to entertain, to please and to give a refresher on “how it's really done”. The ground by the way is very mixed these days and the atmosphere many things but not stuffy in the least. I found myself leaving and thinking, I hope the Ritz, when it is eventually gets refreshed, will not fall prey to the fate of so many great London hotels of being spoilt by fashion, or for that matter the generic tastes of a large multi-national hotel group. It's just fine the way it has been and the way it is. And life is still too short not to try it and then go again and again…

Sadly past its glorious best

I have been eating at the Ritz for over 40 years.The most wonderful “High Camp” dining room and immaculate service with excellent unchallenging but top quality food.Imeant to write this review a while ago , so excusethe non current nature. I took a decent sized group for a Christmas dinner and was treated to an experience that would have shamed a branch of a Harvester restaurant.
The service was well meaning but useless. The food was beyond ordinary. Cold pre-prepared stodge. Dumped on plates in unattractive lumps , seemingly quite a while previously. Very dissapointing.we shall not be returning. Such a pity, because it used to be great. Even the Christmas tree was dead !

There’s no questioning the sense of elegance at The Ritz. Staff waltz through the room with balletic grace, and I found myself sitting up considerably straighter. I visited with family for a three-course lunch (£40, with a flute of bubbly). Pink-cheeked gents wriggled in their ties and jackets, sheepish and unsure as to whether they could shed their layers given the dress code.

But when I checked whether an aperatif was on the house, and my Mum unceremoniously pelted the table with salmon mousse following a canape-related incident, the waiters were faultless. Each was a veritable posterboy for decorum, making peculiar and formal surroundings a touch less unnerving. Granted, there was always an upsell – a second bottle, a brandy for the road – but with the shower of complementary treats we enjoyed (a bottomless bread basket, and many tiers of petits fours), I didn’t really mind.

I bargained on there being at least one affordable wine, but more the fool me – I’m clearly not textbook Ritz material, as entry level is dangerously close to the £50 mark. The house Chablis – albeit nice – set me back a whopping £52. (We nipped to the wine bar in the bowels of Fortnum’s for seconds, which was a considerably more savvy option).

I remember taking in the scene having expected both the food and décor to be far more traditional. Instead it’s like dining at Versailles, with Liberace there as artistic director to spruce things up a bit. It’s bling, to a monstrous extent. Locating doorways can be problematic such is the visual assault, but it’s all very nice if you like that sort of thing. The area where afternoon tea is served looks marginally more reserved than the main restaurant, but you cannot fail to be knocked out by the sheer, bullish audacity of the scheme.

The cuisine was a genuine surprise; it’s the last place I expected to find egg yolk cooked sous vide, or torte masquerading as a plump, glossy cherry. There must be an arsenal of pipettes and artfully-poised set squares behind the scenes in the kitchen because the meal was aspirational and rich in every sense. I’m not convinced that the chef actually loves to eat though, which is always disappointing. Dishes look phenomenal and precise to the point of wonder, but the generosity of offerings like unbilled black truffle doesn’t necessarily extend to general seasoning and flavour.

As a case in point, the puds divided the table: a souffle was executed with aplomb, but its accompanying ice cream was an abomination; like eating a Yankee candle from the branches of a pine tree. But my cherry clafoutis – which seemed so humble and straightforward on the menu- was a heavenly pleasure, dressed fittingly with a smattering of gold leaf.

Frankly, it’s all a bit odd. Memorable and delightful without a doubt, but also a bizarre window to a whole new world of ‘posh’. You’re unlikely to find somewhere so grand and iconic to wow loved ones and I can readily understand why tourists clamber to witness the spectacle, but you’ll easily find better food in the capital at a fraction of the price.

The Ritz, with all its pomp and glamour and elaborately ornate interiors… not always my first choice for a nice comfortable dinner. From the moment you walk in you are pampered and made to feel incredibly welcome; not at all the snooty service that some people fear in establishments such as this. We had dinner in a private room on this occasion, the menu having been pre-selected for us. 4 exquisite courses commenced with Cornish Crab Salad with Ginger Jelly, Lovage and Celery Vichysoisse followed by Filet of Sole with Morels, Leeks and Jura Wine Sauce. The crab salad was sweet and meaty in a delicate cream sauce and the Filet of Sole was beyond delicious, it was an absolute sensation with a perfectly cooked piece of sole in a silky smooth reduction of wine with leeks, dotted with Morel mushrooms. Heaven.

A delicious Lemon sorbet dowsed in Champagne cleansed the palate beautifully making way for an enormous Roast Rack of Veal Forestiere with Madeira and Truffle Jus and an abundance of seasonal turned vegetables equating to one of the most mouth-watering dishes I have ever had in my life. The cutlet or Venison was perfectly cooked and nicely rare in the centre and the sauce was an absolute revelation of meaty flavours combined with Madeira wine and Truffles. I'm not sure how any course could possibly follow this standard of cooking and on this occasion, I was right. The final course was a Raspberry Souffle with a Verbena ice cream, which in my opinion was quite dissapointing. The souffle was overly sweet and not to my taste at all and the Verbena ice cream was a bizarre flavour that did not best accompany the main component of the dessert. However this aside, service was impeccable with staff appearing out of nowhere anytime you even thought that you may need something. The interiors were beautiful and the whole experience was thoroughly enjoyable and on this occasion, I was invited as a guest and escaped the bill which would probably exceed £150.00 just for the food, not including any wine. How very lucky I was.

We dined at the Ritz on Thursday 16th April. The greeting and being shown to the table were excellent and very welcoming. The smoked salmon was sliced and presented near the the table and was very professionally done. The flavour and the accompaniments certainly did not let it down.

As always, at this restaurant, I chose the Rack of Lamb. It was beautifully pink and carved and presented at the table. The vegetables were excellently cooked and presented, particularly the celeriac. My partner had a beautiful piece of sea bream. A superb bottle of Gigondas, which was very sensibly priced, bearing in mind the restaurant in which it was served. Despite the comments in Ian Fleming's ‘From Russia With Love’ we have no problem with drinking red wine with fish.

The meal was finished off with a very well prepared and served Cheese Souffle. Well, one cannot waste a good red wine.

Throughout the meal the service was attentive but not intrusive. Although a smallish cheeseboard was presented the waiter knew his product really well and was passionate about some of the cheeses on offer.

All in all a very good evening and once certainly to be repeated sooner than later.

I was quite nervous on my first trip to the Ritz. It is after all an institution and a benchmark for the best of British (although it's French food). While it is still ultra-formal and very old school I have to applaud the entire team for the dining experience they provide. The service is the finest I have ever seen – the waiters have an almost ESP-like ability and seem to know what you want before you do! As for the food it was presented with perfection the warm salad of native Lobster with duck egg & caviar was divine and the main of Sea bass with artichoke one of the best fish dishes I've ever had. Atmosphere wise I did find it a little too stuffy but that's purely a reflection on my tastes and not the restaurant itself. Prices are relatively high but reflect the standard of the food and service. One for a special occasion – perhaps with the olds.