Steve's review of Corrigan's Mayfair

We ate at Corrigan's Mayfair (09/09/09) eagerly anticipating top drawer fine dining, having eaten at and enjoyed his previous Soho beauty, Lindsay House.
We chose the tasting menu, thoughtfully our booking of six was moved to the chef's table, even better we thought. Before sitting they got off to a bad start, the bar attendants English was so indecipherable we just smiled, not bothering with further questions, a small point but slightly irritating.
upon sitting down our waiter immediately informed with his opening line us that Richard Corrigan normally introduces both himself and his tasting selection personally, but for some reason wasn't going to…great opening line – genius! He was a nice enough chap and we generally liked his manner, but he followed that dumb remark with a lack of basic knowledge when we asked menu-based questions, not good enough.
On to the food, and I start with the universal low point, a smoked salmon dish with mozzarella and raisons; firstly yuk, secondly, what the hell is smoked salmon doing on a menu of this nature and price. Nearly every dish lacked substance, depth and magic, including a roast fois gras that disappeared without flavour, pointless eating. In complete contrast the meat course was richly over flavoured, causing near breakdown to our collective digestive systems. On the upside, a notable exception was the cod dish that was universally enjoyed and we drank decent, interesting wines throughout.
Until there is a notable improvement to the food selection on this menu, don't empty your wallet here.
Our bill was £414.87 per couple, gob smacking and utterly disgraceful, given the paucity of the fare. It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to write this, if it weren’t for the great company I would have voiced my displeasure loud and clear during the meal. At this price every part of the dining experience should be utterly without reproach, perfect in every way, this was faulty. Better options would be Trinity in Clapham, where they offer a decent tasting menu with wine for £65, at the other end of the scale, The Fat Duck, where I have eaten their brilliant tasting menu with superb accompanying wines, again for less. Most importantly, Heston Blumenthal serves astonishing food that I will remember for the rest of my life…cheaper too. Hopeless, 5/10.