Peter's review of Racine

Four of us dined at Racine last Saturday [23 May 09] and agree that the food is well worth a fanfare: perfect French Onion Soup, succulent foie gras, excellent spatchcock and a whipped spinach and truffle side that is to die for. Unfortunately on this occasion, all the hard work and skill in the kitchen was let down by the front of house. The service, when there, was attentive and informed. However, it was more reactive than proactive and not well co-ordinated. Wine lists were not proffered, water not refilled and, horror of horrors, wine glasses not refreshed. Indeed, we had to resort to grabbing the decanter directly from the service table ourselves. We four dine together regularly and don't stint on menus or the wine list. Indeed, we would have spent more if more had been proffered. After some internal discussion we decided to halve the service charge — pour encourager les autres. The manager did not seem surprised and indeed only came over with some reluctance and a less than enthusiastic apology. Henry, you're doing a great job in the kitchen, but your manager needs to monitor the covers and glasses properly and co-ordinate the service, not just cling to the cash register