Christopher's Reviews

We were greeted at Quo Vadis by the maitre'd who looked like Fergus Henderson's immaculately tailored younger brother. Incredibly charming guy and perfect front of house. Our guests were unfortunately a little late and as we booked the previous day we and only managed to get a very early dinner table which had a turnaround time of 2.5 hours that was already ticking away.

Our guests arrived, we were shown straight to the table and enjoyed pies, steaks and terrines. Solid English fayre. Dinner didn't feel hurried despite, the starters came out quickly, we had time to sink a couple of bottles of Wine but as the plates were removed I knew it was time for us to do the same. Fergus then suddenly reappeared, invited and escorted us to the private club upstairs for live entertainment and rejuvenating cocktails. It was a pretty perfect evening.

I thought that the Blue Print Cafe was terrible but Jeremy Lee's cooking has evidently really moved up a few levels since then and with a great team have put Quo Vadis back firmly back on the map once again.

I must admit to being something of a Heston fanboy. I have travelled to Bray countless times to dine at The Crown, Hinds Head & Fat Duck and have never been anything less than completely impressed. Even the Little Chef in Popham was terrific.

Despite never having never visited Dinner, I immediately recoignised the dishes on the menu – ‘Meat Fruit’, ‘Rice and Flesh’, ‘Tipsy Cake’. I was excited about sampling modern interpretations of these long forgotten British recipes and finally completing the circle.

Rarely do I pay much attention to the decor and ambience of a restaurant – if the company is good and the food is exciting my eyes don't leave the table. This time I noticed – the restaurant was an awkward shape and the view of the rest of the room obscured by several large pillars which I expect are obviously structural neccesities but divided the room. Bare wood tables and banquette sharing was also a little bit of a surprise. It reminded me of a Thursday night at Relais De Venise on Threadneedle, it missed a sense of occasion and the primarily male diners with their primarily male clients and the ludicrously priced Wine list added to an overall feeling of dissapointment.

The food itself was overall good and the the service absolutely faultless. Enough has been written already about the victuals so I won't elaborate here other than to warn that the sous vide ‘Beef Supreme’ did indeed taste as if it had been boiled in the bag for 50 hours as promised. Desserts were good but in terms of the overall meal and experience I left underwhelmed.

I passed on the offer of a cup of tea after dinner, despite the very competitive price of £14.95 a cup – which I hope was made holy water imported from Fiji and not from the the kitchen tap.

Having visited the Crown in Bray pre Heston Blumenthal I can confirm that rumours of its demise from ‘lovely country pub’ to soulless chain pub is utter nonsense. Farewell laminated menus and spaghetti bolognaises and hello mini Hinds Head. I can sympathise with the locals whose village is plagued with foodies making the pilgrimage to 7-star village which is why I understand, publicity behind Heston’s second pub has been mute.

This is a pub, primarily designed for the locals, so if you have discovered this review, count yourself lucky.

The menu is part predictable high quality fayre with some ingenious additions – the Chilli Con Carne for two with Jalapeño butter, sour cream and spongy corn muffins was an absolute delight. A couple enjoyed Cheese Fondue at the adjoining table whilst the regulars tucked into their puddings and roasts. The Wine list topped out at around £50 which is clearly deliberate.

For me, the Crown is a terrific pub. On the face of it an arm’s length acquisition for HB but the level of care, attention and the quality of service has HB stamped all over it.

Had a great meal at Morgan M. It had been a while since I ventured North to Monsieur Meunier's Islington outpost yet the the menu did look familiar. I understand that Morgan N1 is currently undergoing refurbishment and I hope they can bring it in line with the warm, comfortable environment that has been created on Long Lane.

After bread and a few too many G+T's (sadly only two gin options and one is blue) we were introduced to an Chesnut amuse bouché served with something in an unintelligible French accent. The three of us agreed it was outstanding.

That was the only point of agreement for the rest of the meal as we tackled the ‘a la carte’ – food envy and disagreements from the beginning. We picked at each others dishes for the duration and just could not agree on a victor. It was all just really that good. After a reasonable selection of Cheeses (but no crackers?) I was the only one tough enough to order a desert, an exquisite baked banana and as expected, it was vandalised by the rest of the table.

Another Michelin Star has to be in the post this year for this terrific Chef.

It is almost a year since Le Deux Salons launched itself onto the London restaurant scene, trumpeted as a little piece of Paris in London, a ‘Grand Brasserie’ in Covent Garden, ecstatic praise was given for its innovative menu, electric atmosphere and it felt, at the time at least that Anthony Demetre and Will Smith had plugged a gap that desperately needed to be filled in the London restaurant scene.

I revisited Deux Salons on Sunday afternoon with a friend who recalled I had originally recommended the restaurant to him earlier in the year as part of one of his romantic pursuits, which had been successful. He had revisited several times subsequently for similar reasons but unfortunately those visits had not been as fruitful. The quality of the cooking had, however been consistent and we were both looking forward to a great lunch.

It was perhaps telling that we both ignored the main dishes (Burger/Steak/Chop/Chicken) and ordered the Roast Saddle of Welsh Lamb, the ‘plat de jour’. That seemed befitting of a Sunday. He ordered the Fish Soup (probably the best use of Fish on a Sunday) and I had the Steak Tartare.

The main event arrived and looked suspiciously bad. It had the appearance of a boil in the bag canon of Lamb and was served with hard peas. The only texture to be found on this soggy plate were some amazing crispy roast potatoes. We actually enquired if the meat had been vacuum cooked in a water bath because perhaps we were the fools but apparently not, somehow this meat had seen dry heat – but to use the adjective ‘Roast’ to describe it was ambitious.

Desserts of Lemon Tart and Mille-Feuille were good, as were our starters but I couldn’t help thinking there was nothing to really celebrate on the menu, or indeed to distinguish it too far from Côte – that gap appears to be narrowing and this 150 seater restaurant was only ‘une salon’ and at 10% capacity at that time. It makes you wonder.

Despite everything I will return and try again, but not on a Sunday… More

So Angela Hartnett is a jolly old soul, it was nice to see her at front of house before service started, all smiles from the staff and everything looked in place for a great evening. The service looked wobbly from the beginning but we ignored it. Aperitifs took an age (we were the second table to arrive), we received the same ‘amuse bouche’ three times by three different waiters, the ‘Antipasto’ (actually two cold cuts) arrived 30 seconds before the first course and it went further downhill from there. The sommelier was competent but the waiters seemed clueless, dirty plates were left, wine glasses drained and redundant, dessert wine with no dessert. Quite astonishing from what is a Michelin Star restaurant with such an accomplished Chef at the helm. Perhaps this was just an off-night but given the ticket price, I would recommend giving this place a wide berth until more positive reviews appear.

Midsummer House is certainly the best restaurant I am aware of in Cambridge and worth a visit if in the area, although I am not convinced it is worthy of the levels of praise or certain is it worthy of its accolades.

Arriving a little early for our table was were seated in the ‘bar’ which is a very small rectangular room upstairs with two clusters of tables and chairs. These were already occupied so instead we were given two wooden chairs and held our drinks until one of the tables were vacated. It did have the distinct feel of a waiting room. Bit strange.

The dining room itself was nice but did now feel very much like sitting in a conservatory, although perhaps I was more aware of my surroundings after the ‘bar’ experience. The menu was tasting only as we were having dinner at the weekend – with a choice of two, ‘taste of the market’ £130 with wine, or ‘taste of midsummer’ – £165 options with wine. I would usually opt for a tasting menu rather than dining a la carte but it would have been nice to have a choice. There also seems little point choosing a Wine if the sommelier has already paired each course in advance, so bowing to superior judgement I reluctantly handed the heavy Wine list back.

The meal was interesting – if a bit of a foam party. Some predictable dishes but also some real flourishes of excellence including a Jack Daniels and Honey shot. The desserts were also notable. Service was good although altogether the whole experience felt a little conveyor belt and the atmosphere was slightly flat. Sit down, eat this, drink this, nod agreeably and then leave £450 lighter.

I did not know what to expect from Icelandic cuisine. I certainly didn't imagine that a tasting menu created without butter or cream would feature amongst one of the finest meals I have ever enjoyed in London. It was nothing short of sublime. This was death row, last meal material.

From the moment the selection of crispbreads arrived, we knew that we were in for a treat – the five course tasting menu covered Pea, Lobster, Quail, Cod and Beef with a thoroughly delicious desert of Rhubarb and Muesli. Consistently excellent, extremely technical and difficult to choose between them. Despite the formality of the environment, the service was very friendly and relaxed, with Sverrisson regularly appearing from the kitchen to check on things front of house.

This is only the second restaurant that produced a 10/10 experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to any readers looking for a fine dining experience beyond the classic French formula.