Christopher's Reviews

Aqua Nueva is the Quaglinos of today – a big, noisy, fashionable central london hangout with lots of sponsored tables. That is not to say it a bad place, in fact it's great fun for a crowd looking for an ‘inclusive’ experience of bar, dinner and dancing – but the food suffers. Cold Tapas was great as expected but I had to fight with the grilled Octopus for some time, this was followed by a bar of Oxtail which was also a bit of a disappointment. Fortunately the service was good, we had plenty to drink and a fun night, but not a great meal.

St Moritz is the perfect way to banish those winter blues – a twee restaurant on Wardour street split over two floors , decked out Alpine style and dishing out some of the best Fondue in London (of which there isn’t enough). The seating downstairs is a bit cramped and the table next to the main door should be avoided, particularly at Winter. When booking (only by telephone or fax?) , do ask for a table upstairs which is much more comfortable. True, the service can be a little brusque occasionally, but the restaurant is small, very popular and inexpensive so I guess that goes with the territory. A great place for a get together with friends and polish off a cauldron of bubbling cheese and a few bottles.

After a period of eating in many homogenous hotel restaurants it was rather refreshing to be led up a creaking staircase to an oak beamed bar occupying the first floor of this of a 17th century coaching house complete with oversized chairs and chaise long. It was a promising start. Drinks were ordered and my choice of Gin ignored and I was offered either Bombay Sapphire or a Gabriel Boudier (Saffron Gin). A straight up Gin was not available, neither was my companions Grey Goose and an alternative Vodka was offered instead. The request for Diet tonic was also overlooked and I was given Fentimans tonic water which has a pretty label but tasted like Soda Water. Our food order was taken at the bar and in addition to the a la carte menu, the ‘menu gourmand’ there was a 10-course ‘surprise menu’ complete with Wine. We figured a 300 mile round trip for dinner demanded something special so elected for the latter.

It is difficult to recall every course so read into that what you will, although there were two very memorable dishes – the Pigeon which was served with an incredible foie gras terrine, mango salsa, sesame and coriander, certainly the best Foie Gras dish I have eaten. Also the Halibut with Morteau sausage and ‘wafer thin’ slices of cauliflower. There was actually a great deal of creative slicing and dicing going on throughout the meal to the extent some plates looked like a demonstration of the latest kitchen appliance. The Wine pairings were good, apart from one Lebanese Wine which was either corked or too leftfield for our palettes. It was quickly replaced with a Burgundy without hesitation. The Cheese Trolley looked amazing but not part of our journey and we had eaten enough. The meal was good, possibly in parts a triumph of style over substance and the atmosphere lacked but worth a visit if in the area.

Côte was an impulse decision made whilst walking down Wardour Street looking for a quick bite to eat. We were seated immediately, drinks and bread quickly followed, the Bistro options were very reasonably priced, food came quickly and was absolutely delicious. The Wine list was a little limiting as their best Bordeaux was a Fifth Growth (the quick bite had suddenly turned into a fully blown 3 course meal), but a perfectly decent bottle was found which exalted our main courses of Steak and special of Venison, a small Cheese course to finish off the Wine signalling the end of a very good meal indeed. Highly recommended.

There are very few good restaurants open on a Sunday Evening, fewer still that offer a full dinner menu not designed simply to offload the food past it's best into Fishcakes / Pies / etc. This menu offered a wonderful variety of dishes from hearty meat soup to Fish (smoked and raw) , Foie Gras and Risotto, just for for starters. The main courses were better still with even our fussiest guest, the pescetarian genuinely struggling to decide between the Cod, Globe Artichoke and the Plaice. I had a vegetarians nightmare of Ox cheeks with Veal sweetbreads which was absolutely tremendous.

Cheese arrived and a statuesque selection of around two dozen Cheeses from France and the Britsh Isles presented to the table. Most certainly a Cheese board worthy of note.

Food aside, this was my first visit to Chez Bruce since the refurbishment and in my opinion it is better for it, it is true that the tables at the rear of the restaurant are a little ‘cosy’ but I guess if you manage to land the extra table they squeezed in at 8pm on Saturday night, you'd be grateful for it. On the other hand, outsmart the masses and make the most of the dying hours of your weekend…

You can even park outside.

I have visited Chowki on several occasions and found it to be a great walk in, quick bite to eat type of environment. I particularly like the descriptions given to the different regions and guide to the cuisine to be found around India. Curries are not served in Ghee soup and the service is generally good.

My only complaint given my recent visit was the hike in prices – what was once a tasty, excellent value for money meal now has to be judged in a higher category and against other restaurants in the area. A main meal for two with poppadums and a beer is now in the £50 area which I feel is a little excessive for what it is.

As a long term resident of SE1, I haven’t visited the Anchor & Hope as much as I would have liked. In fact until my most recent visit I had only been twice (it was excellent on both occasions), however I find their no booking policy too frustrating. I live a mile away which is just a little bit too far to visit on the off chance and the prospect of hanging around at the bar and watching everyone else tuck in for an hour isn’t really the perfect dining situation. Turning up to be turned away and then trying to find a decent meal within a mile of The Cut isn't a thrilling prospect, so, reluctantly I have taken my custom to less deserving establishments that will at least guarantee me a table and victuals.

On Sunday morning I put my pessimism to one side and called the Anchor and Hope, it transpires that on Sunday bookings are accepted, although there is a £30 / 3 course set menu with two options – vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Fortunately there was space for two which was we were instructed is served at 2pm.

We arrived at 12.30pm in time to enjoy a few pint sized aperitifs, the restaurant started to fill up and by 2pm the entire hungry crowd were obediently seated.

Serving almost 100 people simultaneously sounded like madness but sure enough, the starters started to roll out of the kitchen, potato soup with a slice of fresh Foie. Simple but excellent – I have never eaten Foie Gras in soup before and I found myself wondering why, it made a lot of sense. The second course followed – Ox Cheek with Parsnip Puree, cabbage and pickled walnuts was also a delight. As soon as the mains been plated and distributed, the waiters started circulating tables offering ladels of seconds. You don't see that very often…

We were one of the first to leave at around 5pm after finishing dessert and stepped into the cold December air very satisfied and happy customers. I guess I will just have to live with the booking policy or stick to Sundays in future!

I hadn’t heard of Jocelyn Herland before, but as the executive Chef of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester he holds a Royal Flush of Michelin Stars, an accolade only four of the two thousand restaurants reviewed by Michelin in the UK possess at the time of writing. Alain Ducasse himself is as likely to be sautéing at the Dorchester as Gordon Ramsay is to be doing breakfasts at Plane Food.

But that matters not. What matters is that Mr Ducasse’s protégée, Jocelyn Herland produces utterly exquisite food.

The restaurant itself is a spacious, modern room with a contemporary style, tables spaced well for deal making or an intimate get together, an excellent Wine list and absolutely nothing I wouldn't order on the menu.

Our group opted for the tasting menu, not least because we wanted to sustain the experience for as long as possible, but also as this incorporated some of the best options from the a la carte (unusually there is little difference in cost). One exception was the ‘lunch menu’ which was delivered gingerly to our table after the menu proper and did seem excellent value at £50 with two glasses of Wine.

A layered Crab mousse was the starting point followed by a pretty mosaic of Foie Gras (Duck / Pheasant Goose), Lobster with Girolles, a terrific Halibut fillet and the finest Venison I had ever tasted. Cheese followed which went from disappointing to interesting as despite being plated and uniform, each Cheese is paired with an accompanying garnish (Red Pepper Chutney, leaf salad, Plum Jam and so on). It did look a little like an airline meal and I hoped to hear the squeaking wheels of a trolley, but it was a good concept. Pre-dessert, a meticulous Chocolate pudding and all were deeply satiated.

A terrific meal and certainly an experience to be repeated next season. One minor irk was that despite the distant gaze of the army of waiters posted to each area of the restaurant there were several occasions when glasses ran dry and swiveling heads were overlooked. Other… More