Category Archives: Restaurants

Shmoke and a Crêpe?

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This was our 4th visit to Amsterdam, and the main purpose was to just go and chill out for a weekend which was something we did. After going back now this time I think it will be some time when, or if, we visit again. Not saying that Amsterdam is rubbish, but it’s got a limited appeal if you want to do something more than drinking etc – in my opinion anyway (and yes I realise about the museums, but once you’ve done them you don’t normally go back, and if the sun is out I don’t like spending time inside!)

On landing, which was a Friday, it was raining. Great start! It rained all afternoon and into the evening, and at one point we did get a bit wet, but hey it’s only water – ain’t gonna kill ya. We were staying in the NH Doelen hotel. Great location about 7min tram ride from Centraal and pretty good central location for walking round the bars, hopping onto trams etc. The first night wasn’t that great, mainly because of the noise from outside the hotel. This hotel is an old building and suffers from noise leaking in. To top it off, the bloody place was robbed in the early hours of Saturday morning, and we had the Police bashing the nightdoor in around 6AM. This was the second time the hotel had been hit, and the same nightwatchman! We asked for a room change, and got one with no fuss, this time at the back of the hotel adjacent to the canal – much better. The staff were really friendly and helpful so it wasn’t a total nightmare of a place :)

After checking in we found the closest bar and got some beer in, which is good. We also got some Bitterballen ordered as soon as we could, if you’ve not got a clue then look here – they are seriously addictive! Then, as custom has it, en route back to the hotel we stopped for frites with mayo – nom nom nom!!!! This was all done by about 3pm – marvellous! During the other drinking times over the weekend, I had my first try of Westmalle Dubbel, what a glorious tipple. 7% so fairly chunky, but had some real sweet notes to it; think of burned sugar, toffee. Not the kind of drink you knock back, but well worth a look if you are out there.

So, getting onto the main thing – the food. Before leaving the airport we wanted some breakfast and thought we would try Gordon Ramsay’s “Plane Food” as we were flying from T5 in Heathrow. Nice food, haphazard staff. Considering this is an airport place, and time being of the essence, they failed. First off, they forgot the coffee order, and then bought 2 lots over (and tried to order 2 even though we only had 1). We then had to ask twice for the bill – again this is taking time and planes don’t wait (I may be over-egging a bit, but it annoyed me). The food was lovely – perfectly poached eggs Benedict. Nice place too, comfy seats, airy feeling etc. Just a shame the staff were crap.

The first proper meal we had was at Ristorante d’Antica. A restaurant we stumbled upon whilst looking for another place. I must say this was the best Italian meal I’ve ever had AND we also got a free chef’s table, well sort of, as our table was about 20ft from the open kitchen and I had an uninterrupted view of the chefs doing their business. For my starter I had Carpaccio Cipriani – Thinly sliced fillet of beef with Parmesan cheese and a mustard truffle dressing. I was expecting a small side-plate sized portion, but how wrong was I! The plate resembled a charger size – and the beef was about 2″ in diameter and filled the outer rim of the plate. In the middle was a pile of rocket and the waiter then grated a bowlful of Parmesan. The beef was mild in flavour, but melted like butter when eaten – great start. My main was Spaghetti capesante e zucchini – Spaghetti with scallops and zucchini. Probably the best scallops I’ve tasted too – perfectly cooked, cut into quarters and in abundance in the bowl. Really nice, fresh dish. Deep but light sauce, perfect homemade pasta. Really, really nice. Pudding was Zabaglione – my first ever try. This was served with vanilla ice-cream. The dish was like eating spoonfuls of air, drenched with alcohol (a little bit too much for me) but was sublime – will be trying this myself!

Whilst dining we also saw the waiters (some of the best I’ve had the pleasure of being served by) perform their little theatrical pieces, one of which was serving Pasta al Parmigiano – Home-made green spaghetti, made from spinach, with a tomato sauce and mushrooms, at table flambéed with whisky in a Parmesan cheese. Imagine a car tyre, that was made of Parmesan – that was this chunk of cheese on a trolley. The chef had poured the whisky into a big ladle in the kitchen, placed it under a pot to heat it up (but not ignite it). When the dish was ready to make, the waiter would then light the alcohol in the ladle, and pour this burning liquor over the whole top of the cheese – effectively a sea of blue flame atop the Parmesan. He then deftly worked the flame and cheese, thus melting it, and then added the pasta onto the melted cheese, twiddled it into a pyramid shape, and plated it. Spectacular! It smelled fantastic too – I was tempted to order myself one there on the spot!!!!

One time for lunch we stopped at Werck, just next to Ann Frank’s house. Very minimalist, but warming atmosphere. I had the Werck burger which was cooked just right – slightly pink in the middle, and served with some really crisp, fresh salad and the ubiquitous frites and mayo – well worth a visit if you are that side of town.

Sunday morning we went to Gartine – a place that the Lonely Planet app pointed out was worth the visit, and it really was. This, I think, is a hidden gem that the locals use, and it’s down a tiny alleyway that we walked past the day before trying to find it! When we did find it, we were just plain lucky because all the tables had Reservation on them, but someone was just finishing up and the table was free for 1 hour. For breakfast! I mean, breakfast! WOW! The cafe is small – holding about 8 tables I suppose (maybe 10?). The thing about this place is all the food is homegrown and produced. We had brioche, with melted chocolate and homemade lemon curd. Drool. Seriously good curd. Had little bits of lemon in it, and had a great twang to the taste. They also serve delicious teas. A table next to ours had the big breakfast (which I was in awe of) – I can’t fully remember all of it, but there were piles of cakes and croissants which has to be a good thing!

Our last evening meal was at Krau Thai Classic, literally 3 mins from the hotel. Another great find. Quirky little restaurant with a really steep staircase – think of the royal navy ships! Really friendly staff, and a slightly crazy chef who said he would bring us the chef’s special after our starters (chicken satay, really good satay, and steamed pancake rolls), and if we didn’t like them we didn’t have to pay. He turned up with a plate of 6 Thai Basil leaves, with chopped bits in them, and tamarind sauce dolloped onto them. He showed us how to roll them, and then stuffed one into my mouth! They were really fresh tasting, almost a palette cleanser. Our mains were spot on too. Chili beef, Thai green chicken curry, sticky rice and a noodle dish. Very nice food indeed.

Our last place to eat was Puccini about 5 doors down from Krau. Lovely little cafe, with a nice ambiance. Very tidy and cosy, friendly owners. Had a great portion of scrambled eggs and warm ham.

 

So that was that. Thoroughly enjoyable weekend, some great new places found, and sunny days. Luvvly jubbly

 

 

 

Dinner, Mandarin Oriental, London

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Heston Blumenthal’s latest project; Dinner. Dining with a historical background, reproducing recipes from centuries ago.

The Mandarin Oriental. A 5* hotel in Knightsbridge. In my opinion one of the finest hotels in London. We have stayed just once, but I feel it is the epitomy of 5* service. From when the doormen see your taxi pull up, to being seated in the cocktail bar before dining. It’s not cheap – but hey this is London and 5* so you don’t bother to look at the prices, you choose what you want and enjoy it. If you think about the expense you won’t enjoy it as much.

Once we had been seated in the cocktail bar, “The Mandarin Bar”, we chose a cocktail each. I went for the Thai Martini – Lemongrass infused Plymouth gin stirred with sweet vermouth – very light and refreshing. Mini went for a Mai Tai #1 – Bacardi and Myers rum shaken with fresh lime, Pineapple, almond syrup and a dribble of grenadine, Served long over ice. Waiting for our drinks to arrive we were informed that our table was ready. 730pm.

On entering the restaurant you could smell the “newness” of it still. To the left was the kitchen sat behind glass walls. To the right the private dining room. The main restaurant is a mixture of dark brown leather chairs, and cushioned benches (banquette like) with dark brown wooden tables. Hanging from the ceiling are huge, round light holders – think of medieval rooms with something similar to a wooden wagon wheel hanging from a chain. Instead of candles, these were adorned with electric light bulbs which had matching filaments; perfect W shapes. The lights on the walls and columns were glass mouldings of jelly and blancmange moulds. Dotted on flat surfaces here and there were small, glass vases holding various white flowers and plants. The leather chairs were very comfortable.

Having already studied the menu at great detail once we had reserved a table, we already knew what we were going to have. The following was our choice for our first meal at Dinner:-

For me; Salamagundy, Sirloin of Black Angus and Tipsy Cake. For Mini; Meat Fruit, Spiced Pigeon and Chocolate Bar. We also ordered a 3rd dessert, Brown Bread Ice Cream.

Let the review begin!!!

Salamagundy (c.1720) Chicken Oysters, Bone Marrow and Horseradish Cream

Very light and tasty. I love bone marrow, and this married well with the salad and chicken oysters (just in case you don’t know what chicken oysters are, they’re the two small, round pieces of dark meat on the back, near the thigh). The horseradish cream was delicate and not overpowering. A really good start.

Meat Fruit (c.1500) Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait and Grilled Bread

First time you see this, you have to remember this is not a Mandarin (well you are sat in the Mandarin Oriental), but a chicken liver parfait. The mandarin, bright orange, even had the small green leaves sticking from the top. After splitting the parfait with your knife (it didn’t need cutting as such as it was ultra smooth and light) you see the inside. Light, fluffy pate. We were told by our waiter that the parfait also had foie gras mixed with the chicken livers. The parfait was outstanding; sublime texture, deep taste but light as a feather. Another great start.

Sirloin of Black Angus (c.1830) Mushroom Ketchup, Red Wine Juice and Triple Cooked Chips

Upon arrival, the waiter had a slight accident and sent my chips flying across the tray. He immediately apologised, left the remaining items and got a new portion sorted. The steak was cooked well, being a sirloin it wasn’t packed with flavour, I would have preferred a rib-eye. The chips were golden in colour, piping hot, light and crispy. It may have been the fact that they had just come from the kitchen, but all I could taste when eating them was the oil they were fried in – and it wasn’t the taste I was looking for. My search for the “Ultimate Chip” is still being done (so far the best chips I’ve eaten were in the Fountain restaurant at Fortnum & Masons in London) – I digress. The mushroom ketchup was a little too acidic for my liking; it consisted of small, chopped mushrooms, with vinegar, shallots and beef stock. By far the star, in my eyes, of this dish was the red wine juice. This was packed with flavour; deep and beefy. You could see the tell-tale sign of butter (I guess) as you poured it as you could see a small oil slick on the top (good oil!)

Spiced Pigeon (c.1780) Ale and Artichokes

A pretty looking dish, delicate and light. The pigeon was cooked perfectly, still pink in the middle. The artichokes were in quarters, matching the portions of pigeon. Mini said the dish was pleasant, but didn’t really have much spice considering it was advertised as Spiced Pigeon. He said he got a small hit at the start, but this fizzled away within seconds
The mains, in both our thoughts had been a bit of a let down. We realise this is a new(ish) restaurant, not awarded with anything yet (and awards aren’t all the be-all and end-all for us), but we both thought this was a definite dip in the proceedings. We also thought the meal was feeling a bit rushed, in that the starter was quite quickly followed by the main. Thankfully things did get better from here. Desserts were coming, and we had ordered 3 which is our latest “thing”. We do this so we can share them and have a bit of everything.

Tipsy Cake (c.1810) Spit Roast Pineapple

When we spoke with the waiter who was taking out first order, we said we had already chosen online and were thinking about taking the Tipsy Cake. He said it would be good to order this now as it took 40 minutes to spit-roast. When the dish came we thought “Why bother saying about the time taken” as there wasn’t that much pineapple. It was about 6 chunks. Think of portioning a pineapple top to bottom, giving a wedge of pineapple. It was very, very juicy as you bit into it. The juice poured out. For my personal taste it was a little tart, but I am quite sensitive to tart food. The Tipsy Cake was served in an small iron pot. The closest I can think to describe it is similar to lardy cake, maybe even a doughnut texture – light balls of dough, with a fantastic sauce hidden below. It tasted like butterscotch to me (I maybe wrong here!), but putting a spoonful of all components into your mouth was a divine experience. Writing this is making my mouth salivate – that, in my world, is a good food memory!

Chocolate Bar (c.1730) Passion Fruit Jam and Ginger Ice Cream

On arrival I looked at the plate put in front of Mini and just went “wow”. This “wow” was for the dark, ebony coloured slab of chocolate sat on the plate. It didn’t look real. It looked like a chunk of shiny marble. To the side were some biscuit crumbs and a quinelle of ice cream. Pushing your spoon into the chocolate bar makes way to a hard base. Putting the chunk of dark matter into your mouth gives you a hit of bitter, dark chocolate. Awesome. The ice cream had a refreshing zing of ginger to it, but neither of us could taste the Passion fruit. We think it must have been inside the bar, but we just couldn’t taste it. This didn’t really matter. This dessert was Mini’s favourite (probably due to it be chocolate, period.).

Brown Bread Ice Cream (c.1830) Salted Butter Caramel Malted Yeast Syrup

This was another of my choices. I’m glad we ordered it, but I think I enjoyed it the most, as I like malty tastes. The ice cream sat atop a mixture of oats and biscuits. How did it taste? Think of a hot, freshly baked brown loaf. You get a taste of the malt, a bit of the salt, a slight sweetness, and then the cold,smooth ice cream. It wasn’t ‘outstanding’ but it was enjoyable.

To accompany each dish we had “wine by the glass”. I didn’t take a note of the full name as I had forgotten my notebook, but we had the following; A Riesling (Salamagundy) and a Vouvray (Meat fruit) with the starters, Burgundy with both mains, a Pacherenc and another Riesling with desserts.

To end the meal we both had a tea each; 1 Silver Needle and 1 Li Shan Black Tea. These came with an amuse-bouche which was a white chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey tea. I had 2 of these! The teas were very nice, mine was malty and strong, mini’s was refreshing and light.

In summary, we had a nice evening. The food was good, not great. Maybe we had a higher expectation. We knew we weren’t going to get the Fat Duck experience, it’s not that kind of dining. I did think that some of the flavours would have been very different to what I have had before, but nothing really was. The service was very good, but as said before this is the Mandarin Oriental. Even this wasn’t without a couple of small issues, maybe if we’ve not eaten at 3* places before we wouldn’t even have spotted them, so it’s nothing to worry about, but they say the devil is in the detail. The things we noted were; placing the bread and butter onto the table, my glass was knocked. Clearing things from the table as single items, rather than waiting for both to finish. Brushing down the table to then remove the salt and pepper, leaving salt and pepper on the table and not clearing it away. Spilling my chips on the tray. Not big things, but things you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see at a restaurant like this, bearing in mind the location and costs.

We also noted that there were a number of empty tables, which was odd as all we’ve heard is people trying to get booked, and being told “3 month waiting”. We sat down at 730pm and finished 10PM. There were at least 6 tables around us that stayed empty all night, and we couldn’t see the other side of the restuarant. It did feel busy, but there were a lot of staff going here and there; we had 5 different waiters. All were friendly and charming, with a couple really standing out.

Would I recommend “Dinner” to people who haven’t eaten in London before? I’m not sure to be honest. This could be a bit harsh to say, but I think it needs better consistency and this should come with time. London has so many fine restaurants that I think you could get a similar experience to, and a lot cheaper. I know I’ve said about cost here and there in this review, and I know this is London and it’s the MO etc, but this wasn’t a cheap meal. Having wine by the glass always bumps the price up (the Burgundy was £21 a glass), and the cocktails cost £32 for two. Overall, including service @ 12.5%, the cost was £282.67. We didn’t feel robbed, but it was a mixed feeling for the night. If, after reading this review, you want to visit to try, then please do.

 

Food – 8/10

Service – 9/10

Value – 6/10

The Wellington Arms Hotel

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As part of my birthday weekend, we decided to re-visit the Wellington Arms Hotel at Stratfield Turgis, near Basingstoke, Hampshire. We first ate here about 3 years ago with friends. It was an unplanned visit, and we all had a thoroughly good meal, which was on a Sunday as this one was.

This time round we didn’t enjoy it half as much, which was a real shame. I “hate” re-visiting places where you originally had a good time, to then leave wishing you hadn’t bothered. I may be a bit harsh here – it wasn’t that bad, but it was nowhere as near as good as it was in our opinion.

The hotel is situated on the A33 between Basingstoke and Reading. We drive past it daily on our way to work, and there are always a number of cars outside in the week, and it’s pretty busy most weekends. As this is the first real weekend since Christmas, I guess most places are quiet. We had our table booked for 1pm and upon entering there were about 20 or so diners already scattered around the place. The dining room is split into 2 areas, and it’s quite a nice place to eat. The seats are comfy, the staff are pleasant, and the surroundings are nice too.

Upon receiving the menu, we both commented how much less choice there was. At the point of writing this blog I visited the website and they have a link to the online version of the menu. I took a look at this and can say that the version online is showing about 40% more choice than the one we were given. I expect this may be a seasonal issue, but restaurants should make sure their menu’s are reflective of what you are going to get.

We ordered a sharing starter, the “Pantry Plate of Meat” – “Cured ham, duck & herb pâté with fig relish, duck bruschetta, grilled & roast vegetables, breads & dips from our pantry”. For my main I chose the “Pork Belly with crackling” – the online version is different as mine was more of a Sunday roast, served with roast potatoes, parsnips, apple sauce, gravy and a Yorkshire pudding. Mini ordered the “Chicken & Ham Pie” – “Hand torn chicken, ham hock, carrots, shallots & greens braised in white wine & herb sauce topped with puff pastry & olive oil mash” which, after placing the order and waiting about 5 minutes or so for the drinks, was informed they had sold out. I realise that this could be a matter of timing, but the waiting staff should know what IS and ISN’T available during the dining window. For his alternative he chose “Golden Glory Battered Fish & Thick Cut Chips” – “Hand battered in Golden Glory ale, mushy peas, thick cut chips, tartare sauce & lemon”

The starter arrived on a huge rectangular plate, which just about fitted on the 2 seater table. It was a good assortment of food, but there wasn’t really much ham, just 2 slices. The duck bruschetta was nice, but there was only 1 of these which we had to cut giving each person about a 1″ wide chunk. The star of the dish was the pâté – really nice texture and deep flavour, plenty of it too! The mains then arrived a bit later, not too much of a wait but considering it wasn’t that busy we were just wondering when they were going to turn up. Mini had ordered a glass of wine to accompany the main, this turned up about 5 mins after the main was delivered, along with the malt vinegar that we also asked for – not great timing here…..

The chips were not in my opinion “thick cut” – they were just normal sized chips, and nothing to write home about, a bit floppy and tasteless. We believe the fish was haddock – neither of us are fish experts but we were sure it wasn’t cod. The batter was nice and crispy, and there were no bones, which is always a good thing! My plate looked like it had been sat under a hot lamp for a time, and woe upon woe there was no crackling to be seen. I asked if the chef had any hidden in the kitchen as I really feel that if you advertise “Belly pork with crackling” then the only reason you order it for is to eat that amber nectare of the God’s – the crackling itself. The pork was a rolled affair, with about 2mm of crackling, which wasn’t even done enough to eat and enjoy. I’ve had worse, but again this wasn’t anything I would consider yummy. The potatoes were a bit flowery – I wonder if they were fresh that day?

After eating these 2 courses we decided against ordering a dessert, as we were fairly full but were also not that fussed about spending any more money on mediocre fare. Considering we had a starter to share, 2 mains, 1 pint of bitter, 1 glass of apple juice and a large glass of wine, the bill came to £48.80. I did feel a bit ripped off, as either of us could have made a much better version of the meals at home. Another “annoying” thing was that the Chip&PIN didn’t allow any tip to be put in, and we had no loose change, so didn’t tip. To be honest we always give a 10% (at least) tip, but in this instance I didn’t feel too agrieved not to leave a tip.

We won’t be going back to this place again, not sure why it has changed. Maybe it’s gone under new management as I don’t recall it being part of the InnForANight chain. Change isn’t always good – in this instance it was downright poor.

 

 

Food – 4/10

Service – 4/10

Value – 5/10

The Hand & Flowers, Marlow

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This evening we dined at “The Hand & Flowers” based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. One of the reasons for wanting to eat at this specific establishment was down to seeing the chef/patron Tom Kerridge on the BBC series, “The Great British Menu”. I was inspired with this chef’s ideas and enthusiasm. Thankfully the food we ate lived up, in part, to this.

The restaurant is basically a gastro pub, which gained it’s 1 Michelin Star within a year of opening back in 2005. It’s a really comfy, kinda like home place. Wide but fairly shallow, the tables are placed fairly close together, but not too close as to have people banging into your chair. We were seated in a corner area, which was nice as it meant we didn’t have too much “thru traffic”.

The staff were are friendly and cheerful. On the whole a good bunch of people. Initially we thought the service was a bit “hit and miss” in that we had 3 different people taking, delivering and clearing orders. Also at one point, a waiter used our table as a pit-stop when delivering water and wine for the next table, which kinda threw us a bit! Another “niggly” thing was when I asked a waitress how they got the crust on their bread so crunchy – the bread provided was 2 slices each, one of brown and one of white. I heard Soda bread said at some point, so I guess this was the brown bread (it was fairly dense as soda bread normally is, and interestingly enough had a pepper crust). The white bread was really light and had a really crisp crust. So, when I got “Oh I’m not a chef” – duurrhh… I could have told you that myself. Why can’t people just say  “I will find out for you”. Thankfully the service improved during the evening.

After taking our orders we were given a pre-appetiser. Deep fried whitebait with a Thousand Island dip. The whitebait were nicely fried, nothing greasy about them and good strong taste. The dip was a bit bland. Personally I think it would have been better to do something like a caper and mayo dip, or just some fresh lemon.

For my starter I opted for the “Glazed Omelette of Smoked Haddock and Parmesan”. This was bought to the table in its own little omelette pan (a nice touch I thought). The omelette was excellent. Lots of flaked fish, and a nice cheesy background flavour. It was very deep in taste and quite moreish. (8/10)

Mini had the “Salmon Tartare with Salt and Pepper Bread”. Very well presented, with salmon as a quinelle of mousse and a tartare around the mousse mixed with capers and chives. This part was very good indeed, albeit the depth of flavour in the mousse could have been a bit deeper. Also, we thought the amount of diced salmon was a bit stingy. The bigger issue was the amount of pepper in the bread – someone had gone a bit mad and there were almost whole peppercorns in the bread, which totally overwhelmed the salmon. A shame really. (6/10)

Moving onto the mains, I chose “Slow Braised Shin of Hambleden Estate Beef with Glazed Carrot and Beef Marrow” – outstanding dish. The marrow came inside the bone still, with a teaspoon sitting in it. After deftly extracting the amber nectar, I distributed it onto my plate, and then added some “Hand & Flowers Chips” and “Swede with pepper”. Let’s get the not so good bit out of the way – the chips. In my head, a chip should be golden brown in colour, with a bit of a bite on the outside, and a fluffy inside. It should also be nice and ‘dry’. The chips here were more like potato croquettes. About the size of a Wotsit. I was disappointed. Moving swiftly to the beef. This was a huge chunk of beef that had been taken off the shin and then rolled, to form a chunky sausage shape. This beef literally melted in my mouth. It was almost like top quality corned beef, but better. Seriously good. The carrot was really tasty too. After my first nibble I could detect aniseed. I asked and was thankfully informed by the better waitress, that the carrots were cooked in a water bath, sealed with star anise and some butter. This was a really good pairing. (8/10 – if the chips had been better it would have been 9)

Mini had the “Thame Pigeon and Foie Gras “En Croûte” with Lovage Braised Celery Heart and Vin Jaune Sauce”. Another cracking dish. Not huge in portion size, and we both thought it could have done better with a bit more pastry. The pigeon and foie gras was a good combination, with the differing textures and tastes. The mushroom duxalle was just picked up, and the celery gave another texture. The sauce was a great compliment that pulled the dish together. (8/10)

Moving onto dessert. A really good selection, and so hard to choose from! In the end we chose 3, so 1 each and a sharer :)

I chose “Willie’s 100% Cacao Hot Chocolate Tart with Malted Milk Ice Cream” – sublime. The chocolate was rich and deep but not bitter. The tuilles were crunchy and tasty, and the Malted Milk ice cream reminded me of the biscuits I had as a child. The tart itself was nice and crumbly, a great choice (9/10)

Mini chose the “Apricot Soufflé with Apricot Sauce and Yoghurt Sorbet”. Another cracker. The souffle was cooked perfectly, and once opened showed it’s gooey insides. Without the sauce it was lovely, with the sauce it tasted a bit better, we didn’t think the sauce added that much to it. The sorbet was ok, again something we think didn’t bring anything to an already perfect souffle.

The sharing dessert was “Warm Pistachio Sponge Cake with Melon Sorbet and Marzipan”. This looked divine on the plate. A bright green sponge cake, and a Batenburg design slice of melon squares in a jelly, with a melon sorbet and a marzipan tuille. The sponge cake was a burst of pistachio, and light as a feather. The melon was refreshing, and the marzipan gave a nice background taste.

We ended the meal with a pot of tea each, both very refreshing (I forgot to note the names). They even do “Builders brew served in a mug!”

So, overall we rate this 6/10 – which is the same as the Good Food Guide 2010 gave it. A couple of areas that need tweaking (like the service at the start), and also some more detailed attention to seasoning in a couple of the areas. Apart from this we had a lovely evening, and thought the overall bill (including 2 alcoholic drinks, 1 glass of red wine each and a 10% tip) came to £130.

Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons

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A restaurant that I have been waiting to goto for some time. The last time we attempted to go I had to cancel due to illness. We finally got to go on Saturday the 7th August, with a couple of very good friends, with all of us celebrating our 11th anniversaries!

After  seeing the venue on the TV show, “The Restaurant” I kinda had an idea of the grandness of the whole place. Turning right into the main driveway you immediately get a feel of how classic this establishment is. After parking the car we walked to the main entrance, through a lavender edged path that cut through some immaculate lawns – one was set for croquet and the other for boules.

On entering we were kindly greeted by the front of house staff, and then ushered to meet our friends who were having a drink in the lounge area. Very nice room too, and comfortable furnishings (which is always good to relax). The menu’s were already on the table, and as our table was booked for 9PM we decided to go for the  Á la Carte which consisted of 3 courses. One thing that initially struck me was the price of the dishes, but this was a 2* Michelin restaurant so hey, it goes with the territory.

I ordered the following:-

Plancha-seared Cornish lobster, warm Jersey Royal potatoes, Oscietra caviar, cardamom; red pepper jus for Hors d’oeuvres, followed by Slow-roasted aromatic Cornish turbot, scallop and citrus fregola for the main, and then finally a selection of cheeses for dessert.

Apart from these 3 courses, we had an amouse bouche with our drinks (I can’t remember what they were – but one thing I did note; there were 4 of us, but only 2 of each choice which was a bit poor as that meant you couldn’t try each one yourself. There wasn’t anything here that was amazing….this was going to set the tone of the meal, which I didn’t realise at first)

Before the first course we had a free course, a small pot of spring vegetables with flower petals in a broth, in a cup about the size of an espresso. This was light and refreshing. The selection of breads were good, and the types I chose were very nice indeed.

So, the first course was delivered, and to be honest, seeing that this was the a la carte option, I thought the portion size was a bit mean. This dish alone cost £42, and I had 1 piece of claw meat, and a few smaller parts of the tail. I was expecting half a lobster for that price! The dish was very tasty, the lobster perfectly cooked, and the little potato pieces deep with flavour.

The main, for me, was the strongest dish of the night. Another perfectly cooked slab of turbot this time, with a flavoursome broth poured over it. Very appetising, but I really should have asked for a spoon as a knife and fork isn’t that great for scooping up sauce!!! Even now, I’ve been to a fair few Michelin restaurants and still not 100% of the etiquette for asking for other things!

For dessert I opted for the cheese board, and what a great trolley and a well versed waiter who knew his cheese! I was asked to choose 5 different pieces, and ended up with a real plateful of cheese, and no skimpy cuts but good portions (pity the other courses weren’t the same eh!). I liked 4 of the 5, and again I didn’t jot down all the names (rubbish I know), but I had 2 blue, 1 hard and 2 others. 1 I remember was a Welsh Cow cheese, which was nice. One of our friends, Dean (a bit of a cheese connoisseur) mentioned about having honey with blue cheese, so we got some and it really works! Make a mental note to try it yourself!

Of the 4 of us who were dining, only Dean and I were drinking, and we had wine by the glass, 1 with each course. I had an Alsace Riesling 2007, Grand Cru Saering, Dirler-Cade (I asked the waitress to write these down) and a Chassagne Montrachet, Les Masuves 2008, finished with a 1985 port with the cheese.

Overall I felt a bit disappointed with Le Manoir. Why? Well I think for the costs of the courses the portions could have been bigger. Each course was well cooked and presented, but I didn’t have one “WOW!” moment in the whole night, which is quite uncommon when fine dining, even with or without a Michelin star. And this place isn’t cheap – the bill came to about £640 between 4 (including a tip) and I personally think the food at “The Royal Oak” tasted better, and cost about £150 for 2 people.

Overall score? 4/10

Dinner at Pecks

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During the recent stay in the Peak District, we were looking for a place to eat for dinner. Thankfully I had packed “The Good Food Guide 2010″ (and this really is worth the £16.99 and taken as part of your packing if you travel a lot around the UK) and it definitely helped making the choice of easier.

Around the surrounding area of our cottage was “Pecks Restaurant”, in Moreton, about 15 miles away. The GFG gave this an overall score of 3/10 (even a 1/10 is a good score as it means the establishment gets listed) and a “Seriously impressive stuff” summary. We managed to get a Tuesday evening booking, and the restaurant has introduced a “Bring your own bottle” on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, something I’ve not seen before but also something that more restaurants seem to be doing. It helps cut down the overall cost of the meal AND you can make sure you have a wine that you like, so a win-win in my books.

I was expecting a gastro pub, but this was a bit fancier than that. Being a midweek evening it wasn’t overly busy, I reckon about 30 diners. We all sat in the conservatory area which was large and bright. Tables were laid out very well, and comfortable chairs, which is something basic in my books, but alas some places don’t have. The restaurant have menu’s that cover 1 month at a time, so we had the June menu to look through. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings are a set 5 course menu for a non-wallett busting £35! Great value and the overall atmosphere was equivalent to some more pricier places that I’ve eaten at.

The menu had a good selection of courses, and we had decided what we wanted fairly quickly. I like smaller menus as some places have far too much choice, and you really want a selection of mains on a plate. So, this is where Pecks is a bit different to your “normal” restaurant. Rather than just have the waiting staff take your order, they actually parade each dish to every table, explaining what is there, and gives you a chance of looking at it too. Initially this was quite “fun” but it soon became a bit tedious, mainly because of the proximity of the other tables so you heard them get their presentation, then it was your turn, then the next table – we were only a few feet from each other, and there wasn’t that many guests. I think it’s a nice idea, but in this particular session would have easily been done as one presentation to the whole room. Thankfully it wasn’t totally booked out as I reckon you could be waiting a loooooong time between courses. At one point there were 2 waitresses doing the parading, that was quite interesting!

For starters we both opted for the “Courgette and Smoked Bacon Soup”. This was one of the best soups I had ever tasted. Piping hot, nice texture, lardons of bacon, and a deep taste. I wasn’t expecting much from courgette soup, but this surpassed my initial preconception and we really enjoyed it.

For pre-main I chose “Smoked Haddock Beignet with Homemade Tartare Sauce”. This looked better than it tasted, which was a bit annoying. The beignet is basically the same as a profitterole, but a savoury one. The batter was very nice, it was just lacking with filling and had a “weak” taste to it. Mini chose the “Wild Mushroom Risotto with Fried Rocket” – fried rocket eh! Bit 80′s. The risotto was well made, nice and gooey with a flavoursome mushroom depth. Unfortunately the rocket was very salty, which after eating first left that flavour in the mouth.

My main was “Medallion of Pork with Meaux Mustard and Brandy Sauce with Pearl Barley Risotto”. A triumph on a plate. The pork was well cooked, the sauce was umptious and just the right amount of risotto. Something I would be happy to serve at home. Mini had “Pink Duck Breast on Vegetable Couscous with Sherry and Apricot Glaze”. This must have been a midget duck, as the breast was tiny. Well cooked but lacking in flavour, so a bit of a let down. One slightly “odd” thing with both dishes was they were served with “Fresh Market Vegetables and Potato Garni” – for my course this wasn’t too bad (it was a roasted carrot, not really summery!, roast potatoes, and a roasted leek), but roast potatoes with couscous? Seriously? And roasted vegetables in summer time, would have been a lot better steamed.

The menu had “A selection of our Famous Pecks Puddings” and boy what a selection. There were 7 puddings paraded, each one looking glorious. This did take some time, and to be honest I had forgotten what I had wanted as I changed my mind so much. Ultimately I went for a 50/50 split with “Rum and Raisin Cheesecake” and “Key Lime Pie” – the cheesecake was brilliant, deep rum flavours. The lime pie was light and fizzy, another great dessert! I could have had two whole portions. Mini went for the Raspberry brulee. It had the required glass like topping, that gave a clean and crisp crack when broken, but a bit let down by the lack of raspberry flavour.

We scored the courses with the following:-

Me: Soup 4/5, Beignet 2/5, Pork 4/5, Pud 4/5 – 14/20

Mini: Soup 4/5, Risotto 3/5, Duck 2/5, Pud 3/5 – 12/20

The scoring is a new thing we are trying, and we had to remember that this was not a Michelin level place, but the food was a very high level throughout. Service was very attentive too, and not overly fussy.

If you are anywhere near Moreton in Cheshire then give this place a go.

Second visit the “The Royal Oak”, Maidenhead

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An impromptu visit to the restaurant we visited back in February. As this was our second time I decided to forego the camera and tasting notebook, so this blog will be a fairly short one (hoorah I hear you say!!)

Saturday 5th June was a lovely sunny day, and after a busy day here and there we were looking forward to dining out. Arriving at the pub for our 7PM booking we were met with a friendly greeting and asked if we would like to go straight to our table. As we were hungry and thirsty we decided to go. Our first visit to the pub was Valentines, and as such had a bespoke menu. This time the menu was the usual one they use (you can see it here) and we chose the following:-

Mini had the “Asparagus with duck egg and parmesan”, “Peppered Haunch of Venison with Creamed Spinach and Sauce Poivrade” and “Chocolate Fondant, Toffee Sauce, Pistachio Ice Cream”

I had “Chicken Liver and Foie Gras Parfait with Toasted Brioche”, “Fillet of Black Angus Beef & Veal Sweetbread, Marrow Bone and Red Wine Sauce” and “Chocolate Fondant, Toffee Sauce, Pistachio Ice Cream”. As I wasn’t driving I also had 2 pints of London Pride (1 with the Parfait and it was a great match!). A glass of “Syrah, Viu Manent, Chile 2008″ (lovely, oaky and spoicy taste, medium body) with the beef, and a glass of “Jurancon-Organic, Petit Manseng 2005 ” (a really light dessert wine, but bulging with flavour) with my dessert.

Mini enjoyed the starter, stating that the egg was light and flavoursome, and the parmesan “hollandaise-esque” sauce was yummy. He had the venison back in February and it was magnificent again this time. The mash potato is the creamiest mash we’ve ever seen, you could pipe it using a 0.1mm piping bag and I don’t think it would clog!

Like Mini, I had the same starter as last time. Just can’t say no to fois gras. The brioche bread was lovely and warm, and doorstep thick! The parfait comes with a quinelle of fig and a port reduction – devine. The fillet beef literally melted on the plate as it was cut, really deep in flavour. The sweetbread was very light and dissappeared quite easily :) This was my first try at marrow bone, and I loved it. Immensely intense flavour of all the best bits in meat, the FAT! Cubes of the marrow bone were scattered across the fillet. The sauce, I am sure, is a reduction of Marmite! I think they mentioned it had a “yeast extract” but I love Marmite, and this is definitely almost identical.

So, all good so far, well not totally. Chips. Yes chips. Chips to me should be crispy on the outside, dry (not dripping with grease) and fluffy in the middle. These chips came in a small bowl, but there were plenty of them to go with the dish. Unfortunately about 60% of them were more like “cripsy potato shards” just like you get when you over boil potatoes that are for roasting, and the split and then these pieces really crisp up. They weren’t in-edible, just a bit too crunchy – “C-, could do better”

Finally the dessert. A very impressive fondant. Bitter dark chocolate powder on the outside, cut it open and light chocolate inner with a gooey, runny chocolate sauce that spills out onto the plate. The pistachio tuille was really strong with the flavour of those labour-intensive nuts. Pity the ice cream didn’t have the same hit (was the same when we had the dessert 1st time round).

As a change to the normal coffee and petit fours, we both plumped for the “Ginger Twist” tea (website here where you can buy it amongst lots of others). The tea arrives in a divine “pot for 1″ teapot. Lifting the lid lets a HUGE refreshing waft of ginger out, really really nice, and a great drink for a warm summer evening. When you drink the tea you also get a peppermint taste in the background. I think we will be putting some orders through the UK branch.

The bill came to £144 (including the 12.5% service charge) which I don’t think is overly expensive, considering my drinks cost about £25, so about £50 a head. Interestingly, en-route to the gents they have snippets of reviews etc. There is one there from 2008, with a scan of the bill. 2 years ago, the Venison was £16 – it is now £24 (so a 50% increase). I know prices fluctuate and things get dearer every year, but I hope this 50% increase isn’t just due to the 1 Michelin Star.

So, if you are anywhere near Maidenhead then you really must take a look at this place. I can see how it got its Michelin star recently; great staff and friendly service throughout, really good food (ok get the chips better and it’s “really fantastic food”) and relaxing environment. You may, as we did on this visit, even see Sir Michael Parkinson.

The Good Food Guide 2010

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Just got hold of this years copy. Flicking through it, it is amazing to think that the first 160-odd pages are all London. Sometimes I wish I lived in London, but also wished I had the money to enjoy it all properly!!

Last year I put a post up of the Top 40 Restaurants as voted by the Good Food Guide 2009. Below is the 2010 listing, a fair few changes, new entries and movement. I never did complete the goal of getting the Top 10 done, but had a bloody good go at it!

The Good Food Guide 2010 Top 20

1. Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire (10/10)
2. Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road, London (9)
3. Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London (8)
4. Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxfordshire (8)    <— Going to this in August!!!
5. The Square, London (8)
6. Le Champignon Sauvage, Gloucs (8)
7. Le Gavroche, London (8)
8. The Vineyard at Stockcross, Berkshire (8)
9. Pied-à-Terre, London (8)
10. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Cornwall (8)
11. Maze, London (8)
12. Tom Aikens, London (8)
13. L’Enclume, Cumbria (8)
14. Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh (8)
15. The Capital, London (7)
16. The Waterside Inn, Berkshire (7)
17. Bohemia, St Helier, Jersey (7)
18. Hibiscus, London (7)
19. Danesfield House, Bucks (7)
20. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, London (new) (7)

Will keep you updated with blogs as and when I get to the others!

The Fat Duck, Bray.

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After many years of thinking “Really need to book at this place” we finally did, and this was Tuesday the 20th April 2010 – worth a note in the diary to reflect in years to come.

If you’ve never been to Bray, it’s definitely worth a visit. At either end of the High Street are 2 3* Michelin restaurants, the Fat Duck, and the Waterside Inn (which I blogged about here). Incredible to have 2 such highly awarded restaurants, in a small village. To top that, just round the corner (kinda) is The Royal Oak, read my blog about that here.

Before you make your way to the Fat Duck, make sure you read the “directions” on the website, as you have to park in the Hind’s Head pub car park. When you come out of this car park driveway, look to your right just around the corner, and you will not see the Fat Duck – that’s because it’s a fairly anonymous looking building. Look up about 20ft and you will see the iconic Fat Duck design hanging down.

Stepping through the door, I was quite amazed at how “small” the place is, with it being quite an old building it’s fairly low ceilings give it a homely feel, and the beams everywhere gives it some age. We arrived at 730PM and was escorted to our table, which was almost bang centre of the dining room. I had got the Fat Duck and the sister pub, the Hinds Head, mixed up as I thought this was going to be a much more compact affair. It wasn’t massively spacious, but you weren’t breathing down each others necks.

First off, some bottled water and then a choice of champagne, which we didn’t partake of. When the menu came I thought “Blimey that’s a big menu!” only to see that 99% of it was bulky leather binding, and the actual menu covered 4 pages, including wines by the glass – nice touch but a bit overkill I think. The choice at the restaurant is only the tasting menu, and this now costs £150 per person (back in 2006 this was around £95 so in 5 years it’s increased by 50% which is a fair chunk)

After informing the staff we had no allergies we got served some bread, which was nice and some un-pasteurised, salted butter (which was ACE as I don’t eat ‘real’ butter that much). During our wait for the first course, we could see other tables getting their various courses, which instilled some excitement, but at the same time gave what was coming away – but hey, even after seeing it and then getting it, it was still very much a WOW feeling.

Fourteen – yes 14 – courses to wade through. Wade isn’t the right word, it sounds like a chore to be done, but it really wasn’t. Make yourself comfortable and I shall begin….

Course 1 – ‘Lime Grove’ – Nitro Poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse


Heston Blumenthal is famous for his zany cooking and science mixes, this being one of them. Before the magic comes, a thin, wooden table is put in front of you on the opposite side of the table. The waiter then brings his ‘kit’ in, which comprised of a siphon which contained the Lime Mousse. This was sprayed onto a spoon and then dipped into the bowl containing the liquid nitrogen. As the nitrogen was denser than the mousse, it simply bobbed about, being ‘cooked’ whilst doing so.

After about 20 seconds or so, the ‘egg’ was lifted out, and the Green Tea powder was dusted over it. To be eaten immediately – so we did. It was cold, but not “brain freeze” cold. The outside was like merangue – the inside was gooey. Just before eating the waiter sprayed a lime infusion above us – I didn’t get a hit off it at all, in fact I got more of the table behind me! But it did add to the dish.

Course 2 – ‘Red Cabbage Gazpacho’ – Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream

A very large dish, bit TOO large in my opinion. The spoon wasn’t a real soup-spoon, so it was tricky getting the last bits out, thankfully had bread to dip! So, the gazpacho was quite acidic for my palette, crisp and sharp, but too much vinegar taste. The Ice Cream was sublime. Ice cream, but with heat from the mustard – very nice.

Course 3  – ‘Jelly of Quail, Crayfish cream, Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast’


Well, how many ingredients in this course! Wait a minute, I thought you said there was some Moss in this? Where is it then??….

There you go – who said eating at a table was boring! Prior to the liquid nitro being poured to give a very Hollywood Dry Ice effect, we were given a small “breath freshener” which was in a little plastic box

These offered a more intense experience of the moss, so imagine you are walking around in a forest after it has rained – that’s it….

So, prior to tucking in, we were informed of the 4 layers within the main ‘bowl’ and to try and get them all in one scoop, which we did. The overall taste was of the Quail jelly – but it was really ‘beefy’ – and totally overpowered the other ingredients which was a shame as there were so many others. The Truffle Toast was also knocked out by the jelly, I personally think this should have been eaten first, would have got the truffle taste more.

Course 4  – ‘Snail Porridge’ – Jabugo Ham, Shaved Fennel


The famous Snail Porridge. Due to the fact that you couldn’t use flash (although some people did!) and I didn’t have a real macro lens, I had to take a pic of Mark’s dish. It’s a shame I couldn’t get a close-up as the porridge was an INTENSE green in colour, really vibrant and summery. For some reason I thought this was going to be cold, don’t ask me why! It wasn’t. It was fairly warm. The snails simply melted when you bit into them (getting goosebumps typing this, is that wrong?) and the porridge was nice and tender. One minus point for me, which is not what I usually say, but there was too much garlic. I love garlic, but I think it overpowered this dish slightly. Apart from that, I can see why it caused a stir when it first came out!

Onto page 2 of 4 in my tasting notebook!

Course 5  – ‘Roast Fois Gras’, Rhubarb, Braised Konbu and Crab Biscuit


Fois Gras – bring it on. A small helping, but man did this pack flavour! Braised Konbu is the creamy slither underneath the fois gras, it’s edible kelp. Didn’t really taste of anything to be honest! The crab biscuits were fab, really crispy and a deep flavour to them. I was a bit let-down with the rhubarb. It looked really nice on the plate, but it simply didn’t have the intense flavour I was expecting, no tartness, not a lot of much really.

At this point, and with some of the aforementioned dishes having been devoured, I wasn’t ‘blown away’ as much as I thought. The dishes looked excellent, but sometimes the taste didn’t back it up, and also the serving plates were just wrong – more aesthetic over use. Anyways, upwards and onwards – another 9 dishes to go!!

Course 6  – ‘Mock Turtle Soup’ c 1850 – “Mad Hatter Tea”

I’ve never read ‘Alice in Wonderland’ although you don’t have to, to know what happens, who the characters are etc. Also, having seen Heston’s TV show, you kinda get the idea :) Before the next dish came, the waiters simply laid a bookmark in front of you, to let your imagination get into 1st gear and start going…

“The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily; then he dipped it into his cup of tea….” –

“Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?” –

“No,” said Alice. “I don’t even know what a Mock Turtle is.” –

“It’s the thing Mock Turtle Soup is made from,” said the Queen.

This got us both talking about Alice in Wonderland, and what the next course was going to be! On the rear of the bookmark it gives a brief summary of what Mock Turtle was – it was an alternative, mock, turtle soup that was developed using calves’ head and feet. This is the first course we had ever eaten that made us feel like schoolchildren again – excited with anticipation of what was coming!

The main dish is bought along with a tea cup. The waiting staff then present a wooden box, with a glass window, open it and retrieve a gold watch for watch for each diner. You are then asked to pour hot water over the watch – VOILA! – instant beef stock, fantastic (I am smiling whilst typing this). You then proceed to pour the liquor over the awaiting dish, and end up with Mock Turtle Soup…

The soup had a reallllly deep taste. The Mock Turtle egg had small mushrooms coming out of it, the meat chunks I thought were ham, but it would appear they were Ox tongue. I found the full recipe here if you wanna do it at home! This dish made us both laugh from start to finish. Even after the plate was gone we were still smirking, and giggling – were they magic mushrooms? or had Heston simply got it so right, it made you feel exactly what he wanted? I expect the latter. The taste stayed in our mouths until the next dish arrived, magic…

Course 7  – ‘Sound of the Sea’

First item delivered as part of this course, is a lovely, large sea shell..

Inside this hid an iPod shuffle, with the headphones poking out (you can just see one behind the shell). The main dish then arrived…

This dish has changed recently, due to the unfortunate outbreak of food poisoning that occurred. It consisted of 3 slices of different fish (I didn’t get what they were but I think 1 was tuna, I’m not a fish expert!); a foam; seaweed and ‘sand’. The sand was tapioca and baby eel (at least that’s what I heard, French accents!). It had an odd texture I thought, not as gritty as sand, but occasionally poppy. This, in my opinion, was the weakest dish. I think I would have preferred the original design that had mussels and the like.

Course 8  – ‘Salmon Poached in Liquorice’, Artichokes, Vanilla Mayonnaise, Golden Trout Roe and Manni Olive Oil


The plate was placed onto the table, and the ‘Manni Olive Oil‘ was drizzled in small drops over it. I wondered why they had made such a fuss about this oil, so I Googled it, apparently it’s the world’s most expensive! As with most dishes, I normally taste each component part on its own, which isn’t always as the cook may want them to be eaten, but I like to know each distinct taste. I was a bit ‘concerned’ about the vanilla mayo – and for me it didn’t work. Vanilla is normally a dessert flavour, and this was a bit too different for my poor brain to work out!

The salmon was really well cooked, but I didn’t get any liquorice taste, which was a shame as I love it. The roe was really tasty – popped and exploded in your mouth, salty yet not overpowering. The artichoke was a nice part to the dish – it gave a little bit of texture, but the roe was the main ‘crunch’ in this dish.

Page 3 of 4 in my notepad….

Course 9  – ‘Powdered Anjou Pigeon’ c 1720, Blood pudding and Confit of Umbles


I love pigeon – shame they are known as flying rats!!!! Pigeon was cooked to perfection, blue. Packed flavour and melted in the mouth. The “umbles” =“humbles,” extra animal parts like gizzards and innards traditionally thrown into the mix when cooking e.g., humble pie, were divine. I didn’t realise exactly what they were until I researched them afterwards, but I also like my offal – which is handy when you eat something you don’t really know what it is!! The crackers reminded me of Quavers, not sure if that’s what was expected but they were really yummy. The blood pudding was quite bland, I think a nice chunk of ordinary black pudding would have tasted better. Baby veg was nice too – one of my favourite dishes of the evening.

Course 10  – ‘Hot & Iced Tea’


This is a real mindf*ck. So, you look at it – it’s an Earl Grey infusion, golden orange in colour. You take the first sip and WOWBANGBOOM – you get COLD, yes COLD tea on the left of your tongue, and HOT tea on the right! WTF?!?! You look into the cup to see if you can spot how they have done it, nothing to be seen apart from some bubble. We suspect some form of alginate gel or something. But we sip it again, and giggle, and look confused, and my brain the hurts. The tea had a lovely floral taste to it and I don’t normally like Earl Grey! hoorah!

Course 11  – ‘Taffety Tart’ c 1660, Caramelized Apple, Fennel, Rose and Candied Lemon


The picture doesn’t really give this any justice – I NEED TO BUY A MACRO LENS!!!!! The amount of work put into this was amazing. Ultra thin shards of caramelized apple which was almost like glass – but in a good way. Quinelle of Blackcurrant sorbet that was nice and sharp. Some small fennel sprouts that were so packed with flavour – I know micro-herbs are grown for this, but wow, it was like a full bulb of fennel! A really, really nice sweet – could have done with being a little bit bigger, but was still very nice.

Onto the last page of this visit…..

Course 12  – “The ‘BFG’ ” Black Forest Gateau

Drool, then more drool and a bit more for luck. I had been looking forward to this as soon as I spotted it on the menu. After remembering the time on TV when Heston made his first interpritation I’ve always wondered what it tasted like, well now was the time. I just looked at it for about 30 seconds, taking it all in. The waiter also sprayed some Kirsch essence into the air, to get your taste buds going…

First off, what’s this stalk poking out of the cherry? I was a slither of dried vanilla pod, twisted to look like a cherry stalk! Now THAT is attention to detail.

I then picked up the cherry and popped it into my mouth. I have never had such an intense, full on flavour from one piece of fruit. I reckon this had been steeped in Kirsch for about 6 months! Fantastic. I then started to cut down the small tower of chocolate, going through 3 layers; mousse, sponge, then biscuits and cream. D-I-V-I-N-E.

The ‘wood’ in the centre is a small tuille of chocolate that leads you to the Kirsch ice cream. Simply sublime. My mouth is salivating just looking and thinking about this dessert. The best I have ever had, and I have had some nice ones.

Course 13  – ‘Whisk(e)y Wine Gums’

I’m not a whiskey drinker, so I wasn’t really looking forward that much to this. When it turned up it was like “heheh, right, wine gums on a picture frame”. I suppose it makes a bit of sense, so you can see where the whiskey is actually from. Each little gum was in the shape of a bottle, about 2cm in height. You simply placed them in your mouth and let them dissolve. Initially you think “hmm, not great this, can’t taste anything” and then, when the last part dissolves, you get a hit of the whiskey. My favourite was number 1, which was the Glenlivet.

Course 14  – ‘Like a Kid In A Sweet Shop’

When this course arrived on our table, we both giggled again, and instantly felt like kid’s in a sweet shop! Reading the menu it bought back memories, especially the Coconut baccy. (on the table from the start was a small form that allowed you to put down what decade you grew up in, and what food memories you had. Mine was the 70′s and Coconut Tobacco was the first thing I wrote without knowing it was in this menu!)

The menu says “Smell me!”. So I reached in and grabbed the aerated chocolate mandarin jelly. Opened the packaging and got a hit of citrus. Popped the chocolate in and thought of Aero bars – I forgot to take a pic!!!! Now this is sweets, so I really need to concentrate (you can find lots of pics in Flickr – just google the missing ones!)

Next, was the coconut baccy

As soon as I opened the ‘baccy pouch’ I was 6 yrs old again. This was slightly thicker cut than I remember but the taste was spot on. I can remember buying this, along with candy cigarettes (heheh like that would ever happen now!) and my 10p Lucky Bag!! Due to mini being younger, he didn’t have a clue about this stuff – thankfully that meant more for me as I snaffed his helping!

After finishing the baccy, I then grabbed the Apple Caramel – again no pic as this sweet didn’t need you to unwrap it! Cutting out the middle man, great idea. Popped it straight into my mouth, and the apple and caramel taste was umptious.

Finally, a little envelope with a wax seal. Inside it was a playing card, the Queen of Hearts

Head scratching time. So what is this? It’s a playing card right? WRONG!!! It’s obviously an EDIBLE playing card. Yes, edible. Nibble the corner and you go into a strawberry filling. This was OUTSTANDING. The amount of work put into this alone is phenomenal….

Phew!!!! 14 courses, 4 hours…..what an absolutely fantastic, amazing, funny, tasteful evening. During the meal we had a bottle of Wiebelsberg Riesling 2005, which was a good choice as it worked with most of the dishes. We left with our memento’s; Alice in Wonderland bookmark, a copy of the menu each, the Sweet Shop bag, and a real happy feeling. Odd that, feeling happy and kinda giddy after a meal – this is the effect you will have if you goto the Fat Duck. Ok, it’s not cheap (the bill was enough for a weekend away) but it’s not about the money. It’s about the experience, and this is what the Fat Duck is all about. You can goto other Michelin starred restaurants and have fabulous food, but this place is on its own (apart from El Bulli which is now closing) – but for a place like this to be in the UK is great. Get there if you can, sell an organ, pimp your other half out or just SAVE!! It is worth every penny…..

The Royal Oak, Maidenhead

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First visit to this restaurant, which recently received its first Michelin Star. The Royal Oak at Maidenhead is owned by Michael Parkinson, with his son Nick -  the pub has won many awards – find out here.

Sunday the 14th, Valentines day. The pub had a fairly extensive A la Carte menu, which covered 3 courses plus coffee and petit fours. The menu had a large choice and we plumbed for the following:-

Both had Chicken Liver and Fois Gras pate served with Brioche

My main was the Welsh Salt Marsh Lamb, with liver, braised lettuce and champ. Mini had the venison with mash.

My dessert was Quince, Apple and Rhubarb crumble with custard, Mini went for the chocolate fondant.

Starter

The starters were really nice. They came with a quinelle of fig and a port reduction. The fig was very subtle, and the reduction really packed a punch – deep and some realy tangy black fruit flavours. The pate was “melt in the mouth” nice, spread onto the very light brioche.

SaltMarshLamb

Welsh Salt Marsh lamb, with liver, braised lettuce and champ. This was my first taste of Salt Marsh lamb. I’ve seen it on TV, in “The Great British Menu” and heard chef’s rave about it. It’s not as “lamby” as your everyday lamb is, but has a slightly different taste, but the texture is wonderful. This was cooked perfectly – nice and pink. Liver was smashing – with there was a bit more! Champ was good, not much to say about mash and scallions :)

Venison

Venison with mash. Mini said the venison was excellent. Really well cooked and with a black pepper crust, which went well with the meat itself. The mash was ultra smooth and the sauce was very good. I tried some and to me it tasted like Marmite, similar consistency too! I asked the waitress to ask the chef, and they replied that it was a beef reduction, so marmite it is then!!!

ChocolateFondant

Chocolate fondant, pistachio ice cream and a nut twill. No flash on the pic, hence the grained result. Fondant was textbook good – opened it up and the chocolate oozed out of the middle. Nice bitter chocolate taste too. The ice cream was very subtle for the flavouring, perhaps too subtle.

I didn’t take a pic of my dessert as it was just a bowl of crumble and a small jug of custard. The crumble was a close runner up to the lamb as best dish for me. The topping consisted of mixed toasted nuts, and under this layer was quince, apple and rhubarb. Great combination and not too sweet or sharp. I found the custard a bit weak, not enough vanilla to stand up against the crumble (especially as the nuts were quite powerful) and I would have preferred a slightly thicker custard too.

Coffee was rocket-fuel, just how I like it. Petit fours were nice, only 3 each and one, which I think was a quince jelly, was far too sharp for my tastes – resulted in my eyes twitching!

Overall I would rate this 5.5/10. The food was “homely” – nice fayre but nothing “wow”,  service was very good, and the ambience itself was cosy, fairly intimate and nicely casual, especially as this is a 1* Michelin establishment. The price in this instance was a fixed price of £55 per head, which included a glass of champagne with the meal, and the coffee/petit fours etc. We had a couple of drinks during the evening, and as the main meal was pre-paid, only ended up paying about £2 for the service charge, which was done against the drinks only – not sure if they realised this when they did the initial offer. I would like to know what other people have had in a normal sitting, as this may not have been the best way to sample something for the first time, especially as it was a special day item.

Definitely worth a look though.