Oh yes - a big improvement on the disappointing Fifteen!
We felt in good hands the moment we entered this corner location in Clerkenwell - a light and airy room with a large curving bar and 'home-made junk' shelving - the suave young maitre d' showing us to a comfy drinks area, where we were soon joined by the equally suave SuTo.
My cocktail which was called an El Jimador and consisted of tequila, raspberry and elderflower, and was superb, as were all the others we had.
Food was excellent - I had a gorgeous boudin blanc made from guinea fowl seved with cauliflower puree and buttery leeks; a wonderful combination. This was followed by the fish 'cassoulet' which was both beautifully put together and full of lovely ingredients (broad bean hearts and herbs) but somehow unable to fully satisfy - I agree with To. The pud on the other hand, a scrumptious parfait served with a delicious glass of Monbazillac (which would contribute to a hangover!) was a perfect finale. Roll on the next supper club meet!
I'll give it a 9 - that's an extra point for the good value of the un-greedy pricing.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
High class evening
Any anxiety about eating in a restaurant that is in a Hotel soon vanished when we met Ju-Ti in light spacious room with enough little knick-knacks to raise a smile. We were extremely well looked after by a dashing maitre d' who with the help of an equally charming waiter brought us top-class cocktails - my Bramble was long and cold and satisfying. We were led to "better" table which was well placed. THe menu offered difficult choices but I was very pleased with my subtle, light beetroot ravioli. This was followed by Bruno's take on Cassoulet - a summer version with many different types of fish - whilst this was very good I felt it lacked something but couldn't quite tell you what. We plumped for excellent Langedoc house wine that worked a treat. I finished with a simple divine Creme Brulee. The whole experience was first class although a minor quibble was that our waitress seemed rushed off her feet at times. A very happy 8.75/10
Friday, 12 March 2010
15 to 1
The below is Susanna's sent from Toby's computer and thus says Posted by Toby at the end in error.
fifteen to one
I had high hopes of 15 but must sadly say the restaurant, the food and the service, was appalling. Of course it was lovely to spend time with my fellow diners and I particularly enjoyed getting more than a little tipsy with Julia.
I have very little to say about the uninspired food, so here is a list of my key complaints:
1) The meal was grotesquely over price for what it was.
2) We had to chase our drinks in the bar and were told to be patient as the bar was 'backed up with orders'.
3) No one came to the bar to let us know our table was ready.
4) The room downstairs was airless, over heated, and badly lit.
5) There were at least four couples with over-tired, strung out young children (please leave them at home).
6) The tasting menu was not a tasting menu at all. We had to do all that hard work choosing all four of our courses.
7) All of my courses which were supposed to be hot were on the cold side of tepid.
8) One of my courses (the duck ravioli) was inedible and sent back to the kitchen. The replacement was equally bad. There was no apology for this and it was not reflected in the (grotesquely overpriced) bill.
10) The somelier kept mixing up our wines.
11) He served a rather strong red wine with the halibut. I would have preferred a dry white.
12) The food was bland and utterly soulless - clearly cooked in a formulaic way with no flair (only my first course was good and that was very much an assembly job: prosciutto, rocket, mint, pommegranite, balsamic vinegar etc.).
I think this was far worse than my last failry awful choice. I give 15 1 out of 10.
I have very little to say about the uninspired food, so here is a list of my key complaints:
1) The meal was grotesquely over price for what it was.
2) We had to chase our drinks in the bar and were told to be patient as the bar was 'backed up with orders'.
3) No one came to the bar to let us know our table was ready.
4) The room downstairs was airless, over heated, and badly lit.
5) There were at least four couples with over-tired, strung out young children (please leave them at home).
6) The tasting menu was not a tasting menu at all. We had to do all that hard work choosing all four of our courses.
7) All of my courses which were supposed to be hot were on the cold side of tepid.
8) One of my courses (the duck ravioli) was inedible and sent back to the kitchen. The replacement was equally bad. There was no apology for this and it was not reflected in the (grotesquely overpriced) bill.
10) The somelier kept mixing up our wines.
11) He served a rather strong red wine with the halibut. I would have preferred a dry white.
12) The food was bland and utterly soulless - clearly cooked in a formulaic way with no flair (only my first course was good and that was very much an assembly job: prosciutto, rocket, mint, pommegranite, balsamic vinegar etc.).
I think this was far worse than my last failry awful choice. I give 15 1 out of 10.
Lamentable !
Diners should steer clear of this grossly overpriced eating house with its mean portions, mediocre food and indifferent staff. The place trades on Jamie in the menu with allegedly "incredible burrata" and "wicked" fisherman's stew but it's clear from the food that he and the kitchen have long since parted company.
The bar was cold and chaotic and we got our cocktails only after a long, draughty delay and a prompt to the waitress. It took a further prompt for us to be conveyed to our table. Excellent bread and very promising saucisson arrived but nobody came to ask us what we would like to drink. My burrata was a very mean slice of mozzarella. Tonight's menu was supposedly a tribute to the recently deceased Rose Gray; she must have turned in her grave at the sight of our floury, undercooked duck stuffed ravioli and the sulky manner in which the waitress dealt with our complaint. Cooking it further was something of an improvement but who in their right minds would marry pasta with pomegranate seeds ? My halibut on a bed of very anaemic carrot puree was ok. My ginger sponge pudding was rather dry but was helped along by a marvellous glass of Italian sweet wine.
All in all, the food just wasn't good enough - this was supposed to be their Tasting Menu - and the staff did not care a toss either . At no stage did anyone bother to ask us whether we had enjoyed our meal. Having now looked at other reviews of this restaurant it seems that we are not alone in having had such a disappointing experience. Feeling ripped off leaves a most unpleasant taste in my mouth ! Score 1/10
The bar was cold and chaotic and we got our cocktails only after a long, draughty delay and a prompt to the waitress. It took a further prompt for us to be conveyed to our table. Excellent bread and very promising saucisson arrived but nobody came to ask us what we would like to drink. My burrata was a very mean slice of mozzarella. Tonight's menu was supposedly a tribute to the recently deceased Rose Gray; she must have turned in her grave at the sight of our floury, undercooked duck stuffed ravioli and the sulky manner in which the waitress dealt with our complaint. Cooking it further was something of an improvement but who in their right minds would marry pasta with pomegranate seeds ? My halibut on a bed of very anaemic carrot puree was ok. My ginger sponge pudding was rather dry but was helped along by a marvellous glass of Italian sweet wine.
All in all, the food just wasn't good enough - this was supposed to be their Tasting Menu - and the staff did not care a toss either . At no stage did anyone bother to ask us whether we had enjoyed our meal. Having now looked at other reviews of this restaurant it seems that we are not alone in having had such a disappointing experience. Feeling ripped off leaves a most unpleasant taste in my mouth ! Score 1/10
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Underwhelming
Started with a delicious rhubarb martini upstairs with ju-to-su.
Descended to the restaurant proper with high hopes of some goumet grub. After all, we were having the 'tasting menu' alongside the 'wine package' which would set us back a hefty wedge of moola. I am rather of the opinion we have been 'had' by the over-inflated reputation of this no-doubt admirable charity, and feel that Mr Oliver would shun it himself. He certainly would not like to put his name to the food we had, which was distinctly un-Jamieish. In fact, not only the dishes were disappointing (and the portion sizes were sub-tapas!) but the whole establishment suffered from a lack of management and training. The service was poor, the ambience and food lacklustre. Plus, some of the young diners brought their babies(!) out to dine with them. Is this a new trend? For the record, I had smoked eel salad, oxtail gnocchi (a nice spoonful) and 'wicked' (ha ha) fisherman's stew (under-flavoured somehow), followed by chocolate tart (ok).
Poor show: 3/10
Descended to the restaurant proper with high hopes of some goumet grub. After all, we were having the 'tasting menu' alongside the 'wine package' which would set us back a hefty wedge of moola. I am rather of the opinion we have been 'had' by the over-inflated reputation of this no-doubt admirable charity, and feel that Mr Oliver would shun it himself. He certainly would not like to put his name to the food we had, which was distinctly un-Jamieish. In fact, not only the dishes were disappointing (and the portion sizes were sub-tapas!) but the whole establishment suffered from a lack of management and training. The service was poor, the ambience and food lacklustre. Plus, some of the young diners brought their babies(!) out to dine with them. Is this a new trend? For the record, I had smoked eel salad, oxtail gnocchi (a nice spoonful) and 'wicked' (ha ha) fisherman's stew (under-flavoured somehow), followed by chocolate tart (ok).
Poor show: 3/10
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