I’ve been working front of house for nearly a year now. I’ve written about eating in restaurants for yonks but never before considered the difficulty involved in the day to day running of one. It’s been a steep and fascinating learning curve. Shortly after employing me, Oisín Rogers, general manager of the Guinea Grill, gave me Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table. In this book the … Continue reading Osteria Francescana, Modena
I should start by saying the food at Brooklyn Fare is very good, delicious in fact. Chef César Ramirez is inspired by Japanese cuisine and French technique; the result being a fairly long tasting menu of nibbles to a standard Michelin deemed as deserving 3 stars. Ingredients were top notch; perch, red snapper, sea urchin, trout roe, langoustine, grade 5 wagyu; all cooked to a … Continue reading Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York
I remember my first dinner at St John, a Michelin-starred institution by Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson, a good few years back. I tried tongue for the first time, both lamb and ox, and my gentleman companion struggled to finish a grouse so rare it was practically squawking. It was brilliant. We recently returned on a Thursday evening (after Lizzie Mabbot‘s Chinatown Kitchen book launch at … Continue reading St John, Farringdon
The Ledbury is a two Michelin restaurant by Australian born Brett Graham. It’s been a while since we’ve had a bit of fine dining pomp (my favourite of all food to be honest) so we booked ourselves in for a Saturday lunch. Getting a table is still quite hard work FYI. The dining room was elegantly simple but beautiful; it was understated yet with all … Continue reading The Ledbury, Notting Hill
Relae was the last of the Michelin starred restaurants we visited during our time in Copenhagen and it was based in the slightly rougher part of town – mind you, it’s worth bearing in mind I’m a total wimp! The restaurant had a totally relaxed feel about it; the wine and water were left for you to help yourself and there was also rather loud … Continue reading Relae, Copenhagen
Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck is one of only four three Michelin starred restaurants in the UK and it resides in the Berkshire village of Bray, which is also home to The Waterside Inn (another three starred restaurant which I loved). The dining room is very much not what I expected; it has an old fashioned charm about it (it’s a listed building don’t you … Continue reading The Fat Duck, Bray
Located in the Shoreditch Town Hall, the Clove Club is the second restaurant from the chaps behind Upstairs at the Ten Bells. I’ve been meaning to visit ever since it opened but it somehow slipped by me, so I was really excited for our dinner. We were seated in the dining room, where only a set menu was available, priced at £55 for eight courses. … Continue reading The Clove Club, Shoreditch
El Celler de Can Roca is a three Michelin starred restaurant in Girona Spain and in 2013 it was voted the best restaurant in the world. It’s run by three brothers; Joan the head chef, Jordi the pastry chef and Josep the head sommelier. We had to book eight months in advance to get a table and that was just for a weekday lunch – … Continue reading El Celler de Can Roca, Girona
Hedone is a Michelin starred restaurant which resides in Chiswick (the slightly less glamorous end of the Chiswick High Road) and is the creation of head chef and owner Mikael Jonsson. He used to be a lawyer and a food blogger but gave up the glamorous life of both to run a restaurant which concentrates on the freshest and best quality ingredients that this country … Continue reading Hedone, Chiswick
