London & other parts of England London, upmarket fine dining London, smart but more casual South of England North of England

London Fine Dining

Tom Aikens, 43 Elystan St. Phone 020 7584 2003
Tube: South Kensington.
This was maybe the 7th or 8th time I'd dined at Tom Aikens and I had a simply fabulous lunch on a rainy February day, which delivered course after brilliant course in Aiken's signature style. The dining room here - comfortable, spacious and flooded with light - is one of the nicest lunch spots in London, and Aiken's offering of a £29.00 lunch menu is a bargain. After a fantastically piquant and flavourful amuse bouche of a little jar filled with layers of cucumber jelly, mousse and a cod and potato cream, I started with a masterclass in how to imaginatively prepare and serve duck. The components included a fine confit, a dark, gamy slice of sausage made from the legs, two crisply-fried strips of fillet, cut as thin as pancetta, and two little deep-fried livers in a breadcrumb crust. The whole thing was served on a creamy risotto, but the killer for this dish was the yolk of a duck egg, that presumably had been softly poached so that yielded a beautiful sweetness melding with the saltiness and richness of the other components. My main course of loin of pork was no less complex and inventive: a wonderful beignet stuffed with a dense, meaty chunk of ham hock sat atop a layer of lasagne filled with more of the pork, on a little sea of silky meat reduction bobbing with tiny rosemary gnocchi . For pudding another jar echoed the amuse bouche, but this one filled with plum jelly, a creamy baked rice, and a thick, sweet plum sauce. As usual, excellent coffee was served with brilliant chocolates, tuilles, little spoons of sorbet and ice cream and a basket of fresh from the oven Madeleines. We drank a half of Sancerre from Dezat and a half of delicious Chorey-les-Beaune from Tollot-Beaut, and the bill came in at £100 ex-service. Brilliant food, and a great overall experience. (2007)
£100 for the set lunch, maybe double for dinner. Closed Saturday, Sunday.

The Capital, 22-24 Basil St. Phone: 020 7589 5171. Tube: Knightsbridge
"Intimate" is probably the first word that springs to mind when you walk through the doors of this bijou townhouse hotel mid-way between Harvey Nichols and Harrods. The Capital is time- and space-warped within a secluded, peaceful atmosphere of luxury. With only a dozen tables, the restaurant must be one of the smallest to hold two coveted Michelin stars, but it feels airy and spacious with large shuttered windows and high ceilings adorned with elegant crystal chandeliers. This is a mini-review really, as I was guest of Dirk Niepoort at a private dinner party that had taken over the room, and we drank Niepoorts excellent wines and Ports with a specially prepared menu. The food at the Capital struck me as simply brilliant: remarkably unfussy and honest, yet luxurious and constructed with love and flair. My perfectly seared scallops came in a little risotto-like bowl of tiny tubetti pasta and a rich, dark, langoustine cappuccino. Though now a staple of gastro-pubs everywhere, there are lamb shanks and there are lamb shanks. The Capital's version were slow cooked and served in a dramatically dark and exquisitely intense reduction, with a generous spoonful of silky olive oil and garlic mash. With not an ounce of fat or gristle, the meat was melting and fantastically succulent. After some fine English cheeses, a dish of vivid green apple and red berry sorbets rounded off a perfectly pitched meal. This deceptively simple dinner was one of the best I have eaten in the UK for some time. (2007)
Open daily. Around £180 for dinner. Restaurant available for private hire

Deca, 23 Conduit Street. Phone: 020 7493 7070. Tube: Green Park
A recent à la carte lunch at Deca was terrific I must say. Just off Bond Street, the small restaurant spreads over three floors, including a private dining room. This is a Nico Ladenis restaurant, under Chef Paul Rhodes - formerly Head Chef of the three Michelin-starred Chez Nico. Decor is bright, chic and fairly minimalist with polished wooden floors, simply-dressed tables and leather seating. This is a businessy place, with lots besuited groups enjoying the bargain-basement £12.50 set lunch on my visit. I ate a couple of signature dishes; the first being a lobe of absolutely superb foie-gras entier, cooked to buttery perfection and served with a simple garnish of Sauternes jelly (£18, but you get what you pay for as always). My main course was stuffed saddle of lamb, and it really was good; the meat succulent and medium-rare in the middle, charred black on the edges. Really good chips and a well-flavoured spinach salad accompanied it very nicely. I did not have pudding, and didn't see the wine list in detail, but I hear it is extensive and has standard mark-ups for a place like this. Deca is a smart place for expense account dining, but it is also a little oasis of good food and polished service just off the frantic shopping heart of Bond Street and Oxford Street (2004).
£110 a la carte, but set lunch nearer £50 for two. Closed Sunday

The Embassy, 29 Old Burlington Street. Phone: 020 7437 9933
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
I first visited the Embassy in early 2002 when it was the hottest new luxury dining room in London. My lunch was excellent in terms of food quality and presentation, the restaurant delightful in terms of ambience and décor, and the happy picture was let down only by rather slipshod service that rankled by the end of lunch. On my return the lunchtime menu is still a terrific bargain at £16.95 for two courses, £19.95 for three. I enjoyed a roast breast of corn-fed chicken with baby onions and chanterelles in a rich red wine jus. For pudding, a banana tart tatin was served with a jug of caramel sauce and some fine cinnamon ice cream. The wine list covers one side of a large card, and has a few good by the glass options. Illy coffee is served with little Madeleines. The service? Impeccable on this occasion, so a big thumbs up for a very reasonably priced, central venue (2003). £65 for lunch, £100 for dinner. Open Monday-Saturday.

Angela Hartnett at The Connaught, Carlos Place. Phone 020 7592 1222
Tube: Bond Street.
Note: Autumn 2007, and the Connaught is closed for refurbishment. It has been announced that Angela Hartnett will no longer cook there when the hotel re-opens.

The Krug Room, The Dorchester, Park Lane. Phone: 020 7319 7071
Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch
The Krug room is a luxurious private dining room situated deep within the Dorchester. Formerly The Chef's Table, it is within the hotel's master kitchens, and diners are led there through the passageways of the Dorchester by a member of staff. The room itself is a comfortable, contemporary space (with a wall of opaque glass that becomes transparent at the flick of a switch), and which offers views of some of the Dorchester's 100 chefs at work. I was guest of Krug at a lunch here, but well-heeled individuals can hire the room on exactly the same terms: menus are personally prepared by Executive Chef Henry Brosi, who joins you briefly before each course to discuss its philosophy and preparation. Wines, including Krug of course, are supplied matched to the food. I believe the cost is around £100 per person for food alone, and the room will take a party of up to 12. On my visit, cannelloni of Dover sole was absolutely beautiful, the fish sweet and soft, and an accompaniment of herb gnocchi, sweet pea foam and aged balsamic dressing all provided vivid, definite little points of flavour without overpowering the fish. Scottish turbot was gorgeous, cut as a perfect little rectangle and topped with truffled leek, a masterful, blancmange-like slab of comfort food. This dish also came with crayfish, broad beans and a caper hollandaise. Finally, a delicate, light and fresh dessert of tiny wild strawberries in a mille feuille came with a miniature crème brûlée, flavoured with ginger. Excellent food and an extraordinary experience - abd if anyone has a few thousand to spare to throw a party, I'd be happy to go back! (2007).
The Krug room may be booked by appointment. There was some vagueness about total cost, but I heard a rumour that a total spend of £3,000-£4,000 was expected to hire the room.

The Ledbury, 127 Ledbury Road W11 2AQ. Phone 0207 792 9090
Tube: Westbourne Park.
The Ledbury opened in summer 2005 with high expectations: the team behind it has shaken up the capital's dining scene in recent years with The Square, Chez Bruce, La Trompette and the Glasshouse all earning plaudits and respect from critics and diners alike. The Ledbury is, apparantly, Notting Hill's poshest venue, and has a very suave, cosmopolitain feel, with plenty of light and space, a monochrome colour-scheme and expensive fixtures and fittings. There is a also a broad pavement terrace under a canopy for summer lunches. The Lebury's food was hugely impressive: very fine, French-inspired cuisine, where prime ingredients are layered with subtle textures and flavours. After a few little delicious amuses-bouche, including a gorgeous seared scallop on a vanilla-rich foam, the first course was a delicate salad of vegetables with quail's eggs: the ingredients of the salad - lots of tiny beetroot, truffle and pea-shoots - retained bite and their vivid flavours. A main course assiette of veal was just superbly cooked: three small chunks of fillet, cheek and sweetbread with a refined jus, served on a gratin of macaroni studded with wild mushrooms and asparagus tips. To end a well-paced, but rich meal, a parfait of peach kernel with poached peaches and sorbet was delicious, suitably slippery and unstodgy. I had lunch at the Ledbury at the invitation of a winemaker, so didn't order from the list, which I hear is long, interesting and fairly expensive. But the food, surrounding and polite, well-honed service here certainly deserve very definite consideration by anyone looking for a seriously good splash-out meal. The Ledbury's 26 year-old chef Brett Graham is astonishingly accomplished on this evidence. (2005) Around £80 for lunch, £120 for dinner for two, drinking modestly.

Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street. Phone 020 7439 0450
Tube: Leicester Square.
Formed from an elegant 18th Century townhouse, Richard Corrigan's Michelin-starred restaurant is split into separate, small dining rooms. Each is decorated in understated creams and golds, with lovely old fireplaces and casement windows. The food could probably be categorised as modern British, with very traditional ingredients. If you are averse to liver, kidney, black pudding or game, you will hopefully enjoy fish and seafood, which is the other train of thought running through the menu. The tasting menu of multiple small courses is probably the ideal way to eat here, where unexpected combinations are executed with terrific skill. A case in point was a beautiful tartare of mackerel with beetroot and pickled cucumber, that was intensely fresh. A summer casserole of roasted lobster was a little pot of flavourful stock containing chunks of lobster tail. Another lovely dish, that smacked of classical French influence, was a saddle of rabbit, rolled with black pudding and stuffed with confit of garlic. Instead of a cheese board, a blue cheese soufflé was warm and earthy, served with a spiced pear and walnut salad. I ate here as part of an invited group, but I have heard good things about the 200-bottle list. One thing is certain: I will return (2003). Closed Sundays. Around £110 for dinner, cheaper lunch and pre-theatre

L'Oranger, 5 St James'. Phone 020 7839 3774
Tube: Green Park.
Almost next door to Berry Bros. wonderful 19th Century premises at the bottom of St James', I first visited L'Oranger about seven or eight years ago, when the young Marcus Waring was behind the stoves before he became Gordon Ramsay's number two and established Pétrus. It remains one of the nicest dining rooms in London, albeit a rather sombre, wood-panelled affair, looking out onto the atmospheric Pickering Place, the smallest square in London. It was full of pin-striped businessmen on my lunch-time visit, lapping up the rather bourgeois, solidly French menu of classically-trained Laurent Michel that has little truck with nouvelle cuisine or "fusion food". This is essentially very simple, but sophisticated food based around fish, meat, game and offal and very good it is too. The wine list is hefty and dominated by France, but there are good half-bottle selections. With a Michelin star, everything in L'Oranger is very pleasing and very comfortable, even if the venue and innovation in the cooking are not going to set the heather on fire. The £25 lunch is a real baragin. (2006)
Closed Saturday lunch and all day Sunday. £80 lunch, £120 dinner

Pétrus, The Berkley Hotel, Wilton St. Phone 020 7235 1200
Tube: Hyde Park Corner
N.B. This review was written in summer 2003, whilst Pétrus was still located in St James's. Before he joined Gordon Ramsay as his right-hand-man, chef/proprietor Marcus Wareing cooked at L'Oranger, where I had enjoyed some terrific food. So, I accepted the nasty two-sitting regime on a packed Friday evening and ate early, with the reception pointedly confirming "your reservation is between 6.45 and 9.00pm" which sounded less than relaxing. Pétrus young staff were welcoming and efficient, and worked the rather narrow room well. The wine list is dominated by French wines, including an amazing vertical of Pétrus, but I chose the single Austrian on the list, a Grüner Veltliner from Schloss Goblesburg. A little complimentary cup of Jerusalem artichoke velouté was outstanding, before my first course choice of pan-fried red mullet, served with a bouillabaisse. This was quite brilliant: crisp-skinned, just-cooked fish and an earthy yet delicate soup. I stuck with fish, moving on to a wonderful seabream served on a bed of langoustine, saffron potatoes and a tongue-tingling escabèche dressing with sliced black truffle. Dessert was an absolute highlight: a mind-bogglingly precise block of Seville orange parfait with dark chocolate and caramelised kumquats; one of the most dramatically bittersweet desserts I've ever eaten. Coffee is served with chocolates and petits-fours. I would have liked to linger an extra half-hour rather than having to take coffee in the bar, but Pétrus does offer a brilliant food experience (2003). £200 for dinner, cheaper at lunch. Closed Sundays

London more casual dining

Bistro One Ninety, 190 Queens Gate, SW7 5EX. Phone: 020 7584 6601
Tube: Gloucester Rd/South Kensignton.
The really good neighbourhood restaurant remains an almost mythical beast. In Paris every single Quartier overflows with casual places offering excellent food at moderate prices, but why are they so difficult to find in major British cities? The lucky denizens of South Kensington have just such a place on their doorsteps. Bistro One Ninety is the ground floor dining room of The Gore, one of London’s most idiosyncratic but delightful hotels. The clubby bar next door was thronging on my visit, and whilst still alive with happy chatter, the Bistro is a more traditional setting with Victorian plasterwork and tall windows giving a sense of occasion. This is ‘comfort’ food done with panache and a modern twist. A starter of ham hock terrine consisted of a meaty slice of coarsely shredded ham that retained plenty of texture, with piccalilli and a pungent mustard sauce. My partner’s Caesar salad was a ‘proper’ one, with plenty of croutons, garlic and Parmesan. My main course of roasted duck breast was cooked as well as any Mallard of my acquaintance: just pink and tender, with a crisp, moreish skin. The accompanying shredded red cabbage was superbly sweet and spicy, and - holy of holies - a perfectly cooked fondant potato. Braised in stock and butter, fondant is one of my favourite ways with a spud, but restaurants don’t always get it right. Sticky toffee pudding to finish was heroic: heavy with dates and spices, it was served with home-made ice cream topped by a textural spoonful of streusel - the sort of small touch the shows a chef who is really thinking through his dishes. A bottle of Six Vineyards Pinot Noir from Oregon at £40 was my choice from an excellent wine list with moderate mark-ups. All in all, a huge thumbs-up for very fine food served in a friendly setting. (2006)
Dinner menu £24.95, a la carte around £30 per person.

Banquette, Savoy Hotel, The Strand. Phone 020 7420 2392
Tube: Covent Garden/Charing Cross.
Banquette sits above the bar in the Savoy hotel, with always fascinating views of the hotel's entrance courtyard through long picture windows. Banquette is a slick, modern dining room with off-white leather furnishings and un-napped tables. The menu and wine list are short and no-nonsense, with really good takes on classic American diner food - sandwiches, burgers and salads - and traditional British Fare. My Goat's cheese salad with roasted beetroot was delicious: a large bowl of mostly cos lettuce and bitter leaves, with creamed goat's cheese as part of the dressing, atop a bed of sweet red onion and roasted beets. Shepard's pie was brilliant and simple: a good-sized gratin dish filled with lovely quality lamb, classically seasoned and topped with creamy mash. I had a spoonful of my partner's sticky toffee, pear and date pudding which was yummy comfort food, like the rest of the desserts: rice pudding, bread & butter pudding and so on. The wine list has pretty stiff mark-ups, but a bottle of Valpolicella Classico from Allegrini was very enjoyable at £25. Coffee is served with petit-fours. I really enjoyed this meal and it is great to have such a flexible menu available day and night (2004). Returning in late 2006 staff were in a hurry, prices are creeping up, a £2 "cover charge" has appeared, and the wine list mark-ups seem less reasonable. Still a good casual spot, but my enthusiasm is rather blunted. (2006) Open noon till midnight ever day except Sunday. Around £85 for dinner, cheaper lunch

Cheneston's, the Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, W8 5DL
Phone: 020 7917 1000. Tube: High Street Kensington
The Milestone is a wonderful five-star hotel tucked discretely inside a beautiful 1880's building immediately opposite Kensington Palace. The hotel is the antithises of the soulless corporate five-star, with picture-perfect, cosseting rooms and very personalised service. Fine dining is provided by the small Cheneston's restaurant, in an ornate Victorian dining room that is cosy with seating for only around 30 people, yet has plenty of elbow room between tables. I ate at one of their regular wine-matching dinners, where merchant The Vineyard Cellars where presenting the wines of Terre Rouge in California alongside a set menu of five courses. A little seared scallop wrapped in apple-smoked ham was a delicious appetiser, followed by an open ravioli of Maine lobster and crab, in a fragrant lobster broth scented with ginger and coriander. This was a delightful dish, served with a weighty Roussanne. Prime fillet of beef with hash browns and creamed corn was simple and straightforward - just as it should be - arriving sizzling on the plate, the beef seared but pink in the centre. A twice-baked Monterey Jack soufflé continued the thoughtful and very nicely realised American theme, the soufflé flavoured with a chive and celery sauce. It had the correct, nutty flavour profile to match with the fruity Easton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Finally, a baked American cheesecake was good, if not quite as densely-textured as the best New York examples, but it was delicious with a glass of Terre Rouge's Muscat. Endless coffee was served with homeade brownies to end a terific wine-matching meal. I sat with Sommelier Nicolas Clerc throughout the meal, and the 400-bin wine list he has put together is superb, covering not only the great and good of France, but a world of carefully chosen wines. In fact, soon after my visit Nicolas was awarded second place in the competition to find the Ruinart Sommelier of the Year. Cheneston's may not serve the absolute peak of 3-star cuisine, but it offers a delightful package of food, wine, ambiance and service. (2006) Open every day, dinner around £100

Cru, 2-4 Rufus Street, Hoxton. Phone: 020 7729 5252. Tube: Old Street
Just around the corner from the White Cube gallery in the achingly trendy Hoxton Square, Cru occupies a converted warehouse space with decidedly urban and modern styling. I liked the casual, New Yorky ambience, and with the large open kitchen and a cage-like wine cellar given centre stage, there was an immediate suspicion that this place took its food and wine seriously. In fact my meal here was just terrific; one of my most refreshing and enjoyable dining experiences of recent times, when a succession of Gordon Ramsayesque restaurants - though very good - had started to feel just a little safe and formulaic. My starter of a Lobster, lemongrass and pearl barley risotto immediately set the tone for an eclectic, globe-trotting menu. Served with a tomato concasse, it was a lovely dish with lots of piquant flavours. My main course wood-roasted chump of lamb was served with sweet and sour turnip. This was a beautifully slow-cooked dish with wonderfully textured lamb and a fine, earthy quality. To finish I choose a green tea and vanilla panacotta, which came with a sour fig coulis and pistachio biscotti. This was a sophisticated and balanced meal, where the complex construction of the menu may have overloaded on ingredients, but kept the cooking and presentation simple and wholesome. Wines are reasonably marked up and there is a lot available by the glass (2003). £80 for dinner.

Le Duxième, 65a Long Acre. Phone: 020 7379 0003
Tube: Covent Garden
It's very handy to have a really good, moderately priced and "proper" restaurant in this touristy area of central London. Le Duxième is perfect for pre- or post-theatre dining (special menu available), though equally suitable as the destination for a leisurely meal. The decor is simple but stylish, with well-napped tables and chic feel to the small dining room. The menu is very reasonably priced. I started with a tempura of freshwater shrimp, which was excellent with real crispness to the batter, good-sized shrimps and a piquant Thai dressing that hit a lovely sweet/sour balance. My main course halibut was plump, sweet and cooked just nicely. Friendly staff, good bread and coffee, and a moderately marked-up wine list complete the picture of an honest, good-quality dining experience carried off with some style, just round the corner from Covent Garden (2004). £70 for dinner, open 7 days for lunch and dinner.

Frontline Restaurant, 13 Norfolk Place. Tel: 020 7479 8960
Tube: Paddington
With five hours to kill between flights at Heathrow recently, I decided to forsake the pleasures of terminal one and instead take the express train to Paddington station, and find somewhere to eat locally. At around 6:00pm I stumbled across Frontline, a very obvious choice in the sea of fast-food and chain restaurants that surrounds any major railway station. With its exposed brick, warm, chocolate brown leather seating and walls adorned with blow-up news photographs (there's a story here - visit www.frontlinerestaurant.com) it has a chic, but very warm and welcoming atmosphere. The £15.00 pre-theatre menu suited my perfectly, and the food was excellent: a Caesar salad was classically rendered, topped with fresh anchovies and plenty of shaved parmesan. The addition of cubes of avocado added texture and succulence to the dish. Pork and leek sausages came in a very nicely reduced meat-stock and herb gravy, and a leek and olive oil mash was silky yet firm. Frontline has a subtle Middle Eastern slant to much of its menu, and dessert of really thick and decadently creamy Greek yoghurt was dressed with honey and figs. With a large glass of Henry Pelle's Petit Bourgeois Sauvignon blanc, water and Illy espressos, the bill for two came to £47.00. What a terrific little find so close to Paddington. (2004)
Lunch Monday - Friday, Dinner Monday - Saturday

La Famiglia, 7 Langton St. Phone: 020 7351 0761
Tube: Fulham Broadway
(VF) Expecting a quiet Monday evening's casual dinner at a local restaurant off the Kings' Road, I couldn't have been more wrong. The atmosphere was electric, laughter and conversation pervaded this bustling Tuscan eaterie, owned and managed by Alvaro Maccioni. La Famiglia has been a leading destination for foodies who love genuine, quality regional Tuscan cuisine since 1975. The menu has classic dishes with seasonal specialities. Whilst reading the menu we nibbled at delicious "Bruschetta alla Romana", toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and freshly chopped tomatoes with basil, and "Crostini di Pollo", The Tuscan speciality of toast, topped with chicken liver pate, capers and garlic. To start we chose "Fiori di Zucca", deep fried courgette flowers, which was really delicate and crisp, and "Mozzarella di Bufala e Pomodori", the lightest and most flavourful Buffalo cheese I have ever eaten, together with more basil and fresh tomatoes. For the main course I had "Calimari e Seppie in Salsa Nera e con Spinaci", squid and cuttle fish with ink sauce, garlic, and chilli, served on a bed of spinach. The fish was seriously good. The squid melted like butter in my mouth, but I felt the dish had a little too much inky sauce. The other main course was "Pesce Spada all'Agrodolce", swordfish with onions and courgettes in a balsamic vinegar sauce, which had excellent flavour and texture. Portion size is on the large side so we abandoned the scrumptious looking traditional dessert trolley, in favour of some vin santo. The 40-bottle wine list is thoughtfully chosen, ranging from £16.50 per bottle to £350.00 for a 1997 Solaia. Bisol Prosecco was elegant, followed by a fruity Pannizi Vernaccia di San Gimignano for £27.50. (2004)
About £80 for two. Open 7 days a week

Mims, 541 Kings Road, Chelsea. Phone: 020 7751 0010
Tube: Fulham Broadway.
I ate here with a bunch of visitors to wine-pages.com on an organised "off-line" event in February 2004. One of the main attractions is that Mims allows BYO, but I'd also heard good things about the food. The restaurant is modern and bright, with light colours and an airy feel to it. The menu, with around five choices at each course, was immediately striking for its inventive dishes. My smoked haddock starter was ample, with chunks of flaky fish on a bed of sliced new potatoes, smothered with an hollandaise-like mustard sauce. For a main course I had breast of duck, roasted and served with a confit of leg, along with rather dramatic towers of roasted vegetables: parsnip, sweet potato and carrot. This was a really good dish, with the duck cooked just pink, and plenty of flavour. For dessert I chose and intriguing date and milk soufflé pancake, that was quite delicious. For central London it is inexpensive, with good food and friendly service. Unfortunately a report has reached me that the restaurant wasn't keen on a repeat BYO booking recently, which would be a pity (2004). £65 for dinner. Closed Mondays

Mosaica @ the lock, Heron House, Hale Wharf. Phone 020 8801 4433
Tube: Tottenham Hale
(VF) Mosaica is housed in a modern yellow building adjacent to Tottenham Hale tube station. The ground floor restaurant is simply decorated, and by Chef and owner, John Mountain. The Mediterranean-style menu changes daily, with a choice of eight starters, (£5.00 to £9.00) seven main courses (£13.00 to £16.00) and six desserts (£5.00 to £7.00). My partner opted for marinated artichokes with pesto to start with, I had seared scallops with black pudding. Both dishes had good flavour and texture. I followed with roast John Dory with warm Mediterranean vegetables and Jerseys, which was a delightful blend of subtle tastes, my partner had swordfish on "Caesar(ish)" salad. Dessert for me was a panacotta with an espresso topping - unusual but fun. The wine list needs some work here. 15 well-known commercial wines start at £13, and a dozen fine wines range from £20 to £50. We dived into the fine wine list, and Rene Mure's Alsace Riesling at £19.50 complemented our menu choices well. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £85 (2004)
Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and Dinner

Philpott's Mezzaluna, 424 Finchley Road. Phone 020 7794 0455
Tube: Golders Green
(VF) This neighbourhood restaurant is always busy. Chef David Philpott and manager Alex Ross have been here for 4 years. In that time they have built up a great reputation for good quality Mediterranean-style cuisine. Two thirds of the well-chosen wine list is Italian, with interesting offerings from the rest of the world (£13 to £75) and a reasonable choice in half bottles. We squeezed into the last available table at 9.00pm on a Saturday night for a monthly-changing menu. I started with grilled asparagus with parmesan and a balsamic and olive oil dressing. My partner had a roast pepper and truffled pecorino bruschetta with a marinated anchovy salad. Both starters were excellent, the flavours worked well. To follow I had guinea fowl brassalo with salsice and barolo sauce which was delicious. My partner thoroughly enjoyed his steak with gorgonzola mash and red onion salsa. We indulged in a bottle of 1998 Pio Cesare Barolo at £72 (it was our wedding anniversary!) which complemented our meal beautifully. Desserts included a simple but tasty pistachio ice cream. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £135 (2004)
Open Tuesday to Friday and Sunday for lunch, Dinner Tuesday to Saturday. No smoking. Air-conditioned.

Brasserie Roux, 8 Pall Mall. Phone 020 7968 2900
Tube: Piccadilly Circus.
(VF) This 100-seat restaurant, opened two years ago in a tall, spacious room that was once a bank. It is part of the Sofitel St James hotel, close to theatreland and serves pre- and post-theatre meals at great value. A Sunday jazz brunch is also popular. The inspiration for this eatery came from Michelin starred chef Albert Roux who envisioned classic French cuisine in an elegant, but environment. The menu is relatively simple and offers a choice of traditional brasserie dishes: eight cold starters and eight hot starters (£6.00 to £8.00), 16 main courses (£8.00 to £22.00) and eight desserts (£5.00 to £8.00), plus daily specials. We chose pike quenelles lyonnaise and boudin noir with apple and sage sauce to start. Both were well presented dishes with good flavours and textures. We followed with sea bass fillets served with sautéed potatoes, bacon lardons and red wine jus, and croustade of veal kidneys with mushrooms, French beans and Madeira sauce. Another excellent choice, it encapsulated the French brasserie style, especially when we finished with a selection of cheeses from Maitre Vernier, all beautifully ripe. The wine list "Les Grands Vins du Monde", an eclectic assortment of both French and worldwide wines. The enthusiastic sommelier knew his list, and helped us choose Leon Beyer's 2002 Pinot Blanc at £19.50. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £85 (2004)
Open daily. Theatre menus 5.30pm to 7.00pm and 10.45pm to 11.30pm

St John, 26 St John Street EC1M 4AY. Tel: 020 7251 0848
Tube: Barbican
St John is a London institution and pioneer in the revival of British gastronomy and the championing of British ingredients. A thronging bar and lively dining area, where white-aproned waiting staff bearing groaning platters of superb food squeeze between tightly-packed tables, it is not the venue for a quiet tete-a-tete, but St John has a terrific atmosphere to match the quality of the food and wines. On my most recent visited I started with an old favourite: roast bone marrow served with toast and parsley salad. A tray of bones is brought from the oven, and a long, skewer-like fork used to scrape and cajole the comforting, creamy marrow onto the toast, to be topped with a pinch of sea-salt, handful of piquant salad, and devoured. I followed with pheasant and pig's trotter pie: a beautiful pie, with buttery but short pastry, filled with chunks of meat in a delicious gravy. All meat is off the bone of course, and the flavour is robust yet delicate, earthy yet clear. To finish, a plate of wonderfully tangy and dry Lancashire cheese was served with Eccles cakes - flaky, sugary pastry cases crammed with spicy dried fruits. Wonderful food, that evokes the best of traditional British cuisine, accompanied by an interesting, good value and exclusively French wine list (many imported direct by St John), makes for a unique dining experience. Highly recommended. (2007)
£120 for dinner. Lunch and dinner Monday to Friday, dinner only Saturdays.

Tate Britain, Millbank SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8825
Tube: Pimlico/Vauxhall/Westminster
I often enjoy a lunch in the restaurant on the top floor of Tate Modern on the south bank of the river Thames, with its quality comfort food and glorious views over the city. The restaurant at Tate Britain, a few miles upstream on the opposite bank, has a much more grown-up feel, and a renowned wine list, thanks to a fine wine buying policy started by sommelier Hamish Anderson. The dining room is one large, busy space, reminiscent of a great Parisien brasserie, the mood set by the bucolic Rex Whistler murals around the walls. To be honest, I was rather disappointed by the food one recent Sunday lunchtime, where a tranche of foie-gras terrine was excellent, but the layers of black truffle through it overpowered the flavour the presentation was rather artless with two chunks of cold brioche piled on the plate. Main course roast beef was flavoursome, but probably 60% fat, and my dessert of a spiced tarte tatin was good, though a little stodgy from being reheated in a microwave I’d guess. But that wine list... It is a formidable and beautifully balanced list offered at rock-bottom prices (for London) and withan excellent selection of half bottles. We drank a half of Chateau Suiduraut from the excellent 1990 vintage for £38 with the foie-gras and dessert, and a half of Dujac’s 1999 Morey St Denis in the middle for £22. With many mature bottles, it really is a mouthwatering wine list. Summing up? The food is ok, the surroundings quite striking, the staff friendly and the wine list just brilliant. Given that you can also take in the permanent and temporary exhibitions of the Tate too it is still a great way to make a full day out - especially for the dedicated oenophile.
£140 for lunch with wine. Open Every day for lunch only.

Villandry, 170 Great Portland Street, Phone: 020 76313131
Tube: Great Portland Street
I've eaten in Villandry several times and first reviewed it in 2002. Much more than a restaurant, Villandry also comprises a buzzing bar, flower shop and one of London's most interesting food halls, featuring the best of domestic and imported luxury foods. Villandry is also a Traiteur, selling up-market ready-made meals in the tradition of France's top gastronomic temples. The restaurant is through at the back of the shop, simply furnished with wooden table tops and chairs, and large picture windows. Recent reports had suggested that a change of ownership had seen the restaurant go markedly downhill. I popped in for a simple two course lunch in the bar in January 2007, and found the atmosphere had changed a bit - it was rather less "foodie" and more touristy I felt, though my lunch of risotto and a pear and frangipane tart was pretty good. The jury is possibly out on this one until I have the chance to visit the restaurant again. (2007). £90 for dinner, open 7 days, until late Monday-Saturday.

The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB. Phone 020 7499 6996
Tube: Green Park
(VF) Built in 1921 as a car showroom for Wolseley cars, the building had a chequered past until its recent transformation into a very grand European Café-style Emporium. The tall arched ceilings in the main dining room are stunning, with a vibrant buzz as it copes with 700 covers a day. We chose to eat dinner in the non-smoking lounge, a pretty, elegant art deco room, on the right as you enter the restaurant. The menu is like a throwback to the 1970s, an eclectic mix of French Brasserie dishes such as Escargots à la Bourguignonne, Boudin Blanc with Caramelised Apple, and Duck Confit with Ratte Potatoes. British favourites include Severn and Wye Smoked Salmon, Eggs Benedict, and Roast Rump of Lamb with crushed Jersey Royals. European specials are listed, like Wiener schnitzel for a main course followed by Kaiserschmarren for dessert. I went for the Croustade of Quails Eggs and Hollandaise, my partner chose Caramelised Onion and Goat's Cheese tart. Both were good choices. I elected to try the Fegato alla Veneziana with a side order of creamed mash, delicious! My partner tried the Grilled Fish of the Day: Sea bass served on a bed of garden vegetables, with fabulous frites. Desserts were shared, followed by an Espresso Coupe (espresso and chocolate ice cream with hot chocolate sauce) yummy! The wine list is short but well chosen, with about 30 wines by the glass (from £4-£10) and a 50-bin European selection (with 10 wines under £20). Three courses plus coffee and service came to £115. (2004)
Open seven days. Restaurant serves from 7.00am for breakfast, through lunch and afternoon tea, to dinner from 5:50pm. The café serves from 11.30 am, and both close at midnight.

The south of England

Dorset: Summer Lodge Hotel, Evershot. Phone: 01935 482000
Summer Lodge's restaurant is a comfortable room with floral, padded-fabric walls and a very bourgeois French feel. Executive chef Steven Titman was lured from the highly acclaimed White Barn Inn in Maine, and Alsace-born Eric Zwiebel was Sommelier of the Year in 2004. He has put together a phenomenal list of almost 1,000 bins with, for example, 32 Champagnes. France is very well represented, but there are interesting bits and pieces from every corner of the globe. My stay at Summer Lodge happened to coincide with a Portuguese food and wine evening that kicked off at 7:00pm with canapés and a glass of wine before a very refined four-course dinner. Salt cod with dressed rocket and lemon aïoli was subtly flavoured, with a tang to the dressing that didn't overpower the flaky, perfectly cooked fish. Gressingham duck came seared on the outside, nicely pink inside, with an aromatic broth of tomato and coriander. This was a sociable occasion, and taking coffee in the lounge after dinner I discovered that many of my fellow guests were refugee Londoners who enjoy regular country weekends at Summer Lodge. That speaks volumes about the welcome on offer here. (2006)
Dinner £48, rooms from £185 per night, bed and breakfast.

Hampshire: 36 On the Quay, South St, Emsworth. Phone: 01243 375592
(VF) Restaurant 36 On the Quay is located in the picturesque fishing village of Emsworth, between Chichester and Portsmouth, overlooking the bay. There are four well-appointed bedrooms above the restaurant. Owners Ramon and Karen Farthing have steadily built up this establishment since they moved here with their young family in 1996. Fish is a speciality here and Karen has worked hard to create an interesting 250-bin wine list to match Ramon's stunningly artistic food creations. The à la Carte menu, which changes quarterly, has five starters, five main courses and five desserts, there are daily specials too. I began with pan-fried scallops, accompanied by a hazelnut sablé tartlet with creamed leeks, complemented by an apple and asparagus reduction. My partner chose quail breast and braised leg placed on glazed baby shallots, poached prunes and pickled enoki mushrooms finished with a lightly smoked bacon stock. Both starters were delicious. We were seriously impressed with the main courses, including a roast loin of lamb, grilled liver and sweetbreads, served with a fondant potato, creamed celeriac dice and thyme gravy. I opted for a 36's speciality rhubarb dessert, which was a platter of four miniature dishes: a sorbet, mousse, hot rhubarb and ginger crumble and a hot soufflé - orgasmic! We opted for a half bottle of Château Carbonnieux 1996 (£32), which went very well with our starters, and followed up with a bottle of 1985 Château La Rose Marbuzet, a 3eme cru classé at £56. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £190 (2004).
Tuesday to Friday for lunch, Monday to Saturday for dinner. No-Smoking

Hertfordshire: Auberge du Lac, Lemsford. Phone: 01707 368888
(VF) This elegantly furnished restaurant, with magnificent floral displays, is in a beautiful setting in the midst of the parkland of Brocket Hall. I revisited this restaurant after Chef-Patron, Jean-Christophe Novelli had departed, leaving Phil Thompson in charge of the kitchen after stints at L'Escargot, the Lanesborough and Orrery. The room layout and décor remains the same, the sommelier Luca Ravagnati, an Italian with eclectic taste in wine is a real enthusiast, he has around 700 wines on his list, including a page of Dom Perignon Champagne going back to 1962. There is a 4 course Menu du Marché at £45, a 7 course Tasting Menu at £65 and an A La Carte Menu with 8 starters, main courses and desserts. After the amuse-bouche of asparagus cappuccino with cheese and herb mousse, I started with char-grilled cumin scented scallops with cauliflower, crab and vegetable spring roll: a little complex with clashing flavours. My partner chose pepper coated seared tuna with avocado and lime mousse, salsa verde and a radish salad. This too was rather complicated, with the pepper overpowering the more delicate flavours. I followed with aromatic steamed fillet of turbot with crème fraiche, caviar linguine and gewürztraminer velouté - a disaster. Stodgy linguine and salty creamed leeks, did not work with the overcooked turbot. My partner's choice of pan seared spiced tournedos of monkfish with baby gem pureé, boulangerie potato and shellfish beurre noisette was again too complicated with conflicting flavours. The pre-dessert, a weird combination of mango cream, chilli jelly and coconut foam actually worked quite well! The desserts, made by Martin Towse, were excellent. Chocolate orange ravioli with white chocolate, orange ice cream and walnuts was delightful as was the port poached pear with prune samosas and bitter chocolate ice cream. We enjoyed a South African 2004 Tokara White for £38.00, one of the more reasonable wines from Luca's list. Sadly I think Phil Thompson is trying too hard, with dishes that are too complicated, and the overall dining experience is too expensive. (2006)
Open Tuesday to Sunday noon till 2.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday 7.00 to 10.00pm.

Hertfordshire: Colette's at The Grove, Chandlers Cross. Phone 01923 296015
(VF) Colette's restaurant is one of three within the 300 acre parkland of the Grove Estate, near Watford. On the ground floor of the Grade II mansion, the restaurant has two bright, high-ceilinged rooms, with luxurious décor. The A La Carte menu, created by head chef Chris Harrod, is £49 for two courses or £54 for three. I began with Cornish crab, Sevruga caviar, coriander cured tuna and lemon dressing; a very refreshing and tangy starter. Hot smoked salmon with Jerusalem artichoke velouté was a delicate match of flavours and well liked. For our main courses we chose a pan fried Dover sole with fresh linguini, shellfish and herb juice. The fish was beautifully cooked and the flavours were harmoniously balanced. Our second choice was roasted Denham estate venison, celeriac purée and caramelized chicory, chocolate and juniper sauce. This was a very rich but delicate dish, the sauce was light and the texture of the venison was superb. We decided to share a sample of the beautifully presented cheese board and a dessert. French and English cheeses were just ripe and met our expectations. The banana tart tatin, hot chocolate fondant and lemon curd ice cream was a work of art on the plate and flavours melted into the mouth. The wine list, chosen by sommelier Gregory Moreau, is innovative and full of interesting wines from small producers. We tried the 2004 Alto Adige Traminer Aromatico 2004 from Franz Haas at £28. There are a number of wines by the glass, and we tried a Gamay vinifera from the Loire with the venison, at £7.50 a glass this was an excellent accompaniment. Although expensive, this was truly a delightful meal and well worth a visit for a special evening. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £185. (2006)
Sunday noon till 3.00pm (£35.00), Monday to Saturday 7.00 to 10.30pm

Reading: l'Ortolan, Church Lane, Shinfield RG29BY. Tel 0118 988 8500
(VF) The prosecco wines of Bisol are old favourites of wine-pages.com, so when an invitation arrived to check out the Gourmet tasting menu at l'Ortolan matched to Bisol wines, it was graciously accepted. We started the proceedings with a glass of Bisol's 'Jeio' Prosecco di Valdobbiadene to accompany a delicious assortment of canapés. The pre-starter, a gazpacho and olive oil purée had pronounced flavours of tomato, pepper and onion. The first course of Avocado mousse and asparagus salad with pâté Negra, parmesan and a lemon oil dressing followed. This was served with Bisol's 2005 'Crede' Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. The delicate flavours of the mousse matched the light apple and pear notes of the wine beautifully. The presentation of the next course, the foie gras 'sandwich', was extraordinary. The garnish of morello cherry and fig slice together with the concentrated flavour of the sliced duck foie married extremely well with the Bisol 2004 'Garnei' Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. The John Dory served with white bean cassoulet and pea velouté was a dish of complex textures and rich flavours. This was accompanied by a still wine, Bisol's 2004 'Molera' Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. The apricot and floral notes in the wine paired well with the richness of this dish. The main course, roasted chump and braised shoulder of new season's lamb, with basil pomme purée, roasted tomatoes, tapenade and a mousse of red peppers, ginger and spiced aubergine was a complicated looking dish. The chosen wine, Bisol's 2004 'Cartizze' Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, appeared to create a challenge. This combination was inspired: I would never have matched a sweet ripe fruity wine with this type of dish, but it worked surprisingly well. Having declined the supplementary British and French cheese course, we completed our meal with a vanilla panna cotta with wild strawberry sorbet and rhubarb consommé. This was a delicious combination that paired beautifully with Bisol's 2005 Prosecco Duca di Dolle, a passito wine made with traditionally dried grapes. The wine had intense aromas of exotic fruit. The palate was delicately sweet with a racy acidity. This was indeed a charming end to a quite superb meal. Tasting Menu for two, with Bisol Wines, coffees and service came to about £225.00. Tuesday to Saturday for lunch (two courses for £18) and dinner.

The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 3JP.
Tel 01672 870871, www.theharrowatlittlebedwyn.co.uk
(VF) How refreshing to dine at a restaurant with not only a great wine list (67 pages), but a great value wine list! Where else could you find Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006 for £28.00 a bottle? Roger Jones is a serious wine enthusiast and excellent chef, while his wife Sue manages the restaurant superbly well. We opted for the Gourmet menu and dawdled over the wine list, eventually choosing a bottle of Jasper Hill, Georgia's Paddock Riesling, 1998 at £48.00, Pierro Chardonnay, 2002 at £68.00, Picardy Pinot Noir, 2002 at £38.00, Mitolo Serpico 'Amarone' Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 at £58.00 and finished with glasses of different dessert wines. The 'amuse bouche' was a delicate and tasty Cherry Gazpacho, followed by our first course, a lobster salad served on a bed of pea shoots. The lobster texture was terrific and blended delightfully with the sweet pea shoots. Carpaccio of Welsh Black Beef with marinated Japanese mushrooms followed. The beef texture and flavour was amazing, and the dressing was delicious, a vinaigrette containing a reduced jus made from Pedro Ximenez Sherry. We then had sashimi of scallops with an absolutely stunning cucumber and wasabi sorbet, follwed by a fillet of wild line caught John Dory with morels. The meat course was a serving of new seasons' welsh lamb, with fresh beans and peas, super flavours yet again! After a gentle digestive break, we had an excellent selection of cheese, then a range of desserts, a pre dessert of strawberry sorbet, followed by summer pudding sherbet and bitter chocolate with coffee ice cream. What a remarkable meal! Dinner for four, including the 'Gourmet' menu (£60.00 per person) and 5 bottles of wine came to £490.00. (2007)
Lunch Wednesday to Sunday (Set lunch £30.00 incl. 2 glasses of wine). Dinner Wednesday to Saturday

The north of England

Before the restaurants, a quick plug for one of the best wine shops in Britain; maybe the world. If you are in Manchester, why not drive 30 miles north to the small town of Clitheroe and visit D. Byrne's wonderful shop for a breathtaking range and very reasonable prices: massive strength in depth with wines from every corner of the world.

Chester Grosvenor Hotel, Eastgate. Phone: 01244 324024
The hotel's café/restaurant is a truly authentic evocation of a great Parisian Brasserie, but for fine dining book a table at The Arkle, where Simon Radley is behind the stoves and has retained a Michelin star for 15 years. An intimate but business-like space, a large cupola suffuses the room with light. Sommelier Garry Clarke presides over 600 bins, including astonishing collections of Romanée-Conti and Opus One, but also plenty of good value New World wines by the bottle and glass. My meal here was truly superb. I bypassed the gastronomic menu this time (£65) and instead chose to eat à la carte, where £55 buys three substantial course plus an array of amuses, coffee and petit-fours. Cornish red mullet ravioli came with a summer vegetable broth, and a liberal sprinkling of succulent pea shoots and herbs. 'Chelford Beef' is one for the seriously hungry. Beef fillet poached with aromatic herbs and topped with a lobe of seared foie gras was outstanding, but just as my plate was cleared, part II of a multi-part dish arrived: baked treacle short rib; a deliciously sticky, forkable chunk of slow-cooked meat. Thankfully, coffee and chocolates was served in the bar, where comfortable club chairs seemed a reasonable option for a night's kip, the stairs to bed being at least a further 25 yards away. (2006)
Restaurant closed Sunday and Monday. Rooms from £185 per night, bed and breakfast

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