Restaurant Review - Fifteen, Watergate Bay

Restaurant Name: Fifteen

Location: Watergate Bay, Cornwall, UK

Visited: June 2010, Lunch

Fifteen, the 'trading arm' of the Jamie Oliver Foundation which was created to support young people, often in need of direction, and transform their lives by giving them the opportunity to work in the restaurant business. As a dining experience, it was one of the best I have had.

We booked a table for 6 (+ 2 children) and were fortunate enough to be 'housed' in what appeared to be a private dining room, segregated from the main restaurant with large opening windows overlooking the beautiful Watergate Bay. Whether this is the norm for large tables I am unsure. This dining experience was memorable for all the right reasons. Great atmosphere, great service, and absolutely outstanding cooking. The food served was simply brilliant with only a couple of exceptions. It must have been some achievement to secure that site as well.

Whilst we waited for fresh Fifteen lemonade with a hint of Vanilla, which was as good as it sounds, we ordered their Puglia olives. Having tasted these before I knew what to expect - they are divine. I ate hand dived scallop and pancetta Spiedeni on fennel to start followed by John Dory with Cornish Razor Clams and Lenticchie di Castelluccio. Both of these were presented beautifully and cooked to perfection. Had the experience not been as good as it was I would complain more about 2 scallops on a skewer for approximately £16 as more scallop was necessary, but this aside, the meal was distinguished. The John Dory was excellent, razor clams had lost their delicate texture having been overcooked but in the scheme of things, it was ignored until now. Every mouthful was too be treasured.

Another guest had local Duck tortellini which when I return, is what I will be having. Light and buttery and packed a real punch, shrouded in the lightest pasta you have ever tasted. The presentation was inviting and so right.

The dessert list, as was the rest of the menu, was full of attractive options to make your mouth water. I opted for Amalfi lemon and ricotta meringue pie with peaches and clotted cream. I could eat this dish all day long. The texture and the remarkable flavours were a real treat.

Service was genuine with only a couple of service errors (forgotten drinks - we couldn't get enough of the Vanilla Lemonade ...) but that aside, it was of a very high level with very personable and attentive staff. If these staff were on the wrong side of the track before, then this restaurant and what it has successfully delivered should be highly acclaimed and everyone involved deserves a pat on the back.

I cannot wait to return, if only for that Duck Tortellini and those beautiful views.

Restaurant Review - St Petroc's Bistro

Restaurant Name: St Petroc's Bistro

Location: Padstow, Cornwall, UK

Visited: June 2010, Lunch

Part of the Rick Stein empire in Cornwall, St Petroc's Bistro delivers a seasonal menu in an attractive restaurant in bustling Padstow. His chief restaurant, the Seafood Restaurant is the one to visit but with long booking times and no children allowed, St Petroc's was the next best option.

I have fond memories of Padstow having spent time during summer holidays there cycling from nearby Trevone many years ago. If you haven't visited, Padstow is a charming tourist destination with a quaint harbour offering high speedboat rides, and some great crab fishing. With this recent visit to Padstow, it hasn't changed too much, except for Rick Stein having opened a number of additional sites such as Fish & Chips and a new deli.

So to the restaurant review in question. We had booked a table for 8 plus 2 children. Too large a table (in my opinion) to truly experience what this and any other restaurant has to offer. When you have a large party, the intimacy is lost and with so many voices, the food is no longer the raison d'etre. This also reflects the service offering at a lot of restaurants as they seem to believe that the guests are happy amongst themselves. The service therefore was average at best. Food was somewhat delayed between courses, and the attentive service that this restaurant/level was supposed to be delivering was not forthcoming. The atmosphere was noisy (this could have been our table of course ...) and compared to my previous visit to this restaurant, there was no finesse in the delivery.

Perhaps (and some might say) crucially, the food I ate was delicious; fresh, presentable, and put a smile on your face. For me, when food does this, they restaurant has success. I started with curried crab on sliced tomatoes served with one of the best Rocket salads i have tasted. The ingredients used were well sourced. The crab was fresh and sweet, and not too delicate and combined gracefully with the fresh tomatoes. Other guests had local asparagus with hollandaise - done right, this dish often fails to impress, and this was no exception. The hollandaise, all be it for me a little creamy, was very good. For mains I had whole pan fried lemon sole with bearnaise, as did most of the table. Again, the ingredients were perfect and cooked simply - often the best way. This was let down only by the most horrendous side salad I have tasted - to say it was salty was an understatement. The lemon sole though was superb. The side order of fries were also good though possibly a little oily.

For desserts we had fruit (and on this occasion a birthday cake for my wife) which was nice but not memorable. This however was not a reflection on the food in general, and nothing a good dollop of clotted cream couldn't sort out.

In summary, the food was great and perhaps had we been a smaller table, the experience would have been that much better for reasons aforementioned. I would return and would highly recommend - but only if you cannot get into Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant of course ...

Restaurant Review - Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Restaurant Name: Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Location: Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London

Visited: Mid May 2010, evening reservation, all 4 diners opted for Tasting Menu

Royal Hospital Road, the jewel in the crown for Gordon Ramsay and the holder of 3 of those Michelin Stars for better than first class food, service and experience.

Apparently.

A table of 4 booked to visit this restaurant in May '10 simply to experience food and fine dining theatre at its best. With recent visits in the last few years to other UK 3* establishments (The Waterside Inn, The Fat Duck both in Bray, UK), we had very high expectations and very high presupposed standards that such accolades command. What was delivered, from food to service, was far from worthy of such accolades. I like to get down to the business end, so here follows a list of all the errors and fatal flaws in the delivery of this 3* magic.

In some order of how they stacked up throughout the evening:

• Restaurant welcome was very informal, too informal
• We had a corner table (fine), but my chair was physically touching the person behind me
• Restaurant was very loud, and rather warm. There was no intimacy to set the scene for what should have followed. Had it been intimate, the disappointment would have been worse.
• Bread - lifeless and definitely not home made. It had that 'travelled' guise.
• Sommelier spoke to us like we were sommeliers ourselves. Even with an above average understanding of wine, even I was stumped, and his advice was not very helpful. We weren't looking for a master-class demonstration on his understanding.
• 'Lobster in a cone' - messy, and did not excite the taste buds. Other pre starters were inspired, but not well executed.
• Too long service times between courses.
• Staff continually leant across you to collect plates, place items on table
• The lifeless bread kept appearing after every course (even with the Tasting Mains). I didn't need bread with my Fish course, or my Lamb.
• Incorrect cutlery was laid and staff did not realise until they delivered the course, prompting them to turnaround with the food, swap the cutlery, apologise that they had made a mistake, and return the food.
• We added a 'buttered' Lobster course from the a la carte menu to the Tasting Menu. We shouldn't have bothered. Over cooked Lobster tail, the claw was acceptable. It was bad enough to complain so we did, however head chef advised being Scottish and native Lobster it is apparently supposed to be this texture. Nothing to do with being overcooked then. Native or not, it wasn't brilliant and we had yet to be wowed by any culinary delights.
• We were offered our decantered red wine with our lobster and fish course which was interesting. We politely declined.
• The other courses were average. I had eaten better food and experienced culinary magic at many 1* and 2* restaurants. Lamb was okay, texture and flavour good, but not great.
• The desserts - personal preference possible, although the table agreed, the dessert menu was uninspiring and lacked 'colour' and 'flavour'. We had deliberated over the desserts early on when discussing 'a la carte' or 'menu prestige'. This, and no doubt our other grumblings had been acknowledged when we were duly delivered every dessert on the menu. The Maitre'D had opted to 'help us with our decision'. It back fired, instead of well crafted plates of glorious sweets, we were given a platter of small portions - without the frills.

We had some great wines which was a highlight of the evening (the cheese board I thought was excellent also) - a Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Pucelles 2001 and a Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 1996, both outstanding.

Some of these may appear to be small errors, but errors none the less and at this level you cannot afford these type of faux pas. What they and the food in general amounted too was an evening not to be repeated, but more disheartening, and herein lies the problem, is that you expect to be 'wowed' at such experiences.

Experiences is what these dining visits are, its entertainment of the senses. But how disappointing this show was. Perhaps having not long dined at the Fat Duck our expectations were too high, surely with the hype and the 3* we are allowed to, and should do? Maybe not. Maybe the Michelin inspector got it wrong, maybe the restaurant had a bad night. Surely not at this level ...

In the back of our minds I firmly believe we 4 diners actually thought this might happen, but the proof was in the pudding and it had yet to be ticked off the list, and Michelin doesn't often get it wrong. That said, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay didn't even make The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2010. It didn't even make the top 100. Whatever it did or didn't receive, it wont receive a visit from me again.

Food Review - Macarons by Pierre Herme

After Selfridges announced that Pierre Herme was to have a concession within the Food Hall I waited with 'high expectations' for their arrival. With Laduree @ Harrods, they had stiff competition, and Laduree is not just good, it is exceptional (if you have't tried them, make a mental note to do so, Harrods, London's Burlington Arcade or in Paris.) Laduree's gift boxes alone make the experience memorable.

Herme Macaroons Tasting notes:

• Too much filling
• Flavours unique but not sensational or as defined as they could be
• Texture good but not great (relative to Laduree)

Crucially, Herme's Macaron offering lacks the 'Finesse' that makes Laduree so special. Other's who tasted them shared similar sentiments.

It was rather disappointing really. After the buying experience held much hope for what should have been a mouth watering taste experience. Laduree gets my vote every time.

Opening Remarks ...

This blog is very simple: as a self confessed lover of all things food, wine & restaurants, I have threatened to keep a record of my journey of food for some time. I will review all restaurants of note, and no doubt beam a critical eye over my own culinary endeavours too.

These are my experiences and I am only qualified in the sense that I am committed to finding and tasting good food; available from retail, in restaurants & on travel. These experiences are the source of my comparisons. In addition to my work-life being involved with and working closely alongside many operators within the hospitality industry, I have worked directly in the industry in years gone by and my formal education was a BA (Hons) in International Hotel Management.

Food and dining is my passion and I am using this blog to keep a record of my experiences for me and my children to read in future years. If you enjoy reading them too then that is a bonus.I make no apologies for some of the lengthy scrawl - the detail is often the key.

So here it is.