Category: Expensive

The Landmark – Champagne brunch in the Winter Garden

OK so it is still Summer, but champagne brunch in the Winter Garden at The Landmark Hotel is just too good to resist.

It’s 3 hours of non stop champagne and access to an extensive buffet containing a wide variety of lovely dishes.

You can go for breakfast, perhaps have an omelette from the Omelette station, or go for  typical brunch dishes like Eggs Benedict. There was also a lovely fish pie, lots of salmon dishes, and a really good range of sea food and sushi.   If you prefer Lunch to Brunch, you also have soups and roasts.

For those of us with a sweet tooth, this place is an absolute delight, as there is no skimping on the dessert selection either.  Desserts included a chocolate fountain, sorbets and ice cream, tarlets, fruit and cakes off all sorts.  I especially loved the marmalade meringues and the cup cakes.

In fact to really appreciate what’s on offer here, it is best to make this the only meal of the day.

The venue is lovely too.

This has to be one of the best brunch spots in London.

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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40|30 at the Gherkin – COOLest venue of the Noughties!

My last visit to 40|30 Restaurant at the Gherkin was in January, long enough a gap in my view.  So it was back again with a group of friends to enjoy a night out in the one of the  “COOLest venues of the Noughties“.

So is it still “Cool”? – Absolutely.

This place has substance and style, there is no question that 40|30 is continuing to delivering first class food in a first class venue.

The menu was both interesting and varied, some classic food combinations and some more surprising ones.  My main course of  Pork belly with Black Pudding doughnuts was  just stunning and the cheese cake with celery of all things, was another standout.

For food of this calibre in such a world class location, 2 courses at £39.50 and 3 courses at £47.50 is such a good deal (especially as it includes an amuse bouche and a pre dessert).  The wine list is extensive but there are sufficient bottles under £40 to ensure that it is not too daunting.

You could tell by the empty plates at our table just how much we all enjoyed the food.

 

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Moments @ MO, Barcelona – Setting the standard

At long last we managed to have lunch at Moments restaurant. The delayed opening meant we missed the chance on our last visit to Barcelona.  We were pleasantly surprised by the  interior, as the Mandarin Oriental website does not do it justice. It is a beautiful room that is both stylish and comfortable.

We were greeted by a familiar face, Carlos formerly of the Foliage in London. One of our regular haunts. He presented us with a glass each of Carme Ruscelleda’s 20th anniversary Cava.  Without hesitation we decided on the tasting menu (125 euro’s ouch!) along with a lovely selection of wines by the glass.

The meal began with the famous Appetizers Micro Menu which consisted of four appetizers one for each season. We then had a very artistic dish based on “Miros Bird” the original which we understand hangs in Carme Ruscelleda’s restaurant in Tokyo.  This was followed by a very refreshing dish of cuttlefish and peas then a very moreish crayfish dish with morel cream. Next came an unusual but successful combination of flavours. Sea Bass with strawberry chutney.  There was a choice of main courses. Tuna Cheek or Iberian Pork. The Tuna cheek in particular was stunning.  We then moved on to the cheese course and two desserts simply named “Red” and “White”. We both agreed that the Red was our favourite as this was a standout dish and not just because it used popping candy!

We finished the meal with the Eight Pastry Divertimenti. A selection of Petit-fours presented on a three tier cake stand.

After the meal we were introduced to the head chef Raul Balam (Carme Ruscelleda’s son).  It’s always nice to be able to tell the chef how much we enjoyed the meal.

The restaurant is too new to have been awarded a Michelin star or should I say stars as it will undoubtedly pick up more than one in the not too distant future, it is certainly a rival to its 3 star sister restaurant Sant Pau in Sant Pol de Mer.

WARNING: Dining at Moments can seriously damage your appreciation of other restaurants. Every other restaurant, even ones you really rated start to look scruffy and unprofessional in comparison. The attention to detail at MO is second to none.

UPDATE December 2010 – Moments awarded a Michelin Star in the 2011 Michelin Guide. In my view they merit two. For more information, see :-

UPDATE November 2012 – Moments awarded their second Michelin Star. Saw that one coming!

Marks out of 10

Food 8.3

Service 8.2

Ambience 8.5

 

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Moo – Sensations

The Roca brothers 1 Star Michelin restaurant Moo is in the Hotel Omm. It is ideal for people with jaded palettes, as Moo is all about “sensations”.

We went for the gourmet tasting menu at 85 euros with 25 euros for matching wines.  We started with a visually stunning dish called the “golden egg” – an egg yolk in a gold caramelized shell served with what tasted like crushed cornflakes – the epitome of breakfast.  The next dish conjured up the sensation of being in a forest, this was delivered by the pigeon carpaccio with juniper ice-cream presented in a smoke filled glass cloche which when removed gave of a strong woody aroma.   After the “forest” we moved into the “orchard” – that sensation came in the form of a snow crab ravolli in a citrus sauce.

We finished on a high with the dessert, which brought back memories of being at the “Fun Fair” –  Candyfloss, toffee apples and nuts.  They used actual candyfloss (something we also had at Moo’s sister restaurant El cellar de Can Roca ) along with a beautiful “fake apple” –  a caramelized shell containing mousse. This was a really impressive dish.

The Americans at the next table were doing the usual thing of trying to get the food done their way, a real No No here. The Maitre’d handled it well, but when the food is effectively an art form you just don’t mess with it. It’s like telling Picasso to use less blue.

The dining  room is very artistic (let down only by the NCP carpark style wall, that we have mentioned in earlier posts). The plates used to present the food were unusual perhaps even unique – they included one signed by chef Ferran Adrià of El Bulli.

We returned to the Hotel Omm a few days later to eat in Moovida, where the menu is a lot more down to earth.

Marks out of 10 for Moo.

Food 7.2

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

 

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Murano – oh dear!

Lunch at Murano today, what a disappointment. It is so old fashioned and not in good way, rather the kind of food you might have found acceptable in the 80’s.  Just not a gourmet experience. We were really glad we decided to go for the £30 set lunch and not the overpriced tasting menu.

We started with fairly ordinary bread with a good olive oil and some charcuterie. Then a Chicken Ravioli that was too salty and a rather ordinary beef carpaccio.  The main courses consisted off a coronary inducing calf liver, with capers in a red wine jus with mash and a salmon dish decorated with pea shoots. Pre dessert was Tiramisu and dessert was a peanut butter crumble with caramelized bananas – very uninspiring.

The wine list was disappointing too, the mark up did seem to be excessive.  It was difficult to find a decent glass of wine for less than £14.00.

It was so hard not to compare the Murano experience with our recent visit to Texture, which just served to emphasize everything that was wrong with Murano.

Overrated and based on our experience, cooking that is not of a Michelin star level.  Another Faux Gourmet experience in a restaurant that looked the part but failed to deliver.

Marks out of 10

Food 4.9

Service 5

Ambience 5

 

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The Capital – comforting

Made a lunch time visit to The Capital, to see how it fairs under “newish” head chef Jérôme Ponchelle, compared to my last visit when Eric Chavot was running the kitchen.

It was actually impossible to judge as the set lunch was very different from my last à la carte experience. However that is not to say it was not excellent, it was.  Well worth it, especially the amazing portion of lamb carved at the table. Delicious.

They had a good selection of wines by the glass. Prices were typically between £8.00 and £12.00 a glass, so ordering bottles was a better deal. We got through a very full bodied bottle of Gewürztraminer which went well with the Lobster and Langoustine Bisque and a smooth New Zealand Pinot Noir that was perfect for the Lamb.

The Capital restaurant is actually well worth a visit,  comfortable rather than fashionable, which has to be a good thing.

It did lose its two Michelin stars this year, but that is certainly not going to stop me returning.

Marks out of 10

Food 6.9

Service 6.9

Ambience 6.9