Expensive – Page 8 – No Expert …but I know what I like

Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saison – any occasion!

Looking for an occasion to make a return trip to this oasis in Oxfordshire.

Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saison is just stunning, situated in the village of Great Milton just outside Oxford. You can get a train to Haddenham and Thame station (10 minutes away) or Oxford station (25 minutes away) or if you have money to burn you can always park your helicopter on the private helipad.

The Helicopters were arriving and departing quite frequently when we were there, it was the only thing disturbing the tranquility of the place.

We went for the tasting menu followed by coffee and Petits fours in the garden. One course was a standout (much too everyone’s surprise). It was “stuffed courgettes” – I hate courgettes! I have no idea what they did to them, but the dish was a talking point for a long time afterwards. The rest of the meal was splendid too.

After lunch, weather permitting it’s nice to be able to wander round the grounds, and explore the large vegetable patch and Japanese Garden.

My visit was a while ago, before I started photographing my food and surroundings, which is a real shame. All I have now are my memories, one of the strongest of which is how relaxed I felt on the visit. A visit that encompassed one long sunny Sunday afternoon but somehow felt like I had actually been on holiday for a week.

Marks out of 10

Food 8.9

Service 8.9

Ambience 9

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The Waterside Inn – old fashioned comfort

I found the food at The Waterside Inn in Bray to be quite conventional, fairly typical french haute cuisine. I have to admit I expected a lot more from a 3 star Michelin – I suspect at least 1 star applied to the location.

It was also a bit of a struggle to find a reasonably priced bottle of Champagne – the wine list was a bit daunting. That said it was a lovely day out. The Waterside Inn is a very comfortable venue. We made our selves at home, spending hours out on the terrace after lunch drinking brandy that was older than we were, and indulging in a little too much PX.

Here is a short video about The Waterside Inn:-

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El Celler De Can Roca – numbers do lie!

The S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list rates El Celler De Can Roca as number 5, not that the place is bad, far from it. It is just that I haven’t been to all the best restaurants in the world yet, and this one already is not in my top 5. Actually I should have know better than trust this list, as last year I visited number 11 L’Astrance in Paris, again not bad – but not really worth in my view the acolades it receives. Plus this year Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea did not even make the top 100, and that is most definately in my top 10.

El Celler De Can Roca is out in the suburbs of Girona, so about 1 hour on the train from Barcelona, then a 10-15 minute taxi ride. It is a very stylish venue, and they had some nice touches, the one I especially approved off, was the complimentary Cava and water (not that we did not really pay for it in the bill – as El Celler De Can Roca is not cheap). This is a much nicer approach than staff pushing you to buy a glass of overpriced Champagne before your meal (one of my pet hates).

An easier alternative in the Roca Brothers empire, is to just stay in Barcelona and go to their restaurant at Hotel Omm , Moo.

UPDATE: March 2010 – El Celler De Can Roca, was awarded its third Michelin star this year.

UPDATE: April 2010 – El Celler De Can Roca is now at number 4 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

UPDATE: April 2013 – El Celler De Can Roca is now number 1 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

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Moo and Moovida – Hotel Omm

Moo is the 1 star Michelin restaurant (part of the Roca brothers empire) situated in the Hotel Omm in Barcelona, (part of the Grupo Tragaluz).

It is very fashionable, very much a place to be seen. Normally in this sort of venue the food disappoints, but here for once the food is actually good enough to match the atmosphere. Advanced booking is essential.

Marks out of 10 – Moo

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7.5

Moovida is the informal bar/dinning area. This venue is an especially useful recommendation as you can normally do a walk in. Its also a great place for food and people watching (unless you are facing the wall that might as well be an NCP car park. Etiquette apparently dictates that the woman sits looking into the room, getting the interesting view. While the man has to stare at a wall. I’ve lost count of the number of tables I’ve sat at looking at a fire exit sign…rant over).

Short video showing Hotel Omm, finishes with some images of that wall in Moovida:-

Marks out of 10 – Moovida

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

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Neichel – a classic

Neichels is a venue for special occasions, it’s a little of the beaten track, but well worth making the effort to get there.

Its style is classical rather than cutting edge. It provides a stunning desert trolley and a large range of PX sherries (something of an acquired taste – almost a dessert in themselves).

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

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Comerç 24 – restoring faith in Molecular gastronomy

This 1 star Michelin is something of a Barcelona gem. Its much more experimental and adventurous in its cooking than most. At the beginning of the meal we were presented with a rack of 4 olive oil bottles to try with the bread. Gold leaf coated Macadamia nuts inside a Sardine tin prepare you for a meal that is not traditional by any measure. One particularly memorable course was the soup. Six tiny flavoured egg yokes suspended in the soup. When eaten they pop and melt over your tongue. A wonderful effect.

I was going off the idea of going to elBulli in this life time, considering it seems impossible to get a reservation, thinking that perhaps its a bit too out there, but my experience at Comerç 24 made me think there might be something to this Molecular gastronomy after all, so if you can not get to elBulli, Comerç 24 might be a more acceptable alternative.

Marks out of 10

Food 8.5

Service 6 – ( Sommelier 8 )

Ambience 5

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