Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 6 February 2022.
*****
The Times
Giles Coren was in Mayfair, at newcomer BiBi, the Indian fine-dining restaurant from “genius head chef” Chet Sharma. He enjoyed his lunch so much that he had to call Sharma the next day to fill in the missing details (and discuss cricket).
“It wasn’t that I didn’t remember every wondrous mouthful in glorious detail – I totally did and do. It was that it only dawned on me slowly, as the meal went on, quite how innovative and special it was.”
Hailing from “the incomparable JKS group”, Giles had “expected it to be good” of course, but after a selections of the bar snacks, he properly “sat up and paid attention”. The menu is playful, with lots of culinary riffs on “curry house memories” – there’s even a “superfine mint-filled chocolate petit four” at the end.
“There’s a lot going on here, it’s all produce-driven, ever changing, seasonal to the minute, with new ideas taking shape every second.” There’s even room for sustainability, with no environmentally damaging white basmati rice on the menu.
Having received a 10/10 for food at Berejak, Sharma was disappointed to hear that he wouldn’t be getting a second on from Giles… he got an 11 instead. (25/30)
*****
The Observer
Jay Rayner has “warm, fuzzy feelings about the premises at number 46 Gerrard Street in London’s Chinatown, with its arched marble frontage” which “for many years… was an extremely reliable Cantonese place called Harbour City” and a family favourite.
He discovered – via Eater London, the “cool boys on the back seat of the school bus of the food journalism world” – that the premises is once again open, as Food House, and is apparently “the trendiest restaurant in central London”, so of course he booked.
“Going by the carpets I’d say little has been done to the joint in years.” But Harbour City’s Cantonese fare was “very different” from that served at Food House, which is “the grand, jumpy, thrilling, chilli and numbing peppercorn hullabaloo that those of us addicted to the Sichuan repertoire just adore”.
“Food House is full on, in a very good way” and “an awful lot of fun”. There’s a “barbecue menu of things on skewers, roughed up with cumin, salt, chilli and the occasional dab of sugar”, offal, hot pots and “big statement dishes”.
*****
The Independent
Molly Codrye sang the praises of 26-year-old Ruth Hansom, chef at The Princess of Shoreditch; she’s been at the helm since July 2021, and has “knowledge and experience beyond her years”.
“Downstairs the pub seems like any other boozer, but a spiral staircase… leads you up to what feels like a secret dining room” where a tasting menu is the only thing on offer.
“Snacks were a joy” – “almost every element is beautifully executed” but Molly had the feeling that Hansom (and the food) ” is trying to say too much”. She thought that several of the dishes would benefit from a little simplifying, but maintained that Hansom is “a chef whose star is only just ascending, and with a bit of time and added confidence, she could be one of the country’s greatest”.
“It could be one of London’s most exciting classic restaurants, and I think it is well on its way to being just that, but there are a few rough edges that need smoothing beforehand.”
*****
The Evening Standard
Jimi Famurewa went to Eataly, the “Broadgate Circle outpost of this 43-site, Italian-themed global megachain” to try out the last of the restaurant openings there, Terra, the “flagship grill restaurant”.
It’s the “final and somewhat confusing piece in [Eataly’s] glittering gastronomic jigsaw,” which Jimi compares to “a gigantic culinary theme park,” and “a big, baffling Italianate Ikea” and “a Las Vegas hotel casino but for pasta”. (“You could probably lose yourself for days at Eataly.”)
He did get lost, but eventually found Terra (“appreciably rammed on Wednesday night”), which “occupies a big, bustling, dim-lit corner perch” where all attention is drawn to “a hulking, steampunk grill”.
From an “encouraging” bread selection to the “unequivocal delight” of a grilled onion, there were great flourishes in the meal, but “there was something about the meal’s accumulative impact — the drip, drip of missed beats, oomphless flavours and the attentive but distracted service — that didn’t leave an especially enjoyable afterglow”.
“We exited through the biggest gift shop imaginable. And saw no sane reason to ever come back.”
*****
Also in The Standard, David Ellis interviewed Jeremy King “on The Wolseley, Minor Hotels and those Richard Caring rumours”.
*****
The Guardian
To Berkshire for Grace Dent, and dinner at Renaissant, chef Dom Robinson’s fine-dining restaurant in Bagnor. It’s “the rebirth of the Blackbird, which was also run by Robinson and his wife, Marliz, is a determinedly serious restaurant” – tasting menu only, with a few limited choices and a vegetarian alternative.
Over the course of three hours, Grace was served a series of dishes, many with Escoffier-esque sauces, “the crux of a traditional Michelin-starred meal”.
“Robinson is a confident, technically brilliant chef who worships at the altar of kitchen gods such as Nico Ladenis and the Roux brothers” – the menu is “a paean to butter and time spent huddled over pans”, and dances “a fine line between the almost-too-rich and the almost-too-much”.
“Renaissant is a bizarre, 19th-century Cannes aristocrat’s supper room hiding in a hamlet outside Newbury. If you’re into that type of thing, by all means give it a go.”
*****
The Mail on Sunday
Tom Parker Bowles in YOU Magazine was craving a classic curry house feast with “delectably inauthentic dishes”, so he took himself to The Zaika Inn in Marlborough, where “the cooking is a cut above the norm”.
“My Mastermind specialist subject could well be the curry-house vindaloo.”
Here, “they know how to use a tandoor” and dishes have “a precision, an understanding of spice, to… make the flavours sing” and there’s even “a few regional classics, decently done”.
*****
The Scotsman
Gaby Soutar checked out Gordon Ramsay’s new Edinburgh outpost, Bread Street Kitchen, on the basis that an ex-Pompadour chef (Dan Ashton) was in charge.
“You could practically see the bottom line” in several dishes, like a £13.50 prawn cocktail with just five prawns in; others were “decent” at best, and staff were “all great but over-attentive” (“You will be love bombed, then asked to post reviews on TripAdvisor.”)
“This place is a global machine. You could be anywhere, and the food is fine but very forgettable.”
“In Edinburgh, there are a gazillion independents you could visit, and they’re all within a sweary throw of a utensil. Spend your money on them instead.”
*****
And also…
In The FT’s magazine, a review of The Seafood Bar in Soho, where “the fruits de mer comes with a full tool kit”. “We steamed on through clams, the noble whelk, crevettes and a langoustine with delusions of lobsterdom.”
*****
BristolLive mentions the newly-published Harden’s Best UK Restaurants 2022 in an article on Wilson’s which entered the Top 100 for the first time; there’s also news of a new Ruby Jeans restaurant in Shirehampton from the couple who own the nearby coffee shop / community lockdown retail space
*****
More Harden’s love on the BirminghamLive website, reporting that Purnell’s grabbed the number 2 spot in the Top 100 list.
*****
Pierre Koffmann talks of the importance of nurturing the next generation at The Vincent Rooms.
