Review of Reviews: 1 December 2005

01 December 2005
Review of Reviews: 1 December 2005

Evening Standard, London, 23 November
Fay Maschler is impressed with how Richard Corrigan has rejuvenated Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill, London

In the oyster bar we tried simple dishes where the integrity of the ingredients said it all. Smoked wild Irish salmon from Frank Hederman's Belvelly Smoke House in Cork is a revelation; the chickpeas that were part of an olive-oily langoustine dish seemed particularly young and perky. Plain grilled Dover sole, beautifully trimmed, was perfection, and a back of wild sea bass rolled around herbs and fennel was also excellent and handsomely matched with a side order of garlicky spinach. (Score: four stars out of five. Meal for two with wine, about £115 including service)

The Independent, 26 NovemberThomas Sutcliffe thinks Marco Pierre White's new St James's restaurant Luciano will be a hit with London's male population

I suggested my guest try tagliolini [with white truffle]. The dish when it came was worth making a bit of a song and dance about - a nest of yolk-yellow strands of pasta sitting in a puddle of buttery sauce, which formed a perfect rostrum for the fungus. And, yes, the taste really is special - a bit sharper than the gas-leak aroma of black truffles but with a similar effect. Fortunately, the starter I'd chosen - Cornish crab served with pane carasau - was easily good enough to stave off any envy. When our second courses arrive it's clear that portions are generous too. If you like to spend big, eat big and spread yourself in a male sprawl then you should like [Luciano's] a lot. (Food score: three stars out of five. Lunch for two without drinks or service, £92)

The Guardian, 26 NovemberMatthew Norman returns to Sardo in London to see if it is still as good as he remembers from a previous visit

The formula here is the one that explains why Italian is our dominant cuisine. Take the finest, freshest ingredients, cook them with precision, present them attractively but without fuss, and all without charging a fortune. Why so few restaurants crack it is a mystery, because it never fails. Grilled porcini, a large bowl of majestic fungi, had a surprisingly strong flavour and were so fresh they might have been picked that morning. A Sardinian speciality called malloreddus, tiny cones of a hard wheat pasta served fairly al dente in a rich sauce of tomato and aromatic sausage [carried] a gratifying chilli kick. (Score: 8.5/10. Dinner £30-£35 per head)

The Independent on Sunday, 27 NovemberTerry Durack applauds the British food philosophy of Roast in London, but finds the service and food uneven

A very good main course of tender, grilled ox heart daubed with melting discs of bone marrow, and flavoured with an equally hearty, sweet, meaty jus, bears comparison with St John for its single-mindedness and good intentions. A side order of still-crisp, bright green cabbage shoots is equally delicious. Other dishes are not as deft. Monkfish cheeks served with clams and pickled rock samphire are overwhelmed by the relentless sweet/sourness of the pickling brine, while half a roasted Banham chicken with Sillfield Farm bacon has a good flavour, but the skin is pale and steamy, and the accompanying bread sauce is absolute pap. Service, too, is mixed. As Roast is an upmarket market restaurant, one that hasn't grown from the market but been designed into it, these early faults are fixable. (Score: 13/20)

The Observer, 27 NovemberJay Rayner celebrates the launch of New York's Michelin guide with lunch at one of the city's new three-starred restaurants - Jean-Georges

The first course is described merely as "egg caviar". An egg arrives at the table, its top sliced off. On top of that is whipped cream, seasoned with salt and pepper, and adulterated with vodka, the whole finished with a very generous scoop of caviar. You reach down to the bottom with an espresso spoon to get a mixture of hot egg, cool cream and salty fish. This is the tiny made huge, comfort food turned indulgence. I rather liked it. This was followed by a bowl of raw and very high quality bluefin tuna, with slices of crisp radish. But what defined this dish, and indeed the whole meal, was the cool spicy broth surrounding it, which had a pronounced but never overwhelming sweetness and acidity. (Meal for two including drinks and service, $350 [£200])

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