What's on the Menu? A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
The Daily Telegraph, 29 March
Jasper Gerard visits The Kingham Plough, Kingham, Oxfordshire
If you dine at The Kingham Plough, chances are that you are so posh you will only be out because it's the staff's night off at home. This is smarter, in that very English sense, than The Ivy. It is not a place for Heather Mills and her tirades about flying "B class"; this is for those who have arrived, centuries ago. The matron at the next table could be the Duchess of Cornwall.
The Guardian, 29 March
Matthew Norman visits Bryce's Fresh Fish Restaurant, Ockley, Surrey
"Hello, welcome to Bryce's Fresh Fish Restaurant," declares the bill of fare at a cosy, characterful seafood joint in the Surrey village that is home to Katie Price and Peter Andre. "Sometimes we run out of fresh fish," the blurb continues. "That's not because we don't buy enough, but there may not be very much available. We buy limited quantities because we feel you will appreciate the freshness and good taste." I have spent ages trying to reconcile those two sentences, but apart from a vague sense that buried somewhere in the prose is an exquisitely clever catch-22, I'm more baffled than ever.
Bryce's - The Guardian review in full >>
The Independent on Sunday, 30 March
Terry Durack visits Bord'eaux, Grosvenor House Hotel, London W1
The last thing you would expect in a brand-new restaurant in a swanky hotel such as Grosvenor House is the smell of piss at your table. The culprit lies in front of me - a solid chunky sausage of pig's intestines with a smell straight from the pissoir. At the risk of coming over all Marks and Sparksian, this is not just any andouillette, but a certified AAAAA andouillette, endorsed by the Association Amicale des Amateurs d'Andouillette Authentique, an association formed in 1988 to champion the very best andouillettes. A true French foodie would take five As over three stars any day.
Bord'eaux - Independent on Sunday review in full >>
The Observer, 30 March
Jay Rayner visits The Warrington, London W9
It was a pose on my part. I told myself I was going early to the Warrington, a fancy old gin palace in London's Maida Vale not long taken over by Gordon Ramsay's people, so I could check out how much of a pub it still really is. In truth I went early because I fancied a bag of pork scratchings: deep fried pig skin, a little fat, a lot of salt and the image in your head of that flaky old witch Gillian McKeith having an aneurysm with every mouthful. What's not to like?
The Warrington - Observer review in full >>
areyourreadytoorder.co.uk
Jan Moir visits Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food, Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport
In a newspaper interview, Gordon Ramsay states that he wants to put an end to the 'f***ing disgrace' that is Heathrow airport. Don't we all, big boy! Chaos reigns on day one at T5, as dozens of flights are cancelled due to a baggage glitch. Passengers are stranded; suitcases mislaid and anti-expansion protestors mount a curious, passive-aggressive demonstration in the arrivals hall. However, Plane Food, Ramsay's airside restaurant in the glamorous new terminal, seems to take off without a hitch. On the first day of proper service, smart managers in dark suits deliver watermelon salads, eggs Benedict and glasses of champagne to passengers who have no idea of the mayhem unfolding at the check-in desks. In happy ignorance, we early Plane People study menus that offer salads, sandwiches and pasta or rice dishes; plus six starters, four fish or four meat main courses and puddings. Isn't this delightful? Well yes, in some ways.
Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food - areyoureadytoorder.co.uk review in full >>By Janet Harmer
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