On the whole, the Michelin guide is a safe place to consult when looking for somewhere to eat out. For a consistently good meal, forget twos and threes, and stick with the cheaper, humbler one star. Undoubtedly, the ‘little red book’ gives preference to European food, so when South West Indian seafood specialist Trishna gained a star (and subsequent blog appeal) in October 2012 for its foodie fireworks, I felt I ought to give it a try.

Trishna is no curry house. I loved the slight Scandinavian feel of the simple dining room – wooden floors, Nordic furniture, exposed brick walls – and as I waited for some friends, I felt as all foodies do when they’ve chosen a good restaurant. Just a little bit smug. But smug came and went. The early evening menu (four courses for £20) is only available between 6 and 6.15pm. Allowing for traffic, late friends, and slow service, this gives you seconds to order from this menu – a rather mean timeframe, albeit partly our fault. Equally mean, two small-ish poppadums, although crisp, fresh and warm, were rather stingily divided between the three of us. Chutneys, however, especially the sharp and spicy tomato and prawn, were fantastic.

As individual dishes go, the spicing in the Fish pepper fry [Keralan spices, black pepper, curry leaf] (£7.25) was more challenge than comfort, black pepper completely overwhelming the somewhat overcooked white fish. Guinea fowl tikka [fennel seed, star anise, Masoor lentils] (£15.00), presented on a bed of lentils on a wooden board, fared slightly better – succulent and accurately spiced, but could have done with a little more acidity or even a dollop of cooling yoghurt. Naans (£5) – sesame, plain, and garlic – however, were some of the best I’ve had. Whilst there were satisfied noises coming from around the table, I’m not sure any of us entirely understood Michelin’s patronage. The slight saving grace was the sommelier’s recommendation of the off-dry, lightly perfumed Riesling, Dr. Bürklin‐Wolf, 2011 (£29.00). It’s a nice touch also having recommendations by the glass under each dish, which avoids the problem of finding suitable pairings for difficult-to-match Indian cuisine.

I really wanted to enjoy Trishna, but the entirely unwelcoming front of house team and their patchy service made that very difficult. There were moments of foodie delight, but generally I think we felt underwhelmed. It’s hard to see how, in Michelin’s starry-eyes, Trishna delivers anything on a par with that served in Dabbous, Viajante, or even its next-door neighbour, Roganic. Should we really still rely on this glorified tyre company to guide us around food? Sorry Michelin, but I think you’ve got a flat. If only the AA gave out stars…

Trishna, Blandford Street, Marylebone

31^st April 2013, £134 for three (with service)

Food; 5, Service; 4; Ambience 7

 http://www.trishnalondon.com/

On the eighth day, God created brunch. And He saw that it was good. And He loosened his belt, and He rested. Brunch is on the rise, it seems. Neither breakfast, nor lunch, it caters for those like me – the interminably picky. What better way to start the weekend than with an assortment of breakfast/lunch items that really should never be seen together on a plate. But whilst everyone’s at it, brunch always leaves me wanting more. Metaphorically. Could Alan Yau‘s Naamyaa Cafe (of Wagamama/Hakkasan/Yautacha/etc fame) sate the insatiable?

A self-labelled ‘cosmopolitan Bangkok cafe’, at Naamyaa East meets West with a focus on both Thai dishes and more British home comforts. The restaurant itself is similarly a modern fusion of green, gold and wood. Think Buddhist temple-cum-penthouse suite. It’s an Alan Yau venture, after all. The space has been utilised beautifully, and the view overlooking St John Street provides ample entertainment. It’s a comfortable, brunchable place. So good so far. Again, in the Yau-style, service is fantastic, as to be expected.

But how about the food? The menu is difficult. The last thing one wants on a Saturday morning, head sore and mouth dry from the previous boozy evening, is a confusing pictorial menu spread out over five pages: hot breakfasts, thai breakfasts, oven eggs, fruits and grains, rice sets, noodle sets, salads, small plates, grills, burgers and hot dogs, and snacks. Where to start? With much relief, we allowed the kitchen to choose a selection of dishes for us.

A refreshing start was the Rice Cake Salad (£3.80), a good kick of coriander, spring onion, chilli and crunchy rice cakes (but more crunch please!). Next, Chicken Laksa (£8.50), a generous portion of braised chicken, fine noodles, and bean sprouts in a flavoursome coconut-based curry was authentic as any I’ve had in Malaysia, my only complaint being its greasiness. Naamyaa Goong (£9.50), their signature dish of fiery seafood curry with noodles was excellently spiced, but unfortunately the broth was lukewarm and the noodles overcooked. Pan-fried Turnip Cake (£6.50) – sticky, spicy and savoury with fried egg, bean sprouts and spring onions – was pleasant, and strangely addictive, however, the turnip had been reduced to a cloying, soggy mush. Kudos throughout this, however, to the kitchen’s ability to cater to my companion’s nut allergy – not an easy thing to do with Asian cuisine. It’s difficult to go wrong with Chocolate brownie with yoghurt ice cream (£4.50), but I’d especially recommend the Mascarpone ice cream with strawberry coulis and Thai basil (£4.50) to end a meal. Both provided some relief from the umami onslaught of the previous dishes.

Naamyaa Cafe is a fun venue and is sure to be a hit. I expect more will be rolled out over most of London soon, but whilst it might be a convenient, well-priced pit-stop, it will probably never be a destination. Never mind; as the Buddha said, ‘it is better to travel well, than to arrive’. And so the search for brunch continues…

Naamyaa Cafe, St John Street

Food; 6 Service; 10 Ambience; 9

edgeandspoon was a guest of the launch of Naamyaa’s Weekend Brunch

http://www.naamyaa.com/

It might strike you as a little surprising that someone would open their new restaurant right opposite their old one. . . but when that someone is Jason Atherton, you don’t need to worry.

It’s hard to believe you’re in Mayfair when the price-quality ratio is so appealing (expect to spend around £30/person).The usual Atherton staff were on hand to ensure a smooth operation that evening (leaving PSS rather in the lurch, as we found at a pre-dinner drink…) But, as ever, Gareth Evans – who is to move to Atherton’s next venture (Social Eating House) – charmed and mixed up a few boozy surprises for us. With questionable décor as befitting any Parisian bistro (mirrors, banquettes, eclectic music) and excellent food to match, Little Social really fits its brief.

Little Social, Pollen Street

Food; 8 Service; 9 Ambience 7

edgeandspoon was a guest of Little Social’s preview night

http://littlesocial.co.uk/

I don’t like Mondays just as much as the Boomtown Rats. Nor does the restaurant industry. Everyone’s back to work, the markets are closed, and no one goes out to eat. Indeed, the best places are often shut at the beginning of the week. Not, however, The Square. I’d read praise for it as having “flawless” service, serving up “sophisticated” food, with Phillip Howard‘s restaurant being “the best of its type”. An excellent reputation demands high expectations. On the Monday I went, I experienced nothing to such acclaim. I have to ask: Where was our fantastic meal that everybody else is having?

Let’s start with the good stuff. The classical French menu reads well. To start we chose roast Orkney scallops with crushed butternut squash, chanterelles, chestnuts and white truffle (£5 supplement), the lasagne of Dorset crab with a cappuccino of shellfish and champagne foam, and scorched Roscoff onion with a persillade of Somerset snails and a savoury brioche roulade. There’s very little, if in fact anything, to complain about the food. You can read a bite-by-bite analysis of the food elsewhere. All I say here is that it was classically brilliant. Even the portions are generous – in fact, perhaps the most generous of any Michelin restaurant I’ve been to. But I can’t help thinking that I’d rather have a smaller plate, for the sake of my waistline and my bank account.

Mains are just as traditional and just as filling: rib of beef (for two) with a croustillant of oxtails, smoked tendons, stuffed shallots and red wine and, for it being in season, breast of grouse with turnip and celeriac, pancetta and blackberries (£10 supplement). The crispy potato roulade encasing confit leg meat was the best element on the plate. We shared a tooth-decaying milk chocolate bar with salted peanuts, praline and banana ice cream for dessert. Three courses for £80 may seem steep, but it’s the price you pay for Mayfair and two stars. Not to mention, The Ledbury offers exactly the same deal. However, don’t get me started on the supplements (grumble grumble). Anyway, the food. It was all beautifully presented, accurately executed, and well-seasoned. We all agreed that we enjoyed the meal, but… But that was it. I felt it was predictable and, dare I say, underwhelming. The words ‘bang’ and ‘buck’ come to mind.

The ninety-page wine list will send wine enthusiasts into anaphylactic shock. So will the prices at the higher end of things, although there is a remarkably decent selection under £50. We went by the glass, with unremarkable recommendations from the sommelier of Vouvray, Silex Noir, Francois Pinon, 2010 (£13.00) and Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine La Roquete, Daniel Brunier, 2004 (£13.00). And they were unremarkable because the sommelier hadn’t checked what we had ordered. In fact, he – not to mention the other staff – barely looked us in the eye, barely even gave us the time of day.

Where The Ledbury, sister to The Square, succeeds is in its location: it’s too far away from the City to cater for business lunches. Correspondingly, the corporate, suited feel of The Square is its let down. It may have been a quiet Monday afternoon, but the four other occupied tables were counting beans. And not their own. This might help explain the colour of the room: brown. Service was a thing of silence, which might be how such clientele like it – with minimal social interaction. The Square proves, contrary to the Michelin ethos, that food should not be the only consideration in assessing a restaurant’s worth. Almost as important is the service and atmosphere. Without the balance of these three elements, a good restaurant – in my eyes – can never be a great one. The food can only be as sound as the environment it’s served in. The Square is certainly a good restaurant, but on that Monday afternoon in no way was it great.

£500 for three (with service)

Food; 9 Service; 5.5 Ambience; 6

http://www.squarerestaurant.com/

Whether you’re a lover or a hater, you cannot deny that Gordon Ramsay has influenced some of the finest British chefs around. Without Ramsay there’d be no Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, neither Angela Hartnett’s Murano, nor Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social. Now, however, each chef has left the Ramsay nest, and seems much the better for it. They’ve realised that the old dog has given up on the new tricks, and it’s time for them to shine. And indeed they do. This week there are no quips, no jibes, and no cynicism. Pollen Street Social is my favourite restaurant in London. Well, probably.

Don’t be fooled. It’s not a working men’s club. But it might just be the modern equivalent. Five years after Atherton successfully took the helm at Maze, he packed everything up (including most of his staff, it seems) and opened his own restaurant barely a stone’s throw from Regent Street. It’s not a hush-hush Ramsay Mayfair spin-off, as it could so easily be. In fact, Gordon could learn a thing or two. It’s glamorous, but at the same time relaxed. The restaurant revolves around two spacious rooms. The first, a reception area and bar. The second, a more formal dining room. An enormous glass panel fronts the whole side of the building, etched on it the restaurant’s name and logo. Everything is as highly polished as the restaurant’s exterior. Particular kudos to bar manager, Gareth Evans, not only for an excellent Eastside Julep (£12.50) (Bombay Sapphire, vermouth, lemon, elderflower, mint), but also friendly conversation and very personal attention to detail*.

Atherton’s stint at El Bulli in 1998 means that you can expect playful, but precisely executed cooking (as well as high, but not unreasonable prices). Indeed, each of the starters has a creative bent: roasted quail “brunch”, cereals, toast and tea (£13.50) saw the bird atop pearl barley with a mini scotch egg, as well as beautifully smooth duck liver parfait and brioche. ‘Tea’ came in the form of a duck and mint consommé. Slow cooked egg, full English breakfast (£12.50) was simpler, but no less brilliant. A runny egg nestled under wafer-thin bacon strips, girolles, croutons and (an overly-sweet – we’ll forgive him) tomato purée. The mains read more conventionally. We chose rack of salt marsh lamb, braised shoulder, creamed spiced aubergine, savoury & black olive reduction (£27.50) and West Country ox cheek with tongue and sirloin, carrots, caper & raisin puree, horseradish (£25.50). Nothing fancy, no deconstruction, but accurately presented, flavoursome dishes. I could have eaten any. Unfortunately, we had no room for desserts at their famous dessert bar, but that’s what next time’s for.

Wines by the glass start at £7.50, with bottles coming in at £24 and sharply rising. I enjoyed Head Sommelier Laure Patry’s recommendation of two very different glasses of red: Spätburgunder, Friedrich Becker, Pfalz, 2010 (£10.50) and Moss Wood Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, 2009 (£12.50). One ever so slight criticism: the French staff need to speak up in order for diners to have any chance hearing what they’ve said. Aside from this, service was attentive, friendly and precise.

Since giving-up the initial tasting-menu-come-tapas approach, the restaurant seems to have fared a lot better. The press has been kinder, and reservations don’t come easy. We’re not talking Dabbous madness, but you’ll certainly have to wait a few months to eat on a Saturday evening. Instead, you might fare better trying your luck on a weekday lunchtime. The three course lunch menu for £27.50 is a godsend, especially considering the cheapest of the carte mains will set you back just under this. All in all, Pollen Street Social will be special, whether you go for a drink, a business lunch, a romantic evening, or even if you dine alone. I hope you’ve been listening, Gordon…

(*Gareth had overheard we were celebrating a birthday, and ensured the kitchen had made an extra little surprise for us to take home.)

£170 for two (with service)

Food; 9 Service; 9 Ambience; 10

http://www.pollenstreetsocial.com/ 

With white-tiled walls and speckled marble tabletops, Donostia is modern and clinical – a long way from those Spanish dives you might remember from your gap year. But it’s not pretentious; it’s very much no frills, no fuss fun. What it might lack in Basque authenticity, it makes up for with a warm, shouty atmosphere. The owners are into their wines, and – as merchants themselves – understand the value of kind mark-ups. The list is well considered and, thankfully, isn’t vast: glasses start at £3 and bottles at £17. 90% recognisable Spanish names with a few Frenchies thrown in for good measure. The Fincas de Landaluce 2007, Crianza Rioja Alavesa (£4.50 for 125ml), with ripe dark fruit with notes of vanilla, saw us nicely through our meal. The glassware, too, is gorgeous, a big plus in my book.

The menu – divided into Picoteo, Pintxo, Cold Plates and Tapas – needs explanation. Which you don’t get. Of our stab-in-the-dark lot, the smaller plates of chorizo with tomato (£3) and croquettas with jamon (£3.50) were the fastest to be polished off. Both are the sort of thing you want to be able to recreate at home, but know you never can. Less of a success was the foie gras with walnuts & PX vinegar (£4.50), which might have fared better cold. The vinegar rather overpowered. Pea shoots here are the thing of the moment: they’re liberally sprinkled over each dish without embarrassment. “So last year”!

Of larger plates, the honey glazed quail with marinated baby courgettes (£9.50), (an unappreciated bird), most appealed. Whilst it had great flavour, the skin was gelatinous and inedible. And I’m not convinced the courgette-pairing worked to the quail’s advantage. Rib-eye steak (£18.80) was a surprise to see on the menu, and turned out to be a poor choice. By them and us. Although it had a nice char, the interior was overcooked and stringy. A sweet and refreshing if somewhat basic mixed salad with orange & hazelnuts (£4) made up for the protein onslaught. The portions aren’t generous, and the bill easily tots up, so you’d do better to sit at the kitchen-counter for a glass of wine and snack. The dessert list is short and very sweet. I enjoyed the chocolate mousse with orange zest (£4), but it was more a thick ice-cream than a deliciously smooth whip. Good for me nonetheless.

Whilst in Spain you might have a quick drink and a bite at each bar, that’s not how it works in Blighty. Going for tapas in London should be a relaxed, boozy affair. A steady drip of tasty morsels with some good wine to wash it down. Voices should grow hoarse. The bank should not be broken. Donostia fulfils these requirements, but the place is not relaxed. Staff are rushed off their feet and service is of the neck-breathing sort. When Donostia sorts out this problem, it’ll give the Harts a run for their money. Until then, don’t forget your wellies!

Donostia, 10 Seymour Place, Marylebone

£71 for two (with service) 

Food: 7, Service: 6, Ambience: 8.5

http://www.donostia.co.uk/

Not one to be judged by its label, the Stone Rock, Bordeaux (2010) is a serious French sauvignon masquerading as a cheap Aussie white (screw cap, minimal labelling, Down Under name). More Old World than New with its clean, fresh scent and lingering citrus on the nose. A continuing citrus-feel (lemon, grapefruit) in the mouth with possible touches of asparagus and green pepper as well. There’s nothing showy about this: it’s subtle, and well-priced at £8. Heed the recommendation to serve it well chilled. (Incidentally, went perfectly with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s lovely recipe of baked asparagus, halloumi and new potatoes.) 7.5/10

Dishoom can be translated as that Bollywood sound effect heard when someone is punched. ‘Pow!’, in another word. This might seem a strange name for a restaurant, but when you walk through the door your nose is indeed hit by that wonderful aroma of gently-frying spices. If this isn’t enough on a Sunday morning to get your tastebuds going then I’m not sure what is. However, breakfast at home at a weekend is difficult to beat: eggs with a kiss, toast with a hug, and bacon crisped within an inch of its life – that’s mine please if anyone’s listening. But it’s still worth trying to beat it with a morning trip to an Indian restaurant, nonetheless. Hindus are well-known for their reverence and utmost respect for cows, to the extent that daily life can grind to a halt to ensure that the animals are wholly satisfied. It’s rather ironic, therefore, that at Dishoom diners are treated like cattle.

The restaurant draws on the Bombay café of yesteryear, but with its checkered tiles, leather banquettes and marble-topped tables, Dishoom gives off a surprisingly colonial vibe; that of faded elegance. The menu is as expected of anywhere that serves breakfast in the capital, but with a subcontinental twist: cinnamon granola; mango and oat yoghurt; and a selection of spicy morning staples, involving eggs and (in very un-Hindi fashion) bacon and sausage. In my mind, the test of a good chef is how he does his eggs. So that’s what we went with.

The Bombay Omelette (£5.90), although it had a nice layer of spice, chilli and red onion running through, was overcooked and oozed cooking oil into now-sodden toast. Raw toast. Bread. A similar story could be said of the Akuri (£5.90), the eggs this time scrambled. Again, good flavour, but the eggs weren’t light and fluffy as they should be, but dry and over-salted. The Full Bombay (£7.90) was a poor attempt at making Indian a British classic: eggs as above with the undercooked bacon-sausage combo that is so unappealing, but ever-present, at hotel buffets. Vine tomatoes were vine-less. All three plates were cold which, combined with marble and air con, resulted in the food being, at best, lukewarm. Just as disappointing was the dirty state of the crockery and glassware. Nevertheless, the porridge with dates and bananas (£3.50), a safe bet, got strong approval from across the table, as did the House Chai (£2.50), a hot milky drink laced with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Luxurious, warming, and perfect for the current move into chilly October. I should note that the blogosphere highly rates the bacon naan roll, which – in hindsight – might have been a better option. Equally, the lunch and dinner menu reads much better, and the food has had largely good reviews since the restaurant opened in 2010.

I’m all for things coming in threes. Wise men. Musketeers. Bee Gees. But less so when dining as a four. Three drinks arrived, followed by a fourth ten minutes later. The same happened with the food. The excuse? ‘Oh that’s difficult to prepare’. Not sure you’ve quite grasped why I’m eating-out… The menu states that “Food will be dishoomed to your tables as it is prepared”, but surely this is in reference to the many small plates at lunch and dinner, rather than the one-course of breakfast. With only 10 of the 150 covers seated that morning, I dread how slow things are when queues to get a table snake out the door, as they regularly do of an evening. Service started promisingly with the bouncy “I’m Veronica and I’ll be your waitress this morning” sort, but then completely disappeared. As did the service charge.

I expected better things of Dishoom. The premise is novel and great, and I’m sure it works in the afternoon and evening when the kitchen can really flex its muscles, but the trouble is if a restaurant offers all-day dining it needs to be good all-day. At the moment, it seems Dishoom offers breakfast just because of where it is: a stone’s throw from Leicester Square and numerous surrounding hotels. The British year-on-year have voted for curry as their favourite meal probably because it tastes so different to the usual fare. Indeed, we love it and can handle its differentness. So I suppose I’d like to see the restaurant ditch the ‘classics’, and serve up something totally fresh, allowing the chefs to do what they do best. Only then will the restaurant really live up to its name.

Dishoom, Upper St Martin’s Lane, Leicester Square

23^rd September 2012, £38 for four (without service)

Food: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 6

http://www.dishoom.com/

Peruvian cuisine has crept up on the London restaurant scene with three recent openings in the past year; indeed, the whispered word on the lips of the online food brigade at the moment is that speciality from Peru – ceviche. The last time I had ceviche was a few years ago at The Ledbury; the dish was let down by its sharp citrus marinade and gelatinous texture. A huge disappointment for two star cooking. I’d been put off ever since. But being older and wiser, it was time to give ceviche another go. So of the three new Peruvian restaurants, we chose newest kid on the block, Lima, to tickle our South American tastebuds. And tickled they were.

Ignore the charming but overpriced Charlotte Street Hotel bar down the road, and head straight to Lima to sample their Latin-influenced aperitifs – the pisco sours are, apparently, excellent, so said the next-door table. Talk about cocktail envy… The bar in the basement is dark and dingy, so ask for a banquette upstairs. Much attention to detail has been spent on decoration; from the autumnal colours and theme of brilliant blue running throughout, to the open kitchen and glassware on the tables; the result is fun and lively. For sure, chef-proprietor Virgilio Martinez has managed to capture a bit of his hometown in the heart of Fitzrovia. Some might think it over-the-top, but the place demands that you don’t treat it too seriously, and is a welcome relief from the stuffiness of some of the other restaurants in the area.

To start, sea bream ceviche, white tiger’s milk, sweet onion skin, inka corn (£8) was spot on: perfectly balanced tiger’s milk (lime juice, chillies, salt and pepper) and beautifully flakey fish. A nice touch being the little pot of crunchy corn on the side. The Ledbury’s got nothing on this, and I’m eating ceviche once again. Win-win I think. Braised octopus al olivo, white quinoa, Botija olive bubbles (£10) was visually spectacular. A generous amount of sliced and charred tentacle (with a most unusual meatiness) sat on well-cooked earthy grains, and purple blobs of intense black olive were dotted around the plate. A beautiful dish, and a benchmark for future octopus to aspire to. It was delicious. Finally, artichoke with green lime, fava beans, tree tomato emulsion, molle pink pepper and radish (£8) was another supremely pretty plate. Certainly not just a token vegetarian option; the creamy tomato emulsion gave it a depth of flavour comparable to the pescetarian starters. The artichokes were, however, slightly too al dente. The only glaring weakness was the wholemeal and white breads, which weren’t particularly fresh, and their accompaniments – chilli butter and a red pepper relish – which promised so much, but delivered so little.

Main of halibut, andean herbs, cancha corn parfait, mirasol aioli (£18) was proclaimed to be ‘one of the best fish dishes’ my companion had ever had. Again, a pretty plate – but we’d come to expect this by now, of course – and such powerful flavours from a delicate fish. A wonderful garlicky-chilli kick didn’t hold back either. Evidently, head chef Robert Ortiz knows his way around El Mar, but how does he fare with La Tierra? Well, suckling pig, roasted amazonian cashew, lentils and pear (£20) was the standout dish. The two triangles of confit pork, topped with crackling, were perfectly cooked. The pulses – often dry and chalky – were soft and plump, and they quashed my worries about their unsuitability as a bedding-partner to pork. As is so important with a fatty meat, fruity acidity was provided by a neat pear smear. Best pork ever? Probably.

Desserts might have been great anywhere else, but were a bit of a let down after such a start. Cacao porcelana 75%, mango, blue potato (£8) was icy cold, and thus failed to deliver the 75% it promised. I’d say we got about 20%. And you haven’t heard of blue potato crisps for a reason. They’re unpleasant. Equally disappointing was the Chanchamayo coffee, coca leaf, chancaca, olive oil (£6) – a tarted-up coffee ice cream – which, again, was lacking on any big flavour.

The wine list offers a handful of varietals from all over the globe, at prices to suit most pockets. As is pleasing to see, wine was available by glass, carafe and bottle. Personally, I would have liked the restaurant to focus on the excellent range of wine South America has to offer, but it’s still early days, and cocktails – as is the rage – seem to be more their thing. A tart, unremarkable chablis (£32.50 for 500ml) complemented the difficult-to-match starters, but was a little on the expensive side. A rioja crianza 2007 (£6 for 125ml), however, was an excellent match for the suckling pig. Always trust the rioja/pork combination. Service – rushed off its feet that evening – was generally pleasant and efficient, but a few things were amiss: we were slow to be served first-off, and coffees were not brought with desserts, as asked. But these points were noticed and apologised for. However, more explanation is needed for the more confusing elements to the menu; huayro potatoes 4000 metres, for instance.

I expect that we’ll be hearing more of South America over the next four years due to (cover your ears) the Olympics in Brazil. This restaurant clearly has a lot to offer in culinary terms, much of which we haven’t really experienced over here before, but the food isn’t quite straying into the top category. This, however, shouldn’t put you off. Lima might be a highly polished, if squeaky doorway into the realm of Peruvian cooking, but a doorway it is nonetheless. I’ve shown you where it is, now you know what to do…

Lima, Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia

24^th August 2012, £169 for three (with service)

Food: 8, Service: 7, Ambience: 8

http://www.limalondon.com/

With its doorbell, Gauthier still feels like a private house; the restaurant is split over three floors, with two main salons and a number of private rooms. It’s charming, but things can feel a little cramped as you squeeze past tray-bearers in the corridor and on the stairs. Decoration is tasteful, if a little bland. We began with canapés. Usually good here, these were tasteless, overly-chilled, and stale. Paying £10 for a gin and tonic, I’d expect some better nibbles. We chose the eight matching wines (£60/person) to go with our tasting menu. I rarely indulge in wine-pairings, but due to the excellent sommelier, Roberto della Pietra, if you’re going to go all out, this is place to do it. And so began our meal of three acts.

Act 1: Betrayal. I can see the idea behind pan fried duck foie gras with apricot & ginger marmalade and a Saint Mont 2009, Les Vignes Retrouvées. However, the end result was too sweet, almost dessert-like, and the foie gras was totally lost on me. A slightly drier wine may have helped. Scottish scallops with girolles, garlic & parsley came next with a suitable pairing of Chateau Haut Peyruget 2011, Vignobles Jolivet. Just the one scallop (ahem!) was cooked to an ideal milky translucency, but an abundance of garlic and (I thought) cumin ruined it. Such a simple dish to get wrong. The Summer Truffle Risotto could have been great: rich, creamy, and perfectly cooked grains, but where was the truffle? Spying their a la carte menu, I saw Summer Ceps Risotto, which we had evidently received. Either an honest mistake, or some cunning deception, I’m not sure. Whatever it was, I knew the villain in this plot.

Act 2: Respite. Things improved with the thoughtful combination of sea bass & baby squid with courgette tempura, and the lightly battered vegetable with black ink & fish sauce brought an interesting Asian element to the dish. The only slight oddity was the wine, but I suppose Roberto had cheekily wanted to put a rosé on the list. A better choice was the perfumed Minervois Petit Arthur 2008 with the soft piglet belly, glazed baby carrot and leek & cherry jam, a dreamy pork jus holding it together. Meat and two veg this was not. Well, it was, but so much more. Feeling slightly let down by the excellent, but small portion of 22 month aged Comté and pepper relish, we decided to enjoy cheese as God intended. From the trolley. I can’t recall what we chose, but it was certainly worth the supplement (£8).

Act 3: Endurance. Desserts are not all they’re cracked up: fresh raspberry with soft blanc manger and crispy milk was uninteresting and one-dimensional – a palate cleanser of sorts, I suppose. And the famed Louis XV dark chocolate praline, adored all over the blogosphere as ‘the best chocolate dessert out there’, was nothing special. It looked pretty with its gold-leaf and cocoa shine, but after eight courses and feeling full it was too rich to be appreciated. It’s sweet red pairing, Banyuls Rimage Rouge 2008, was another misjudged choice for me. So as the curtain fell, our bill came to £262. We did not applaud. Service tries to be as charming as possible, but came across overly-rehearsed and somewhat insincere. I’m guessing the stars of the show – Alexis and Roberto – were absent; instead we had to put up with understudies who have some way to go in learning their lines.

Usually outstanding, this was a weak performance. Take it from me, there’s no such thing as a free lunch…nor a half-price tasting menu.

Addendum: I had dinner here with three friends on 22^nd September 2012 in the intimate, four seat wine room. A new menu, fantastic wine, and some incredibly attentive service meant that, for me, Gauthier was back on its old form. As previously noted, the experience above seems to have been a blip. I would still thoroughly recommend it.

Gauthier, Romilly Street, Soho

17^th August 2012, £262 for two (with service)

Food: 6, Service: 5, Ambience: 7

http://gauthiersoho.co.uk/