My first impression is that they have spent a small fortune on the fit-out and my second is that I want to stay in the bar. Chutney Mary is the pimped-up reincarnation of the original restaurant of the same name which, until very recently plied its trade at the bottom end of the King’s Road. […]
Tag Archives: formal
January
01
Les 110 de Taillevent. Bank on it.
posted by Nicky Richmond
An accomplished brasserie with sophisticated food, mainly classics, executed to a high standard for the price point.
December
09
Park Chinois. Put on your dancing shoes.
posted by Nicky Richmond
“Park Chinois occupies a niche, and offers a balance to the current club culture. It brings about a rebirth of the Dinner Dance aesthetic, a modern interpretation underpinned by old school values.” Website: Park Chinois One of the more creative of our serial restaurateurs, Alan Yau has for this, his latest venture, chosen to target the much-moneyed Mayfair […]
October
27
The Ritz. If you’re blue.
posted by Nicky Richmond
It’s not for me, I think, all that gilt, all those mirrors and middle-aged women, listening to the plinkety-plink of the piano, whilst stuffing their faces with champagne, tea, sandwiches and cake. I’m far too cool for this, I tell myself. I entirely ignore the fact that I am a middle-aged woman with a fondness for champagne, sandwiches, tea and cake.
August
25
André Garrett at Cliveden House.
posted by Nicky Richmond
Shall we go to Cliveden, I say to C, who is sitting on the chair in the kitchen, playing with his phone. I am sitting at the kitchen table, preparing a schedule of mortgage requirements for a new client. Unsurprisingly, the tedium is leading me to thoughts of escape. There are only so many times […]
July
31
Chez Bruce. Safety first.
posted by Nicky Richmond
There is, I am told an unspoken rivalry between locals as to which is best, Trinity, Clapham or Chez Bruce, Wandsworth. My companion J, is very definitely Team Trinity and I sense that he is not entirely comfortable on enemy ground.
January
06
Eleven Madison Park. Fine dining, alive and well.
posted by Nicky Richmond
Have I eaten in a morgue? Google the death of fine dining and you’ll see a plethora of articles telling us it’s all over. The most recent funeral oration is that given by Jay Rayner, in the Guardian, where he refers to a survey which states that 70% of diners have turned against fine dining, linking to a headline in The […]
December
14
Wiltons. SW1. History on a plate.
posted by Nicky Richmond
It’s been there since 1742, according to the doormat. Bang in the heart of hunting-shooting-fishing-land, you can stock up on all your country needs before you come here and eat something that someone else has had the decency to shoot for you. Wanting, nay needing to avoid anything remotely festive, when Wiltons pinged up on […]
November
07
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. No fireworks.
posted by Nicky Richmond
I’d not thought much about Clare Smyth MBE, until Restaurant Gordon Ramsay won the ultimate accolade in The Good Food Guide this year. Ten out of ten. Top marks. But Clare is not a well-known TV chef or cookbook writer and her light has been firmly hidden behind the Ramsay bushel. If you’re wondering what she looks […]
September
25
Le Gavroche. Gorgeousness.
posted by Nicky Richmond
I’ve got history with Le Gavroche. Not only the setting for my first grown-up lunch as a newly-qualified lawyer it has also been a concluding dinner to a rather torrid but doomed romance; a poignant post-wedding dinner, with my late father (who had soufflé for starter and dessert), a slightly disappointing meal out with C […]
The Food Judge 