PROLOGUE I have form with Burgundy. I’ve been here before, the last visit almost 14 years ago, at the time of my 40th birthday. That particular trip was with a man who turned out not to be The One. It seems no time at all since that memorable birthday lunch at L’Espérance, back in 2002. […]
Tag Archives: Michelin
June
02
Loch Bay and other stories. The Isle of Skye.
posted by Nicky Richmond
You may ask yourself, how did I get here? Well, quite easily really; a flight to Inverness and then a three-hour drive through some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever seen. Like all of the proverbial best-laid, it didn’t go quite to plan. Booking The Three Chimneys on the strength of its reputation […]
September
21
The Clove Club. Who said romance was dead?
posted by Nicky Richmond
“Happy loving couples make it look so easy.” Joe Jackson, 1989. I’d last been to The Clove Club on Valentine’s Day, that passion-killer which ranks up there with New Year’s Eve as top of my nights to stay at home under all circumstances. I was so overjoyed to be able to find that a table […]
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.
July
03
Amaya. Rich pickings.
posted by Nicky Richmond
I feel like I’m five, says C, waving his arms high in the air and simulating an exaggerated knife and fork movement. The chairs in the raised section of the restaurant are too low or the tables are too high, it doesn’t matter which. Obviously, I point this out and the maître d’ suggests I might […]
February
07
Pied à Terre. Fitzrovia fine dining for fans of finesse.
posted by Nicky Richmond
We’d booked to go to Atelier de Joel Robuchon as a birthday treat for J, son of C. I ask whether J, whose taste in food tends towards the adventurous, might not prefer something a little more down with the kids but I am told that I do not know what I am talking about. As it […]
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 […]
October
08
The Sportsman. No sex please, we’re British.
posted by Nicky Richmond
I rang the hotel reception. Do you think that you can have a word with the couple in the next hut? We’ve only been here a couple of hours and they’ve had sex twice and I can hear everything. When it first started, I’d been in two minds as to whether to call the emergency services, […]
August
31
Rasoi. Spice at a price.
posted by Nicky Richmond
There is practically no time when C has refused an invitation to a meal involving curry. He doesn’t like Trishna (uncomfortable chairs, the noise, the fussiness), or Benares (the complexity, the expense) and in this, as in much else, we disagree. Funnily enough, I didn’t mention that there might be fussiness at Rasoi, the brainchild […]
August
11
Waterside Inn, Bray. A stately galleon on the Thames.
posted by Nicky Richmond
I’m not sure if you’re allowed to eat here under the age of 50. Other than Oslo Court, it’s the most oldie-friendly place I’ve been to in some time. I’d tried a number of times to get a reservation and it was only by actually turning up in person that I managed to get in […]
The Food Judge 