What Restaurant did you eat at last night?

[TS7]

Anyone been to restaurant Sat Bains? They're increasing the menu prices as of next month so it seems now is a good time as any to finally give it a try.

 

[the-evaluator]

Yep, and it was one of the best meals we've ever had.

 

[the-evaluator]

The mention of Sat Bains made me want to go back, so we've got a table there this evening.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Prashad this evening.

 

[FISHGUTS]

I've never eaten in a michelin star restaurant, but then in the space of a couple of weeks have eaten in 2.

The first was Hirishi at the Gilpin hotel near Bowness.
We did the tasting menu which was great. Very Asian flavours influenced.

On a side note the Gilpin was a really nice package stay. Pricey, but well worth it for what was included.

Then on Wednesday I went to L' Enclume at Cartmel for the Lunch tasting menu, this was on another level altogether.
Knocked my culinary socks off tbh.
Would highly recommend it.

 

[neviditelny]

If I want to try a Michelin star restaurant (which I have never done) and live close to London, which one would you recommend? I'm open for any kind of foods as I love to try different cuisines. Preferably some place I can get to on train/metro as I don't drive

 

[the-evaluator]

What sort of food do you want?

Galvin at Windows is a very good starting point, their lunch menu is very well priced.

 

[the-evaluator]

We're off to New York City next month and have bookings at Eleven Maddison Park, The River Cafe and Peter Luger.

I'm most excited about Peter Luger, I've been there many, many times but it's one of my top 5 restaurants around the world.

 

[TheCybermonkey]

We're off to New York City next month and have bookings at Eleven Maddison Park, The River Cafe and Peter Luger.

I'm most excited about Peter Luger, I've been there many, many times but it's one of my top 5 restaurants around the world.

Nice.
Did the taster menu for lunch at Eleven Maddison 3 yrs ago. Want to go back now it’s been refurbed. Not that it wasn’t nice back then or anything ....just want an excuse.

Food was amazing...the bill...not so much.
Must have been in there a good 4 hours though.

Enjoy! Sure you will.

 

[the-evaluator]

It's been on my list for a while, I was surprised how easy it was to get a table.

I don't know how it was when you went but now you pay for the food at the time of booking so we paid £540. Not cheap and it'll only get more expensive when we go for the wine pairings.

 

[TripleT]

Has anyone got recommendations in Rome? Going just before Christmas for the wife's birthday. Don't want fine dining but something nice.

Cheers

 

[TheCybermonkey]

It's been on my list for a while, I was surprised how easy it was to get a table.

I don't know how it was when you went but now you pay for the food at the time of booking so we paid £540. Not cheap and it'll only get more expensive when we go for the wine pairings.

I came across it on a reddit post of all things and always wanted to go.

Table booking was only difficult in that the app they use kept trying to redirect to uk version which didn’t have them on. When I looked on day they opened the bookings for the date we wanted, only had a handful of lunch time slots, no evening , and I could see them being taken while I struggled to get it working.

Couldn’t get them on the phone.

Didn’t have to pay upfront.
That price include the tip (usual nyc 20%) ? Think they now do that as standard.

Didn’t do pairing but did get a bottle of wine to go with. A few courses , mainly the deserts, had wine etc with anyway.

One course came with a bottle of brandy that was specifically branded for them. Could help yourself to as much as you wanted....so I did

 

[Ahleckz]

One course came with a bottle of brandy that was specifically branded for them. Could help yourself to as much as you wanted....so I did

They brought out the brandy with the bill when I went, and suggested you could have as much as you wanted....so I did!

That being said, I didn't think that much of the dinner. Le Bernadin, which I ate at 3 days before, was much better food and a nicer place to eat. Some tables were given tours of the kitchen at Eleven Madison, but it wasn't offered to us which was a bit of a kick in the teeth.

 

[TheCybermonkey]

Didn’t see anyone given a tour of kitchen when we were there.

Chefs came out to us a few times to tell us about the food, where it was sourced etc, but think they do that with everyone as I’m pretty sure they did it for the other tables as well if I remember correctly.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Hipping Hall for my birthday in early January

 

[tom_nieto]

Has anyone been to The Kitchen in Edinburgh? Looking at the lunch menu it seems quite well priced, £33 for 3 courses.

Did you go there in the end? Sorry I missed this. We had a brilliant lunch there, the food was excellent and the use of local ingredients was very well executed. I always like going for lunch at fine dining restaurants because the menus offer such good value compared to dinner prices and they tend to be much more flexible/available with reservations. The win list always gets me though (fabulous at The Kitchin with really great recommendations) and I end up spending more than anticipated.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Did you go there in the end? Sorry I missed this. We had a brilliant lunch there, the food was excellent and the use of local ingredients was very well executed. I always like going for lunch at fine dining restaurants because the menus offer such good value compared to dinner prices and they tend to be much more flexible/available with reservations. The win list always gets me though (fabulous at The Kitchin with really great recommendations) and I end up spending more than anticipated.

I've not gone yet, booked for April glad to hear it is good. I've been really looking forward to it anyways but you have made it want it come around even sooner.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Hipping Hall was fantastic. It's an old building with a mixture of new and old furnishings, which in some areas (the lounge particularly) makes it look like a bric a brac shop. The dining hall is all old beams and medieval pics and not overfilled with tables.



I'll apologise immediately because there were two dishes that I scoffed before taking a pic. The first was the oyster, which was served by the head chef Oli, and I was distracted because we talked a bit about his Masterchef Professionals experience. Everybody mentioned it to him and I think I detected a well-hidden sigh in one or two of the replies to other customers... maybe he's getting tired of the same questions. When someone asked him about his daughter he was more enthusiastic. Lots of credit for still facing the customers, though. I always think it's a shame when you don't even see the chef around. The other missing pic is the trout, which looked so intriguing I couldn't help but dig around to investigate immediately.

First up, the Butter Pie canape which smelled of dairy and truffle. It was like a thin crisp pastry (like Indian Pani Puri) with cheese and butter cream inside, and more cheese and some black truffle outside. Two very punchy, delicious bites and gone. A strong start:



Then the missing oyster, which was chopped and dressed with kohlrabi, elderflower, and small capers. It was fresh, smelled of the sea, and was awesome.

Next up, the tartare of shorthorn beef with onion puree and hay. This had gentler flavours but was no less a dish for that. The hay was crunchy against the soft meat. A great, understated dish:



Next the Jerusalem Artichoke which saw us back in the land of strong savouriness and excellent balance. Crunch came from the puffed grains on top , and the slippy mushroom loveliness underneath. Nom:



Then came one of the revelations of the night, eggy bread! It featured Hen of the Woods mushrooms and a special sauce of local Fellstone cheese which was really tangy and salty. There were pickled Wild Garlic flowers that cut through the rich cheese beautifully. Dried mushroom julienne on top. Hnnng:



Then the missing-pic trout dish. There were pickled roots on top, with a melty/soft trout steak below and orange roe in-between. The buttermilk sauce brought acidity and the roe popped with saltiness. The fish was soft and delicate (poached in rapeseed oil). Really delish.

More veg next, with the beetroot (raw, lightly-pickled, and well-cooked) and cultured cream (slightly savoury and yeasty) with an aromatic and divine langoustine bisque. We could smell the bisque whenever this dish was served to anyone in the dining room. There were squid ink brioche to mop up the bisque (the black mini loaves). Ooh la la:



On to the duck, which was cooked to perfection and served with sprouts stuffed with chestnut and black garlic paste, and had salsify on the side. Went beautifully with the Piedmont red they served it with, also featuring an excellent duck fat sauce:



The pre-dessert (from the ingredients it wasn't clear if it was a main or a pud, so we asked) had mushroom caramel, quince, and oak ice cream. Intriguing, soft flavours and very nommy:



Next, the Pine-Apple dish that he did at The Chef's Table on Masterchef. It was pared back (after all, I'm not Greg Wallace) and I accidentally ate some of the buttered and sugared apple peel before I took the pic. A stunning dessert with strong apple and mild pine flavours. Amazoid:



Finally, there were crunchy pear bon bons to go with coffee:



The wine flight was good without blowing me away. There were three whites up to the duck (the English one with the trout was best-matched) and the Italian red for the duck was great. The Sparkling Saki for the puds was well-matched but not particularly my cup of tea. The service was excellent. The youngsters were enthusiastic and knowledgable. I asked about the Chalk Stream Trout (no chalk soils up here!) and he said it was from the River Test. They deserve a lot of credit for absolutely improving the experience.

In summary, there are no frills or theatrics, just lots of really well thought out dishes, executed perfectly. No ten out of tens but all nine out of ten. His first Michelin star can't be far away. When you take the prices into consideration, this is fantastic value. I fully recommend it #nommage

 

[the-evaluator]

We're off to New York City next month and have bookings at Eleven Maddison Park, The River Cafe and Peter Luger.

I'm most excited about Peter Luger, I've been there many, many times but it's one of my top 5 restaurants around the world.

Peter Luger was as good as I remember, it had been 4 years or so since I'd been there. The service was a bit friendlier then it had been in the past and the food was outstanding. We were being greedy sods so shared a steak for 3 between 2 people. Perfectly cooked steak along with amazing German fried potatoes, onion rings and creamed spinach made for a superb birthday dinner.

The River Cafe was really, really good. We went for brunch and the place was rammed! I had the wagyu steak tartare to start and it was possibly the best tartare I've had.

Eleven Madison Park was amazing. Faultless food, drink and service. Definitely somewhere we will return to.

 

[Merlin5]

Hipping Hall was fantastic. It's an old building with a mixture of new and old furnishings, which in some areas (the lounge particularly) makes it look like a bric a brac shop. The dining hall is all old beams and medieval pics and not overfilled with tables.



I'll apologise immediately because there were two dishes that I scoffed before taking a pic. The first was the oyster, which was served by the head chef Oli, and I was distracted because we talked a bit about his Masterchef Professionals experience. Everybody mentioned it to him and I think I detected a well-hidden sigh in one or two of the replies to other customers... maybe he's getting tired of the same questions. When someone asked him about his daughter he was more enthusiastic. Lots of credit for still facing the customers, though. I always think it's a shame when you don't even see the chef around. The other missing pic is the trout, which looked so intriguing I couldn't help but dig around to investigate immediately.

First up, the Butter Pie canape which smelled of dairy and truffle. It was like a thin crisp pastry (like Indian Pani Puri) with cheese and butter cream inside, and more cheese and some black truffle outside. Two very punchy, delicious bites and gone. A strong start:



Then the missing oyster, which was chopped and dressed with kohlrabi, elderflower, and small capers. It was fresh, smelled of the sea, and was awesome.

Next up, the tartare of shorthorn beef with onion puree and hay. This had gentler flavours but was no less a dish for that. The hay was crunchy against the soft meat. A great, understated dish:



Next the Jerusalem Artichoke which saw us back in the land of strong savouriness and excellent balance. Crunch came from the puffed grains on top , and the slippy mushroom loveliness underneath. Nom:



Then came one of the revelations of the night, eggy bread! It featured Hen of the Woods mushrooms and a special sauce of local Fellstone cheese which was really tangy and salty. There were pickled Wild Garlic flowers that cut through the rich cheese beautifully. Dried mushroom julienne on top. Hnnng:



Then the missing-pic trout dish. There were pickled roots on top, with a melty/soft trout steak below and orange roe in-between. The buttermilk sauce brought acidity and the roe popped with saltiness. The fish was soft and delicate (poached in rapeseed oil). Really delish.

More veg next, with the beetroot (raw, lightly-pickled, and well-cooked) and cultured cream (slightly savoury and yeasty) with an aromatic and divine langoustine bisque. We could smell the bisque whenever this dish was served to anyone in the dining room. There were squid ink brioche to mop up the bisque (the black mini loaves). Ooh la la:



On to the duck, which was cooked to perfection and served with sprouts stuffed with chestnut and black garlic paste, and had salsify on the side. Went beautifully with the Piedmont red they served it with, also featuring an excellent duck fat sauce:



The pre-dessert (from the ingredients it wasn't clear if it was a main or a pud, so we asked) had mushroom caramel, quince, and oak ice cream. Intriguing, soft flavours and very nommy:



Next, the Pine-Apple dish that he did at The Chef's Table on Masterchef. It was pared back (after all, I'm not Greg Wallace) and I accidentally ate some of the buttered and sugared apple peel before I took the pic. A stunning dessert with strong apple and mild pine flavours. Amazoid:



Finally, there were crunchy pear bon bons to go with coffee:



The wine flight was good without blowing me away. There were three whites up to the duck (the English one with the trout was best-matched) and the Italian red for the duck was great. The Sparkling Saki for the puds was well-matched but not particularly my cup of tea. The service was excellent. The youngsters were enthusiastic and knowledgable. I asked about the Chalk Stream Trout (no chalk soils up here!) and he said it was from the River Test. They deserve a lot of credit for absolutely improving the experience.

In summary, there are no frills or theatrics, just lots of really well thought out dishes, executed perfectly. No ten out of tens but all nine out of ten. His first Michelin star can't be far away. When you take the prices into consideration, this is fantastic value. I fully recommend it #nommage

Looks amazing. But were you a bit hungry when you left? Really doesn't look very filling.