Gordon Ramsay at Hospital Road

vila · 21 Dec 2008 at 12:00

Ricochet J said:
My brother and his wife went to one of GR's restaurants on the South Bank. His thoughts? Tasty food. High price. Small portions.

There isnt a GRH restaurant on the southbank?

Bennie-Mac · 21 Dec 2008 at 12:25

starfighter said:
Anywhere that it is "odd" to order Coke doesn't deserve my time.

Bunch of pretentious *****.

Peasant.

CocoPops · 21 Dec 2008 at 13:32

We had Dinner at Gordon Ramsay @ Claridges.

Fantastic 6 course meal.

cheets64 · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:02

Crazy, suppose if you have the money but I dont really see why people think they are better than people because they can eat somewhere you have to book months in advance. Can see a lot of places going bust because they have lost there bankers who probably lived in the restaurants.

mangobreeder · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:06

cheets64 said:
Crazy, suppose if you have the money but I dont really see why people think they are better than people because they can eat somewhere you have to book months in advance. Can see a lot of places going bust because they have lost there bankers who probably lived in the restaurants.

you can actually eat very well very cheaply.

For example, i buy a lot of tea from Harrods, which is suberb tea and they ahve a wide range, and *** tea is only about 50p mor expensive than normal loose tea fromt eh supermarkets.

Also, you pay £9 for a decent pamas plains rib eye steak in waitrose its £7

so you can get good quality stuff with out breaking the bank.

Glaucus · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:07

cheets64 said:
Crazy, suppose if you have the money but I dont really see why people think they are better than people because they can eat somewhere you have to book months in advance.

A lot don't and most places charge around the same cost as a night out in town. It's great social event and the food is on a different level. Just because people like good food, doesn't mean they think they are better.

It all comes back to what I said before. You are the prejudice one who thinks that. Vary rarely is it the other way around.

glitch · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:22

cheets64 said:
Crazy, suppose if you have the money but I dont really see why people think they are better than people because they can eat somewhere you have to book months in advance.

I have no desire to seem 'better' than anyone because what I choose to eat and where I choose to eat it but I can't be help responsible for what others think of me. I think of myself as being extremely lucky that I not only have friends who enjoy sharing the experience with me but that I even get the opportunity to do it in the first place.

I'd rather save money on not going out and getting drunk and spend it once a month on a fantastic meal at an amazing restaurant. But that just marks me out as different, not better.

Vanilla · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:24

You go to the above types of places to see who you will see

It's a social thing, like going to the trendy clubs that the royals frequent.

We have been taking select people at all of our various accounts out for Christmas dinner at some of these places already mentioned, it's amazing who you will see. I've seen more famous people in these types restaurants in the last few years than the rest of my life put together.

Glaucus · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:32

I don't know any one who goes to nice restaurants to see what celebs they see.

Vanilla · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:36

AcidHell2 said:
I don't know any one who goes to nice restaurants to see what celebs they see.

The point is it is a social thing. An occasion. You go there for birthdays, customer dinners, anniversaries and not because the food is spectacular because honestly it wont give you a hard on - you go for the social aspect because that's where you think you should be taking people for a special occasion and these are the fashionable places to be seen.

JBuk · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:37

when me and a few mates were in Hongkong we went to a Ruth Chris steakhouse, it was very swanky and it cost a fortune but I would rather have spent 2 hours in there eating the best steak ever than spending the same amount getting **** faced and feeling crap all the next day

I wish there was some michelin star places up here

Glaucus · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:43

Vanilla said:
The point is it is a social thing. An occasion. You go there for birthdays, customer dinners, anniversaries and not because the food is spectacular because honestly it wont give you a hard on - you go for the social aspect because that's where you think you should be taking people for a special occasion and these are the fashionable places to be seen.

I don't I go for the social aspect and the quality of the food. Not because it's trendy or to meet celebs and I think you'll find most of the other people in this thread is the same.

arc@css · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:46

Don't know what the fuss is all about, you can't beat a Bernie Inn and a bottle of Blue Nun, rofl.

glitch · 21 Dec 2008 at 14:48

Vanilla said:
The point is it is a social thing. An occasion. You go there for birthdays, customer dinners, anniversaries and not because the food is spectacular because honestly it wont give you a hard on - you go for the social aspect because that's where you think you should be taking people for a special occasion and these are the fashionable places to be seen.

The only thing you've said there that's correct is that it's an occasion. An occasion to spend time with friend eating some fantastic food and enjoying the whole experience. The identities of the other diners and fashion don't even come into it.

If you like art, you go to the best galleries and museums to see the best examples of the work you like. If you like food, you go to the places that serve the best food cooked by the best chefs. People may well do it to show off, but they're only fooling themselves in the process.

elroberto · 21 Dec 2008 at 15:01

arc@css said:
Don't know what the fuss is all about, you can't beat a Bernie Inn and a bottle of Blue Nun, rofl.

Has Andrew Neil joined the forums?

Vanilla · 21 Dec 2008 at 15:03

glitch said:
The only thing you've said there that's correct is that it's an occasion. An occasion to spend time with friend eating some fantastic food and enjoying the whole experience. The identities of the other diners and fashion don't even come into it.

If you like art, you go to the best galleries and museums to see the best examples of the work you like. If you like food, you go to the places that serve the best food cooked by the best chefs. People may well do it to show off, but they're only fooling themselves in the process.

Everyone has their opinion but one point to bear in mind is that a lot of the well know restaurants offer half decent but not great food. I've been dining at the types of palces mentioned above at least once a fortnight for work reasons and to be honest the well known places are not the best. They're just the places people think they should go. Gordon Ramsay, Fifteen, etc have all just become a celebrity spotting drama.

I have to be blunt but those who go to a lot of the top 'names' for good food are like those in the 90's who headed off to Ministry of Sound for a good night clubbing when they'd never been on the clubbing scene and only went clubbing once every two years. Sure they had a great time (which is all that's important) and everyone loved hearing about how they went to MOS but in the grand scheme of things MOS was crap - it was well known and half decent but they were only really there because that was the name of the place to be. They just didn't know any better.

It's not that either of us is wrong or that 'only one thing i've said is correct' - you can't say everyone is in it for the same thing.

Vanilla · 21 Dec 2008 at 15:20

In fact if you look at a search site for the top restaurants

http://www.toptable.co.uk

and search for the restaurants already mentioned in this thread, such as Maze, it even has a checklist for 'Celeb Spotting'!

I guess it must be of interest to some people if they are likely to see celebrities.

starfighter · 21 Dec 2008 at 16:08

Vanilla said:
In fact if you look at a search site for the top restaurants

http://www.toptable.co.uk

and search for the restaurants already mentioned in this thread, such as Maze, it even has a checklist for 'Celeb Spotting'!

I guess it must be of interest to some people if they are likely to see celebrities.

yeah it is so obviously about the food and not posing...

oli collett · 21 Dec 2008 at 17:00

glitch said:
You can 'do The Fat Duck on a smaller budget than that. Just avoid the champagne being offered around when you are seated at your table and choose a bottle or two of wine from the menu to meet your budget. As nice as the tasting wines are, and they are very nice, it's a needless expense.

The problem with going to TFD is that everything else instantly pales in comparison. It's an incredible experience from start to finish and you'll never look at food the same way again. I couldn't recommend it highly enough and I'll be going back when they've changed the tasting menu for 2009 and experiencing it all over again.

But for now I'd say start off with Maze or Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley. Save TFD until you've experienced some other examples of fine-dining and you'll enjoy it even more than if you went there first.

This is very true. I went to Pierre Gagnaire @ Rue Balzac a few weeks back which is considered by many to be the best restaurant in France. Whilst my meal was very, very good, it just didn't compare to the fat duck.

Maze is good, very good, I'd definitely recommend it.

Vanilla said:
Everyone has their opinion but one point to bear in mind is that a lot of the well know restaurants offer half decent but not great food. I've been dining at the types of palces mentioned above at least once a fortnight for work reasons and to be honest the well known places are not the best. They're just the places people think they should go. Gordon Ramsay, Fifteen, etc have all just become a celebrity spotting drama.

I have to be blunt but those who go to a lot of the top 'names' for good food are like those in the 90's who headed off to Ministry of Sound for a good night clubbing when they'd never been on the clubbing scene and only went clubbing once every two years. Sure they had a great time (which is all that's important) and everyone loved hearing about how they went to MOS but in the grand scheme of things MOS was crap - it was well known and half decent but they were only really there because that was the name of the place to be. They just didn't know any better.

It's not that either of us is wrong or that 'only one thing i've said is correct' - you can't say everyone is in it for the same thing.

Whilst I might agree about Ramsay & Fifteen, I certainly wouldn't agree about the likes of Maze, the fat duck and some of the others i have mentioned. Yes some of these restaurants are trendy, but some of them also do very good food. The whole Ramsay brand is very much about the restaurants image as much as the food - i've always found it ridiculously difficult to get tables at his top restaurants compared to other places - but don't tar them all with the same brush!

z3b3dy · 21 Dec 2008 at 17:03

Tasting menu at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon next to The Ivy. Had it several times and I've never been disappointed yet. My top meal of the year this year was the tasting menu at EN in New York if anyone's going there over Christmas. Well worth the wait.

Also who goes to restaurants to spot celebs!! Personally I go for the food and the people I'm with.