What Restaurant did you eat at last night?

Tuppy_Glossop · 28 Feb 2017 at 16:59

We'll be at the other end of Deansgate, watching the Fun Lovin Criminals at the Albert Hall.

the-evaluator · 28 Feb 2017 at 17:06

Yep, that's the one.

I booked it on a whim when they opened bookings as we've eaten at The Man Behind The Curtaun and loved it.

FrenchTart · 28 Feb 2017 at 18:40

Looks interesting though I'm not sure it grabs me enough to justify the price.

the-evaluator · 6 Mar 2017 at 14:44

So we ate at The Rabbit in the Moon on Saturday night. I was in two minds about cancelling the reservation but am very glad I didn't.

The food was very, very good. As expected it's very much in the same style as The Man Behind The Curtain so if that style of food doesn't appeal then give this place a miss. Also give it a miss if you can't use chopsticks as they don't have knives and forks.

I can't pick a favourite course but the stand outs were char sui octopus (the most tender octopus I've ever had), chinese bacon butty and Wagyu truffle nigiri. There wasn't anything I didn't like but my other half didn't like the oyster as it had a long salt water finish which she can't stand. Pain au unagi was the course I was least looking forward to but it tasted great, especially with the gorgeous duck kimchi broth.

The drinks were as unusal as the food. There's no standard spirits served there, everything is distilled in house but the G&T was so, so good. The wine list is small and domiated by white wine (though there are a couple of light reds on offer) so we ended up having a German Riseling and French Gewürztraminer. The Riesling was my favourite, I found the Gewürztraminer a bit too light in flavour.

Service was similar to TMBTC with the dishes being served by the chefs.

When our bill arrived we noticed a bottle of still water missing but when I pointed it out I was thanked for my honesty and told it was on them. It was only £2.50 but the way it was dealt with was great. Once the menu has changed sufficiently we will go back. It isn't that we didn't like the menu but we've had that one and would like to see what else they can come up with.

TS7 · 6 Mar 2017 at 15:26

the-evaluator said:
My partner and I do like our fine dining

I keep meaning to pull together a list of the places we've visited but I think I'll scare myself at how much we've spent.

Edit. I went through the calendar and looked at 2016 and 2017. The list for that period is:

Hand & Flowers. Three times. 2 star.
Ormer. 1 star.
Osteria Francescana. 3 star.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. 2 star.
Dinner by Heston. 2 star.
Galvin at Windows. Twice. 1 star.
Benares. 1 star.
Midsummer House. 2 star.
The Man Behind The Curtain. 1 star.
Alcron. 1 star.

Crikey.

Awesome. I'm fond of the fine dining experience and the sheer amount effort in the different ingredients, flavours, presentation, surroundings, service all collaborate to provide a special evening. My stumbling block is that I'm vegetarian and while the amount of choice generally for veggies now is pretty incredible, fine dining establishments on the large are yet to take notice. Hakkasan is on my list next.

the-evaluator · 6 Mar 2017 at 15:29

If you're a vegetarian then give Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud a miss - the veggie options there are minimal and unimaginative to say the least.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is well worth a look, I had a dish off the vegetarian tasting menu when I was there a couple of years ago as I'm allergic to lobster. From the menu there seemed to be as much thought put into the vegetarian menu than the meat eaters menu.

TS7 · 6 Mar 2017 at 15:46

the-evaluator said:
If you're a vegetarian then give Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud a miss - the veggie options there are minimal and unimaginative to say the least.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is well worth a look, I had a dish off the vegetarian tasting menu when I was there a couple of years ago as I'm allergic to lobster. From the menu there seemed to be as much thought put into the vegetarian menu than the meat eaters menu.

Thanks, will peruse the menu!

Grimley · 10 Mar 2017 at 15:55

Bierschenke in the city of london. Bit expensive but worth it.

ivrytwr3 · 10 Mar 2017 at 15:59

Going to London with the kids and they are far from adventurous with their food

We are going to Planet Hollywood as a compromise; wtf?!

All the fantastic food and lots i can use my tastecard with and PH!!

Would have had a few drinks but have you seen the price of their cocktails? (anyone have any vouchers?!)

Chonky · 10 Mar 2017 at 17:05

ivrytwr3 said:
Going to London with the kids and they are far from adventurous with their food We are going to Planet Hollywood as a compromise; wtf?!

All the fantastic food and lots i can use my tastecard with and PH!!

That's a shame, there are loads of great burger, pizza or other "fast food" restaurants that they'd probably love.

This evening, I'm off to Heliot Steak House in Leicester Square. USDA Prime steak, it better be good (will be comparing it with Hawksmoor, Goodmans, Bull Steak Expert)!

ivrytwr3 · 10 Mar 2017 at 19:56

Chonky said:
That's a shame, there are loads of great burger, pizza or other "fast food" restaurants that they'd probably love.

This evening, I'm off to Heliot Steak House in Leicester Square. USDA Prime steak, it better be good (will be comparing it with Hawksmoor, Goodmans, Bull Steak Expert)!

That place looks awesome - overlooking the main casino floor!! But obviously no Under 18's

Also, feel free to recommend some other places we can get a kids menu in. We're heading down to the Covent Garden area on the Sunday evening which is when we are looking to eat (your place does 50% off wine on Sunday nights!!).

Grimley · 10 Mar 2017 at 21:03

http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Kids_menu.pdf

http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/locations/#!/covent-garden

Chonky · 11 Mar 2017 at 11:17

ivrytwr3 said:
That place looks awesome - overlooking the main casino floor!! But obviously no Under 18's

Also, feel free to recommend some other places we can get a kids menu in. We're heading down to the Covent Garden area on the Sunday evening which is when we are looking to eat (your place does 50% off wine on Sunday nights!!).

Honest burgers is the place I'd go, really good burgers. If they like pizza, then Pizza Pilgrims is great. It's on the east side of Soho (just below Tottenham Court Rd tube station), so a couple of minutes from Covent Garden. There is Shake Shack in Covent Garden but I've not been and there will likely be a queue. There is also a Byron Burger in Covent Garden, but they're not as good as Honest Burger.

ivrytwr3 · 11 Mar 2017 at 12:16

Nice one - have added Honest Burgers to our list of possibilities - looks decent as does Pizza Pilgrims.

TS7 · 12 Mar 2017 at 13:55

ivrytwr3 said:
Nice one - have added Honest Burgers to our list of possibilities - looks decent as does Pizza Pilgrims.

+1 for Honest Burgers

I'd avoid shake shack Covent Garden as its small and they had a rope outside to control the queue. However there's new much bigger one opened up recently.

Edit: just checked their website I thought there was only two shake shcks in London but there's actually 7!

the-evaluator · 12 Mar 2017 at 16:07

Last night we ate at Hawksmoor Spitalfields. I'm yet to have a bad meal there but this was the best yet. They're finally seasoning their greens properly and the Stichelton hollandaise is so much better than the awesome Stilton hollandaise they used to serve. The extra acidity in the Stichelton works really well.

I'm still grumpy at the lack of steak tartare though.

Rotty · 12 Mar 2017 at 23:43

Goodmans in Mayfair, decent enough but was loads better on previous visit

Chonky · 13 Mar 2017 at 11:33

Went to a number of restaurants over the weekend, but the main one being Heliot Steak House in Leicester square.
I had 500g USDA Prime ribeye steak with bernaise sauce, chunky chips, spinach, mac & cheese. The steak was lovely, a nice thick piece, perfectly good medium rare. The bearnaise was good, the chunky chips were crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, the spinach was OK, and the mac & cheese was good. Also had a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Syrah (Columbia Valley, USA) for £10 which was very nice but as I have a couple of bottles of it at home, I know it's only a £14 bottle of wine so wasn't paying £10 for another glass.
With the exception of the wine, it was reasonably priced (steak - £28, sides - £3). I don't think it was quite up there with Hawksmoor or Goodmans, but it was very good.

TS7 · 13 Mar 2017 at 19:39

Has anyone been to Sushisamba? I had a brief look when I went to Duck & Waffle recently and it was incredibly busy, the chap downstairs at the door said there was a waiting list spanning months.

My friend has Nobu booked for a few months time. I'm thinking whether Sushisamba may be a better alternative?

the-evaluator · 14 Mar 2017 at 06:54

Yeah. It's OK, nothing special and not worth a price. Which is pretty much my opinion of Duck & Waffle actually. I think they're both overpriced.