Richard Bagnold

The headline for this visit is that this was simply outstanding value for money. I have only been to one other Michelin starred restaurant with better value and sadly that has now closed. Lunch at Thackerays was £20 for three courses which included snacks and an amuse bouche, so for the 5 elements, this is the best value Michelin starred meal I have come across and is available at time of writing – I challenge the others to do better than this! The food itself was crafted well as one would expect and appeared to sit in the 1 Michelin starred family with a couple of high notes and other mostly fair dishes.

The wonderful snacks of salmon and dill deep fried bon bons and mozarella & tomato soft biscuits were a very good start in comparison to the cold carrot, ginger and gin shot which was not as comforting (a warmer, frothier soup would have gone down better for me). The chicken terrine starter was perhaps the low moment of the meal and the fatty collection of cold meats I thought were a little bland and needed a lot more shallots or pickled elements to lift it in to the really enjoyable zone.

The wonderful snacks of salmon and dill deep fried bon bons and mozarella & tomato soft biscuits were a very good start in comparison to the cold carrot, ginger and gin shot which was not as comforting (a warmer, frothier soup would have gone down better for me). The chicken terrine starter was perhaps the low moment of the meal and the fatty collection of cold meats I thought were a little bland and needed a lot more shallots or pickled elements to lift it in to the really enjoyable zone.

However, all was saved with the lamb main with its wonderful tomato sauce and utterly divine side of creamed mash with parsley. Dessert was fine but again, simmered at this level – still, very well presented, as were the petit fours. Service was homely and more engaging at the senior management level.

I can’t say that the meal made me explode with happiness however, it was a pleasant experience and for the value for money, one of a kind to have at this level.

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I think I fell in love with the look of this place the moment I drove through the chocolate box village of Castle Combe with the roof down just to get here. I had no idea it was such a little gem and on entering the main driveway of the hotel, you enter the grounds of a croquet lawn, beautiful Manor House and lovely, open garden for those wanting to gather for drinks before dining. It is a gorgeous place with a satisfying menu and although the decor there is quite conflicting, this was great to do overall.

Conversly, as the exterior of the building and bar / lounge areas inside are very ‘old school’ it seemed strange that the interior of the restaurant was so modern and my impression here was that this didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the hotel. However, this is just a matter of visual taste.

Conversly, as the exterior of the building and bar / lounge areas inside are very ‘old school’ it seemed strange that the interior of the restaurant was so modern and my impression here was that this didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the hotel. However, this is just a matter of visual taste.

More importantly, on to the actual tasting menu which was opted for an the bottom line is that I thought this was very nicely done. The food here was clinical and neatly presented – all the way through. I was not bloated on leaving at all and the products were highly satisfying from the duck liver cone snacks, to the gorgeously glazed breads and wonderful foie gras. I prefer pan fried or roasted foie gras compared with cold terrine of foie gras, but this sat beautifully between cold and warm and with no bitter after taste that can very often happen; it was smooth, creamy and non-harsh. A lovely dish especially with the raisin puree and sweet wine jelly.

Although halibut is not my favourite white fish (as I find it slightly chewy in comparison to purely tender john dory or turbot), the beurre blanc sauce with this dish was an utter delight (butter based sauce with shallots, hint of vinegar, white wine and chive). The only aspect of the meal I didn’t quite agree with was the baby basil leaves on the gorgeously creamy lemon tart dessert as this left a savoury note as the most noticeable at the end and personally I would have preferred this finishing tone to be sweet, but I understand it was probably trying to cancel out any attack of the lemon.

What I was most impressed about, was the fact that the hotel has its own mini orchard for apples, its own pigs and chickens, uses their eggs for all breakfasts (you can’t really get much fresher than that) and uses its home grown herbs and vegetables as well. It’s very good that the establishment takes full advantage of the lush and spacious grounds that the hotel has and frankly I would like to go back just to try their breakfast!

There were no food volcanic erruptions for me on this occasion, but neither were there any really low moments and I did enjoy this one. All the food here was consistently satisfying and I was grateful to now log the place in the memory banks for future referrals.

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This was my first time to Bob Bob Ricard and the immediate impressions on walking in were, “Why the hell haven’t I been here before?”. The interior resembles carriages on the British Pullman (essentially the same as the Orient Express bar the name) and just as those carriages have their own unique colours and style, so do the two, primary dining areas of Bob Bob Ricard (blue and red rooms). It is also perhaps the only place in the country you will ever see a button at each table labelled ‘Champagne’ in order to top up existing levels. Some decent offerings here in the happy to have tried bracket and is an experience in itself, particulalry the downstairs dance floor-esque dining room and bar.

Revered Imperial Russian vodka is served here among many others and most at -18 degrees for added fun, but is also fun to debate on how much effect this actually has on the taste of the accompanying food, compared with the flavour of the vodka at chilled levels with food. The starters on the menu are mainly influenced by Russian cuisine (notably the caviar variants) with more European on the mains. The caviar served with sub-ice cold vodka was a lovely and original way to begin the meal as a lavish amuse bouche and two classic starters were tried. The beef and lamb dumplings were not my favourite thing to eat, but the traditionally Ukranian vareniki dumplings filled with truffled potato with gorgeously sweet mushrooms and delightfully thin and crunchy onion rings were great.

Revered Imperial Russian vodka is served here among many others and most at -18 degrees for added fun, but is also fun to debate on how much effect this actually has on the taste of the accompanying food, compared with the flavour of the vodka at chilled levels with food. The starters on the menu are mainly influenced by Russian cuisine (notably the caviar variants) with more European on the mains. The caviar served with sub-ice cold vodka was a lovely and original way to begin the meal as a lavish amuse bouche and two classic starters were tried. The beef and lamb dumplings were not my favourite thing to eat, but the traditionally Ukranian vareniki dumplings filled with truffled potato with gorgeously sweet mushrooms and delightfully thin and crunchy onion rings were great.

Clearly a chicken kiev was always going to be tried and although there are only so many ways this is going to taste, it was a huge bonus to finally have one with a crunchy crust and not the fluffy, supermarket coating of breadcrumbs – this exterior was crunchy, thin and a complete joy with the garlic butter not being too over powering either. So this was good however, the big guns arrived with the chateaubriand and its wonderful truffle gravy. Although I am a sauce freak, I cannot understate how important I think this is.

In fact, I think you can actually tell the general ballpark of a restaurant based on its sauce, because if there is a real effort that clearly goes in to the supporting act, it is a very good indicator to the attitude of the overall menu. Slightly excessive of myself to go for truffled mash at the same time, but when it’s there and making me feel like Mozart in the wig shop from Amadeus, it’ fair to say it’s going to be done(!). The briand was never really going to be in danger of not being pleasant, but this was genuinely succulent, done completely to order and with great return with the truffled gravy.

The red (Ribera 2012) that accompanied this part of the meal was just how I was hoping it to be, perfectly smooth enough and beautifully paired with the fillet – then again, when you are having a lovely meal with the venerable Tom Harrow (aka Winechap), the choice was basically never going to be in question. Undeniably another good factor is that this establishment may look like you need to spend £200 per bottle, but as was proved with this nice choice of red, it was a very reasonable £49 for the bottle, disproving this myth.

There was a bustling atmosphere on this visit (a Thurs night) and the service could not have been more hospitable. The manager exuded a genuine charm and the place just had a feel of wanting to make your evening a quality and happy one, so if you are put off by the opulence level, I wouldn’t be – you are in friendly and professional hands here and in the main, that is a proper find and treat when properly encountered. This is therefore a very noteworthy place for a treat or small celebration and something fun and different (especially when looking at their wine list options) at any time. Even popping in for a quick snack at the bar with a shot of something on the way home leads me to say there would be worse twists of fate….

A highly satisfying food experience here, topped up by all the other lovely factors above and I’m looking forward to showing other friends here who have not been before, as I know they will get a similar buzz.

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This is my second Polpo having sampled Spuntino, and maybe it was the time of the holiday but this was a far better atmosphere and seemed slightly more spacious inside. As with the Polpo Covent Garden which I have passed by many times, the interior has been faithfully designed to resemble a typical Venetian, local eatery. Wonderful atmosphere, rustic feel and some interesting tapas style comfort dishes to choose from over an Apperol Spritz if you want to get in to a Ventian mood.

As with all casual environments, it is a double-edged sword – it is great for a genuinely bustling atmosphere (which it absolutely is here and one if its key strengths), but the service can border on a little too casual as well. Thankfully, this only happened slightly and in the main was attentive.

As with all casual environments, it is a double-edged sword – it is great for a genuinely bustling atmosphere (which it absolutely is here and one if its key strengths), but the service can border on a little too casual as well. Thankfully, this only happened slightly and in the main was attentive.

The food options had, served in tapas style (as you are recommended to order 4-5 dishes) were on the whole, pleasing. In the main, I wouldn’t describe them as intricate dishes, but the white crab linguine and flank steak with truffled cream were both the stars of the food show and indeed a good ‘hit’ was gained on these. With a 50cl of a doable Chardonnay and a classic Venetian Apperol Spritz each, the bill was a just about acceptable (approx) £38 each for the three at the table, bearing in mind the more finely executed Michelin starred set menus I know there are in comparison, for around the same price with drinks.

All in all though, this is an obviously successful place with originality and social buzz as its key fortés and somewhere to go for that when you are peckish. A safe bet for food and a safer bet for a decent occasion as the main factor when all considered.

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This was a pleasant place to go for lunch number two on a marathon food day with some pleasant options. The marble and well designed interior is visually impressive but I was glad the service was welcoming and warm at the same time. The sad thing however, is that I had to access the photos to remind myself what I had here – and that is not such a good sign for the food as it means it obviously didn’t do enough to stick in the mind. It certainly wasn’t offensive, but was unremarkable at the same time. Lovely, huge, marble counter bar to dine overlooking the cooking.

The restaurant boasts regional and unspoilt dishes and that’s all great. The result on the palate is the main thing I am concerned with however, and the breads were ok (although not a patch on those had at Noble Rot, just prior) with some more pleasing, fried snacks, particularly the sage leaves filled with anchovy coated in tempura batter. The mushroom tagliatelli was a little too bland for me although the texture was very good and although I could say the same for the rabbit cacciatora, but the latter did have lovely, pickled carrots that were just the right softness to make this very pleasing.

The restaurant boasts regional and unspoilt dishes and that’s all great. The result on the palate is the main thing I am concerned with however, and the breads were ok (although not a patch on those had at Noble Rot, just prior) with some more pleasing, fried snacks, particularly the sage leaves filled with anchovy coated in tempura batter. The mushroom tagliatelli was a little too bland for me although the texture was very good and although I could say the same for the rabbit cacciatora, but the latter did have lovely, pickled carrots that were just the right softness to make this very pleasing.

The meal was finished off by the perfect suggestion from my associate of two limoncello’s (a shot of lemon-syrup liquor) as we were getting quite full and it was to the credit of the Italian authenticity of Bocco di Lupo that this wasn’t even a question of whether they had this. I should also mention that the wines had were also proudly sported by our staff and all to their credit, there was a genuine care and attention of letting us try two different glasses before ordering – a very nice touch which, amazingly not everywhere does.

A pleasant experience and definitely worthy of trying and placing on the site. Generally, I had a warm-fair experience and I would say it is perfect for dropping in and grabbing a very nice glass of Italian wine at the equally impressive marble top bar with decent some snacks and breads for catching up with a pal.

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This was an original and pleasant way to start the day no question, and after an airport-style security check (which I happen to be in favour of), the first impression was a somewhat touristy, airport concourse on exiting the elevator at the 36th floor. However, this entrance was also complete with beaming smiles from all the greeters showing the way at the top which was a very pleasant way to enter. Great views, well meaning service and passable food; I believe there are better brunches to have but none that have quite this view.

Going up further steps (which afford wonderful all round views) you enter the modern looking brasserie with the feel of a hotel breakfast room. The options were reasonable and for £25 you can have as much of the continental offerings with cereal as you wish and one hot dish, however as it was a long, food day, the Eggs Royale on its own with a bloody mary was fine for me. The latter was presented interestingly and was pleasant, but sadly the muffins were a let down as were far too large and dense and generally there were no ‘hit me’ factors all round. The hollondaise was clearly freshly made but the lemon was far too dominant and generally the dish was a little unamigantive (not even a touch of paprika on the top to make a little more visual and less plain). The wild mushroom on toast was very good though.

Going up further steps (which afford wonderful all round views) you enter the modern looking brasserie with the feel of a hotel breakfast room. The options were reasonable and for £25 you can have as much of the continental offerings with cereal as you wish and one hot dish, however as it was a long, food day, the Eggs Royale on its own with a bloody mary was fine for me. The latter was presented interestingly and was pleasant, but sadly the muffins were a let down as were far too large and dense and generally there were no ‘hit me’ factors all round. The hollondaise was clearly freshly made but the lemon was far too dominant and generally the dish was a little unamigantive (not even a touch of paprika on the top to make a little more visual and less plain). The wild mushroom on toast was very good though.

This is a unique and lovely place to have an original meet up, but the aspects that I didn’t think make it worthy of the celebrations that were taking place on my visit were the somewhat cold, quick and expressionless service and the fact that it generally felt like an airport terminal. The reality was in contrast to the more special image I was expecting for an enterprise of this nature. Definitely worth a coffee to do and would be ideal for a date context, but you also need to prepare yourself for a long queue to get through security as this was the case as we departed – early day visits are therefore recommended to avoid obsene queues. If I hear anything notable about the restaurant, then this will make me go back for one last pass to see what that is like as is hopefully the greater option, but otherwise it was a pleasant tick to gain.

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This was a long over due visit as I have not been back since 2011 – five years later it is very good to see it again. The food was very much the same, winning formula of clean and flavoursome ingredients which are not complicated. The cooking here is confident and respectful to the key parts to each dish – the sardines, as fresh as they come, had beautifully crisp and light skin with succulent meat with natural oils, lemon and subtle herbs to maximise the sardine flavour and not let that be overtaken.

I can’t quite believe the pictures of the crispy pig skin or bone marrow did not come out, however, the latter was better than I remember and when is it not nice to have pork scratching done to near perfection? The welsh rarebit was also better than I remembered and the butterscotch sauce with the bread and butter pudding was basically faultless. A superb meal again with a lovely pint of Trinity ale which is the other wonderful bonus of this bar, come bakery, come restaurant venue that, it uniquely even looks like a blend of all three and in its informality you can have a pint. A lovely lunch making me resolved to getting round to doing the other St John establishments whenever I can.

I can’t quite believe the pictures of the crispy pig skin or bone marrow did not come out, however, the latter was better than I remember and when is it not nice to have pork scratching done to near perfection? The welsh rarebit was also better than I remembered and the butterscotch sauce with the bread and butter pudding was basically faultless. A superb meal again with a lovely pint of Trinity ale which is the other wonderful bonus of this bar, come bakery, come restaurant venue that, it uniquely even looks like a blend of all three and in its informality you can have a pint. A lovely lunch making me resolved to getting round to doing the other St John establishments whenever I can.

In terms of the food, the bone marrow dish I had along with welsh rarebit was a simple delight and the addition of a bottle of Worcestershire sauce at the table to allow for individual taste added to the unpretentious nature of the establishment. It is, essentially a carnivore’s heaven and a good celebration would be for a pork-friendly group to have the whole suckling pig with all the trimmings as this would be wonderful dinner I am certain, based on the quality of the dishes I had and the style of the menu. All in all, a special place owing to its individuality and I definitely need to come back again to stretch the menu more.

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This is my first time to L’Ortolan and the headline is that based on this superb set menu performance, it is definitely worthy of more attention in the future. The three course set lunch included opening nibbles, an amuse bouche and a pre-dessert making it feel like a six course lunch but moreover, the flavours were in the main very pleasing. It is mainly suited for more notable occasions and the conservatory dining area is nice and light. This visit demonstrated one of the best Michelin starred set menu experiences that I have had on my travels for good value at the same time although the one area I thought it could improve was being a little more relaxed. Thoroughly recommended set menu lunch.

The opening snacks of sweet pepper macaroon and spoonful of tomato and celery were interesting and did their job of waking the senses up, but the incredibly light and crispy chicken skin with truffled mayonnaise sent my head spinning in to immediate happiness. So that wasn’t a bad start!

The opening snacks of sweet pepper macaroon and spoonful of tomato and celery were interesting and did their job of waking the senses up, but the incredibly light and crispy chicken skin with truffled mayonnaise sent my head spinning in to immediate happiness. So that wasn’t a bad start!

Goat’s milk is used for the butter and gave a cheesy quality with some nicely done bread including salted focaccia with rosemary (very good) and the amuse bouche of trout which I could be wrong on, seemed like it may be slightly away from the norm, was however, lovely at the same time with the dill, texture of the crispy skin and moisture from other components. Gloriously pickled beef tartare made this a very interesting version and the egg yolk shavings reminded me of how this is done in Bonhams. If there was one thing about this I would have preferred, it was to be slightly less minced as anymore and it would have been in danger of being like a paste and being more lumpy for me brings it out the ‘steakness’ more. The fermented cep that was sprinkled on in powder form at the table was stylish but in truth, I could not taste any of it with the power of the pickled vegetables so this turned out to be more for show.

The pork was wonderfully succulent (one of the most succulent I have had) and with hash brown and crackling and perfectly balanced pineapple chutney (not too acidic or overpowering) made this a delightful main. The only aspect of this that I didn’t enjoy was the skin on the stand alone piece of pork as this was quite chewy (almost rubbery) rather than the sheer perfection and crispiness of that experienced at say, Rogans. A small dent in an otherwise very enjoyable dish.

The white chocolate foam (with blueberry compote) pre-dessert was absolutely fine and the decoration and design of the peanut parfait, salted chocolate and cherry dessert was very pretty but I was worried that there were too many components on the plate to make it confusing. As it turned out, the most noticeable thing on trying, was that the parfait was hard to get through (the force needed made the spoon hit the plate at a seeming 100mph with a porcelain clang loud enough to make other diners jump) but also once all parts were on the spoon, they actually did go very well together – although a very busy plate, I thought this was overall exciting (wonderful mix of textures) and very nice on the taste buds.

So that was the food – a veritable thumbs up. Driving prevented any drinks but it was very good to see that you can actually have Puligny Montrachet by the glass for £20 and the service in general was very attentive. If there was one aspect I thought could be toned down slightly was the formality and the need for some staff to check the stance after every course and show noticeable desires for recognition when engaing in general. Although most probably well intended, this isn’t required and it will make the diner feel too prodded. In my experience, the pinnacle of service comes from being graceful, attentive and unobtrusive (best experiences for this by far have been Le Gavroche in London, Robuchon au Dome in Macau, Arzak in San Sebastian and floor manager at The Waterside Inn for example) but in the main, the first two of these attributes were very much seen at L’Ortolan.

Overall, this was a very strong performance from a kitchen in the top bracket of its 1 Michelin starred family. The value for money for this lunch and the return on flavour was actually superb and is highly fitting for a romantic treat or celebration occasion such is the layout of the venue. A great lunch here with plenty more to offer I have absoutely no doubt.

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This review is lengthy as I feel it necessary to explain in detail why this Michelin starred venue gains an unusually low food grade from myself. However, to cater for those in a hurry, the key summary upfront is as follows: there were definitely some good food moments here and the setting is one of the most beautiful I have every come across, but sadly the damage was quite severe early on in the meal via two courses and overall, it simply felt as if the designers were chiefly striving for creative effect than the flavour as their main priority. Regrettably, this needs obvious reversing in my opinion, in order to make the dining experience as lovely as the location. Looking back, I would have simply preferred to have a vat of their wonderful tortellini here for a fraction of the cost and ceremony of the tasting menu, and this would probably have caused a tidal wave of happiness in comparison. Sometimes trying too hard to impress in some ways simply does the opposite.

A holiday stroll through Burano led to an impromptu Michelin radius scan of the area and revealed this beautiful restaurant with rooms as an option. If this sort of restaurant existed in the UK, there is no way wondering folk would have been able to gain a seat in the sunny day that it was 10 minutes after making the phone call at 1pm. Thankfully, this is a sunshine island, an hour long journey by ferry from Venice, where there was no shortage of blue skies and this sort of venue simply exists easily. There is no doubt that globally, it is a decent find.

A holiday stroll through Burano led to an impromptu Michelin radius scan of the area and revealed this beautiful restaurant with rooms as an option. If this sort of restaurant existed in the UK, there is no way wondering folk would have been able to gain a seat in the sunny day that it was 10 minutes after making the phone call at 1pm. Thankfully, this is a sunshine island, an hour long journey by ferry from Venice, where there was no shortage of blue skies and this sort of venue simply exists easily. There is no doubt that globally, it is a decent find.

The manager introduced us to some interesting facts such as that the entire vineyard and restaurant is prone to flooding by the sea (sometimes several times a year), causing far more interesting results with the quality of the soil for the grapes and that their own Venissa wine always has gold leaves on the bottle as its trade mark symbol – clearly, this was going to be tried later as the dorona grapes themselves were growing only 30 metres away from us and this is the only place in the world this type of grape is used and produced. To begin however, a very tasty sparkling rosé (Rosévento) was enjoyed by all in the shade. It was also outlined that the four main chefs present were also given autonomy in style of cooking on their respective areas of the menu.

On to the food then and unfortunately this is where the picture became a little varied. The opening cod on skin bite and cheese puffs were fine but I was surprised at the lack of any butter or any olive oil or anything to go with the breads, which were passable. The first thing that came immediately to mind with the amuse bouche was how unsubstantial the components appeared. Never mind, maybe it tasted incredible? Sadly not, and the mousse of beetroot was almost gooey in texture and seemed odd to essentially have a sauce as an amuse bouche with other sauces and powdered herbs that simply did not taste of anything notable at all.

Next came another sticky mousse of squid ink to go with the raw langoustines. It pains me to say it, but this was actually awful to eat. The sludgy and squidgy texture of the fish, combined with far too much ink mousse on the plate for the quantities of fish with the added aroma that the dish had of a rock pool, made me glad to be at the end of finishing of what I could do on the plate. I couldn’t see any point of the vegetable powder either as this was simply drowned out by the squid ink anyway meaning the powdered addition was mainly for visual effect and not the mouth. If there is one dish I would say that needs to be removed from the menu it is this one.

The children present at the table were then given tomato pasta dishes and having been allowed a quick try, these could not get much more tomatoey, causing me at this stage to become a tad jealous. It was surprising to see a Michelin starred restaurant serve ketchup and mayonnaise in sachets for the potato chips, but thankfully honour was just about restored with my shrimp done two ways with a grapefruit sauce that was nicely done and thankfully did not smell like an aquarium as a junior restaurateur at the table had pretty accurately described the previous course.

My gnocchi and fennel (in place of the scallops) simmered at enjoyable but the star of the show clearly was the handmade tortellini with cheese asiago – without a shadow of doubt this was absolutely lovely. The turbot with sea snail sauce was also a good offering but the snag was that it was only just and because a huge dent in the meal had already taken place, these follow up dishes were recovering the situation rather than being able to shine.

The signature bottle of Venissa wine from 2012 was taken and this was described as a white grape, with the qualities of a red but being orange in colour (served warm). Sadly, the €140 that it was didn’t seem to give an equivalent return as the bitterness and main overtones of sherry were simply not hugely appealing on my palate or the others at the table and not would have been my first choice to go with this dish. However, unique to the core, and a no brainer to sample there.

Then finally the sweets, kicking off with a lovey pear pre-dessert and that made massive amends and although the mood at the table was mixed for the lemon biscuit dessert, I had no issues as the biscuit itself fell away nicely when cut in to (and did not cause the spoon to crash in to the porcelain at 100mph when something is that hard) and the flavour was original and at the end of the day, pleasantly sweet. Unfortunately, the petit fours seemed remarkably unimaginative compared with many others had – even a simple chocolate truffle or salted caramel sweet would have been better than a risky marzipan bite, glazed nuts and ‘ok’ mini chocolate cake.

With the exception of one waiter that sounded as if was trapped in slow motion, meaning I couldn’t make sense of anything he described at the table, the service was impeccable and we were looked after with extremely accommodating hospitality by the principle staff. The real shame of this meal however, was that for just under €900 for four adult tasting menus and two kid’s menus, the disappointment was high owing to a lack of sustained food-opera moments with a lasting impression for a need to reduce the importance of the style compared to the substance.

On a brighter note, the menu changes daily, so it could be that I simply caught the venue on a bad day. As the dishes change often (a bold move in itself), I would have no issues going back to retry, but with fingers crossed.

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Tucked away in the narrow streets of Venice is this restaurant barely big enough to have 20 covers and as such, two sittings through the evenings are required with a complete change over of diners for the whole restaurant at roughly 9pm. This was actually the main negative aspect as you are pretty much against the clock when dining here for that reason and the size of the venue meant that it will not be wholly suitable for those hard of hearing.

However, bad things out the way first because the bottom line with this lucky find I was shown, is that those minor negatives were hugely outweighed by the lightening of overall effect with some of the dishes had here. The soft shell crab which was cold with natural oily and balsamic goodness was frankly the best food moment of the whole trip. Such wonderful flavour and you know you have struck gold when you are sad there is simply no juice or sauce left on the plate to soak up with breads. The squid with supporting glaze and lemon was another triumph – so fresh, untampered and with perfect residue of the grill. The turbot was equally succulent and with its simple garlic butter sauce and light mushrooms was very pleasing. Molluscs prevented me from trying the spaghetti but the side of vegetables were done well and the chocolate cake dessert was nice and chocolatey but also not heavy at the same time. Strangely, I found the tiramisu the only part that was only ok (a little too much moisture in the sponge for my taste).

However, bad things out the way first because the bottom line with this lucky find I was shown, is that those minor negatives were hugely outweighed by the lightening of overall effect with some of the dishes had here. The soft shell crab which was cold with natural oily and balsamic goodness was frankly the best food moment of the whole trip. Such wonderful flavour and you know you have struck gold when you are sad there is simply no juice or sauce left on the plate to soak up with breads. The squid with supporting glaze and lemon was another triumph – so fresh, untampered and with perfect residue of the grill. The turbot was equally succulent and with its simple garlic butter sauce and light mushrooms was very pleasing. Molluscs prevented me from trying the spaghetti but the side of vegetables were done well and the chocolate cake dessert was nice and chocolatey but also not heavy at the same time. Strangely, I found the tiramisu the only part that was only ok (a little too much moisture in the sponge for my taste).

The beauty of this meal was its simplicity – the fish and natural ingredients really did the talking here and there were powerhouse moments as well to my delight, as these do not come every day, even at 3 Michelin starred venues. The venue is very small, but I actually liked the cosyness and this added to the warm atmosphere and this was a quality find in a similar fashion to discovering 22 Ships in Hong Kong.

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