Category Archive: Fine dining

White linen, silver service, but not in Mr Michelin's book

Review: The Small Holding, Kent

Well that was foolish. Go for a seven hour hike on a blazing hot day and then try to have an evening tasting menu at 8:30. Reader, I did very nearly fall asleep in my dessert. So I’m maybe not going to do The Small Holding justice, which is a shame because what I absolutely …

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Review: Chez Bruce, Wandsworth

So then I realised that I hadn’t been back to Chez Bruce since I started the blog, and that was twelve years ago. Which meant we finally got back here, to discover that it is still an effortlessly brilliant place to have a splendid meal in convivial surroundings. I could spend the rest of the …

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Review: Maison Rostang, Paris

We couldn’t have a trip to Paris without a Michelin-starred meal. Well… or perhaps we could. I’ve become a bit jaded about Michelin star cuisine in France; far too many provincial French restaurants who have been awarded a star for being able to put out a hit-and-miss menu of dishes ten years behind many great …

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Review: Mirazur, Menton, Cote d’Azur

The important question to answer: is a meal at Mirazur worth 380 euros per head? That’s just the menu, no drinks. Although this being France, the wine list had options all the way down to 60 euros! Anyway, the answer is “no” by any objective measure. I’ve enjoyed two or three tasting menus every bit …

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Review: The Loch & The Tyne, Old Windsor

The signature dish at The Loch & The Tyne, Adam Handling’s big rambling dining pub in Old Windsor, is a starter called ‘Mother’. It’s a splendidly savoury dish of thin slices of baked celeriac formed into a package around a creamy-gooey interior that includes the warm earthy flavour of truffle, the odd zing of apple …

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