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Restaurants

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Have you also been visiting one of the restaurants that "The Michelin Club" have been to - then we would love to hear your comments and whether you agree or disagree with our view.

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, visited 23/04-2016

3 Michelin Stars, Modern French Posted on Mon, May 23, 2016 20:36:16

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The 4th choice by Annette was restaurant Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. It was nearly 3 years since we last went to a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars – so thought it was time to add the 3rd one of these to our list. Also the restaurant was extremely helpful with the booking process – since I was travelling in Africa when the tables got released – but we managed to handle it all over email – so I didn’t miss out despite being away.

We started at The Bar at The Dorchester and for once we were really early so had good time to enjoy a few nice cocktails before dinner. When we were ready we got taken with the remain of our drinks to the restaurant where the first impression was that this was both elegant and spacious.

Tonight we had the choice between the Tasting menu or to choose 3 or 4 courses from the A la Carte menu. Here I think you see the difference between a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars and the ones with 2 or less – because the restaurant was totally flexible. We did not have to pick the same and if we wanted to change anything on the Tasting menu that was possible as well. Ingrid and I therefore went for the Tasting menu but both of us changed the fruity dessert with something more for the sweet tooth. The guys decided to do 4 courses from the A la Carte menu + the cheese dish.

The Sommelier helped us to pick some good wines and I got persuaded to try a French white, which actually grew on me and an Austrian red, which I found really interesting. Not sure I have ever tried an Austrian red before.

Before getting any of our food – they came out with a big bowl of some small delicious bread rolls. They were actually so good that we could not stop eating them – so the only minus was that we felt slightly full even before starting the dinner. However the dinner was really nice and I actually enjoyed most of the courses except that for the lobster dish both Ingrid and I thought the pasta was slightly under-cooked. I have no doubt it was cooked to perfection – but we liked it slightly softer – so told the head waiter and he got the chef to over-cook the pasta for us – the way we liked it :-).

Both Ingrid and Carlos got the BABA for dessert and when I saw they brought in the Rum tray and asked them to smell all the rums to decide which one they wanted for the BABA – I did get slightly jealous. However when I pointed out to the Head waiter that I would have loved one of the rums as a shot for my dessert – he of course sorted that our immediately without any extra charge – so a very nice touch.

For the first time Ingrid joined Carlos and I for the kitchen tour and we all 3 enjoyed meeting the team and get to talk to the Executive Chef Jean-Philippe Blondet. He of course knew we were the ones who sent his pasta out – but he did laugh and was still treating us nicely :-).

In the end of the night we got treated to both chocolates and macaroons but we were so full at that point that we got them to wrap most of it up for us. When we left the restaurant they also treated the ladies to a small box with some nice Chamonix cakes – so definitely has something for the sweet tooth the following day as well.

It was the most expensive bill so far – but for me the service really stood out and I think we all had a really good night. I have only got one minus, which have been the same for all the Michelin restaurants in the big hotels, and that is the toilets. First of all they are far away from the restaurant – but also you share them with all the other guests in the hotel – so slightly disappointing. Otherwise I was very pleased with my choice.

Link to the restaurant…



Pollen Street Social, visited 12/12-2015

1 Michelin Star, Modern British Posted on Sat, March 05, 2016 17:31:19

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The 4th choice by Ingrid was the 1 Michelin star restaurant Pollen Street Social and for the first time we got to go out in the nice Christmas month of  December.

Unfortunately that also meant that the traffic into London was quite bad so Ingrid, Manual and Carlos just arrived before our booking time and had to rush a bit with a cocktail before dinner whereas I had proper time to enjoy mine. However the cocktails were really nice but the bar area right by the entrance was quite small and with a lot of activity around us – so not that relaxed and we were pleased when taken to the table.

We got seated at a square table in the middle of the restaurant which was quite nice and the restaurant was also lovely decorated for Christmas so had a nice atmosphere. There was also a chair for the ladies bags – which we loved.

The first impression of the Sommelier we got introduced to was really bad. He seemed scared of actually making some suggestions for us and more or less left it to ourselves to pick the wines, which we were not impressed by. The white wine we chose was fine but when we got to the red – we had to send it out since it was not to our taste at all and for me it tasted like it was corked. At that point the Head Sommelier – a lovely Polish girl – came to our table and offered to take care of us for the rest of the evening. She showed a completely difference experience with the wines and with her enthusiasm we trusted her completely – so she managed to change a bad start to a really great wine experience.

We all 4 went for the 5 courses Tasting menu since the additional dishes on the bigger menu didn’t really appeal to us. However as always we added the additional cheese board, which turned out to be a great decision – since the cheese choices were really impressive. Overall the food was nice and we also got some nice tasters both before and after dinner but of all the dishes I think the cheese board stood out the most – so nothing exceptional about the other dishes.

In the end of the evening Carlos and I did our usual kitchen tour, where we got to see quite an impressive kitchen and speak to the Head chef while he was still preparing food – so a really nice touch.

Based on that we changed the Sommelier after the white wine and got the Head Sommelier to sort out all the remaining wines for us – we had really no idea how much the bill was going to be at the end but got such a lovely surprise. Ended up that we only paid for the 1st white wine, which we drank before the Head Sommelier took over. Everything else she served us was on the house – since she didn’t want us to leave with a bad experience. A really lovely touch and definitely the one thing that stood out and that we would never forget – so finished the evening on a high. Also meant that we jumped straight in a taxi and continued the night at The Churchill Bar (that we got to know last time) with some great whiskies and cigars.

Link to the restaurant…



Texture, visited 12/09-2015

1 Michelin Star, Modern French/Nordic Posted on Sat, December 12, 2015 14:36:07

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The 3rd choice by Manual was the 1 Michelin star restaurant Texture. An interesting choice where we for the first time tried a Nordic chef.

We started the evening in the front of the restaurant where they have a nice bar area. I was there slightly early and the waiter immediately came and offered me a glass of champagne. I nearly asked him whether he previously worked for Marcus Wareing :-), where they are also very quick to offer you champagne. However based on what we got charged at Marcus for the champagne – I kindly said no and asked for the cocktail menu instead.

We enjoyed a few nice cocktails before getting seated in the restaurant where we unfortunately didn’t get a great table. We were kind of squeezed into the corner – so it was not easy for the waiters to serve every person properly and we could definitely have done with some more space around us.

We all 4 went for the 7 courses Tasting menu and added the additional cheese board to that. For the first time ever we also tried the menu with the matching Prestige Wine paring. The most outstanding dish for me was the Warm Smoked Eel, which I absolutely loved. However being Scandinavian myself – eel has always been one of my favorite dishes and this one was just perfect. It was probably also the most Scandinavian inspired dish. However turned out that the wine matching was a mistake. Did not feel like we had enough wine for each dish and had to order extra to not sit with empty glasses all the time. However at least we now know and won’t do that again.

In the end of the evening Carlos and I did our usual kitchen tour, which was quite quick but still interesting to see.

The restaurant finished the evening with serving us cakes, macarons, chocolates and coffees on the house and the ladies got a small box with Icelandic Lava Salt when we left the restaurant. A nice touch and finish to the evening and despite a few hick-ups we still all enjoyed the experience very much. However the best part was when the waiter in the end recommend the perfect cigar place, which turned out to be just opposite the road. We therefore all continued the night at The Churchill Bar with some great whiskies and cigars.

Link to the restaurant…



DINNER by heston blumenthal, visited 10/01-2015

2 Michelin Stars, British Posted on Wed, February 18, 2015 16:46:14

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The 3rd choice by Annette in the Michelin Club was the 2 Star Michelin restaurant DINNER by heston blumenthal – since I really wanted to see what Mr Blumenthal is all about even though I am well aware that this is a very different restaurant to the Fat Duck.

DINNER is part of the exclusive Mandarin Oriental Hotel and we therefore started the evening at the next door Mandarin Bar, where we had some very nice cocktails. Got a bit surprised when we realized in the end of the evening that we had paid more for a normal Gin & Tonic than any of the cocktails (which were not cheap either) but except for that it was a nice start to the evening. Waited a little bit to get picked up for our table – but were pleased with the location we got in the restaurant and the spacious round table, which made the evening comfortable.

For the first time in ages we got to pick the food from a A La Carte menu, so that was nice for a change but of course made the choice a bit more difficult. The menu was quite interesting in the way that all dishes were related to a specific century and there was an explanation to the sources of origin at the back of the menu. One of their signature dishes is the ‘Meat Fruit’ starter, which both Carlos and I went for and which was a true delight. Beautiful served like a mandarin with a delicious chicken liver & foie gras parfait. Unfortunately Ingrid was less lucky with her ‘Hay Smoked Mackerel’, which was not to her taste palette at all. In fairness to the restaurant we didn’t pay for the Mackerel in the end – so thought that was reasonable managed by them. We all had 4 different main courses, which were all nice but nothing outstanding. For dessert we probably made the mistake of not going for their other signature dish the ‘Tipsy Cake’, which was highly recommended by the waiter, but had to be ordered from the beginning because of the long preparation time, which put us off a bit. Again the cheese board and our desserts were nice – but we were missing the same WOW factor, which we got from the ‘Meat Fruit’ starter.

The service was nice and discrete but was missing the final attention to details, which we have found at other 2 star Michelin restaurants.

Carlos and I also had the usual kitchen tour, which we got before the desserts were served and therefore still saw the kitchen in full action. Here we got a proper explanation about their signature dishes and how they were made and also got to know about the different functions in the kitchen. Even though the kitchen is fully visible through a glass wall from the restaurant – we both still found the kitchen tour really interesting.

Overall everyone had a really nice evening and the atmosphere in the restaurant was nice and exclusive.

Link to the restaurant..



L’Ortolan, visited 10/05-2014

1 Michelin Star, French Posted on Wed, February 18, 2015 15:36:47

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The 3rd choice by Ingrid in the Michelin Club ended up with the 1 Star Michelin restaurant L’Ortolan in Reading since Ingrid’s 1st choice was not available.

Was the first time we went to a 1 star Michelin restaurant so was quite  curious to see whether the standard would be a lot lower than we are used to. The first impression was really great since the restaurant is based in some beautiful surroundings in the country side. They also have a lovely bar area where we started the evening with some nice drinks and where they furthermore served us some different tasters to get us ready for  dinner.

The food choice was easy since they offer the option of a Surprise menu, which we all thought was great and a bit exciting not knowing what you are going to eat. Ended up we got 10 courses each and only one of them really failed – since for the first time we got a course that none of us liked (something with goat cheese and beetroot). However as soon as we mentioned it to our waiter – they were very quick to replace the course with something different – so no complain here really the service was excellent. The highlight for me of the 10 courses were really the desserts – they were just beautifully served and tasted all really delicious.

We also had a really great Sommelier, who had a huge knowledge of the wines and gave us some excellent suggestions matching for us the unknown courses. Annette and Carl furthermore did the usual kitchen tour where we met the excellent staff behind the scene and got a chance to compliment their work.

To be honest this restaurant has only got 1 Michelin star but in many ways it easily lives up to several of the 2 Michelin stars restaurants we have visited previously. Ended up being an excellent evening enjoyed by all of us, which started and finished in the lovely bar area.

Link to the restaurant…



The Ledbury, visited 22/06-2013

2 Michelin Stars, Modern French Posted on Fri, September 13, 2013 14:04:01

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The 2nd choice by Annette in the Michelin Club ended up with 2 Star Michelin restaurant The Ledbury in Notting Hill, London.

After being quite successful for a while with turning up early at the restaurants – we this time got a bit unlucky. Literally walked into a staff meeting that for some reason was held in the restaurant just 10 minutes before our reservation – so didn’t seem quite right. At least the woman at the door had time to seat us and provide us with the menu – but had to wait for the staff meeting to finish before we were offered a drink. Didn’t took long – but still not quite what we expected.

We all 4 went for the Tasting Menu with 9 courses, which actually looked a bit better than the one they had advertised on the internet. The real highlight was however the Sommelier, who was extremely knowledgeable and not only took his time to find the right wines for us – but who was also able to tell us the stories from the regions were the wine were from – so a great experience and probably the best Sommelier we have met so far. Furthermore the taste of the wines were brilliant and went really well with the food.

The food experience was a bit mixed and not all the members of the Michelin club were happy with all the dishes. However the main Pork dish was excellent and we all agreed that this was some of the best Pork we have ever tasted. Unfortunately the service slightly failed – since for the first time the waiters didn’t seem to pay attention to whether everyone were seated at the table when the food came and twice a dish was served when someone was at the toilet – so seemed a bit unprofessional.

The kitchen tour was really nice and we came down when they were still quite busy. However the main chef still took his time to talk to us and actually showed and explained how they cooked the amazing pork. Overall a very nice evening.

Link to the restaurant…



Le Gavroche, visited 2/2-2013

2 Michelin Stars, French Posted on Thu, September 12, 2013 15:05:39

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In the beginning of 2013 we started the 2nd round in the Michelin Club, so took Ingrid a while to decide on her 2nd choice, but finally we ended up with the 2 Star Michelin restaurant Le Gavroche in Mayfair, London.

The restaurant is located in the basement but have a nice bar at the ground floor, so when we turned up early – they seated us in the bar area, where we got a drink before going downstairs to the table. Was nice to try the bar area – so the early bird experience worked out very well.

We all 4 went for the Menu Exceptionnel with 9 courses, which looked really interesting. The Sommelier was also this time helping out with the wines – even though he was holding a bit back and seemed a bit unsure about his recommendations.

The food was a lovely experience and particularly the cheese dishes, where we started of with a beautiful Cheese Souffle and later on also got some excellent selections of French and British Farmhouse Cheeses. The service at the table was also very good – however it was at bit stiff and we were missing some of the usual interaction with the staff. When Ingrid booked the table she was told – that because we had an early seating – we would have to leave the table after 3 hours. Luckily they didn’t stick to that – since that would have been a very rushed evening and not enjoyable with all the food and wine.

We also got a tour of the kitchen this time – but because we were eating a lot earlier we actually saw the kitchen when they were really busy and in full action, which was really nice. Overall a very nice evening.

Link to the restaurant…



Hibiscus, visited 22/9-2012

2 Michelin Stars, French Posted on Mon, September 09, 2013 21:26:41

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The 4th restaurant in the Michelin Club, where we went to the 2 Star Michelin restaurant Hibiscus in Mayfair, London chosen by Manuel.

The restaurant handled our early appearance very well – seated us right away and immediately took the drink order – so 4 x G&T were on their way. A really good first impression.

The menu here was a very different experience – because you literally got a list of ingredients, where you had to exclude anything you were allergic to or anything you really disliked – but otherwise you just told the waiter whether you wanted 3, 6 or 9 courses and then it was up to the chef. Manual had to exclude some fish he is allergic to and Carlos and Annette excluded beetroot as something we disliked – but other than that we went for the rest. All 4 of us also picked the 9 courses of course and then we could just sit back and wait with excitement. This time the Sommelier was back to the usual high standard and he had no problem recommending some good wines outside the French region. However for the dessert wine, we ended up going French since he was so convincing and picked an excellent choice, where only 12 bottles are made every year and which was perfect for the desserts we got. However based on the price – we only had 1/2 bottle.

The whole food experience was really exciting and they mixed some things together that we would never have thought of, but which really worked and showed us some new and interesting taste. Most of the courses were absolutely top class and really enjoyed that all the dishes were a surprise. The service at the restaurant was also very professional but at the same time they kept the atmosphere down to earth so we could also have a laugh.

In the end of the evening we also had a really nice tour of the kitchen, where we spoke to the staff and could really appreciate all the hard work they put into all the food. When we left the restaurant the ladies got a bag of bread to take home – but even better – in the bag was also a letter showing all the food we had eaten that night – so were very pleased by that. Very nice evening so can only highly recommend a visit to Hibiscus.

Link to the restaurant…



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