Restaurants

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…

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…

After our last visit at a 2 star Michelin Restaurant that didn’t quite live up to our expectations, we decided this time to go to the top end and visit the 3 star Michelin Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, London chosen by Annette.

Again we tested the restaurant by turning up 10 minutes early – but this time it was a completely different experience. We got seated at our table immediately – but even before the waiter left our table we were offered a drink and 4 G&T were on their way. Literally you felt right from entering the front door that you were treated special and that this was going to be a lovely night.

The guys picked 3 courses from the A la carte menu, whereas Ingrid and I picked the 7 courses Prestige Menu. The Sommelier was top class – so when we asked for recommendations, he started with repeating the food we ordered and then recommended wines, which would go well with all dishes. When we said we didn’t want to spent too much on the white wine – he was also extremely sensible and didn’t recommend any wines that were over £50 – but still excellent of course.

The food was an amazing experience where we started with 4 different tasters from the chef before we got to the food we had ordered. Not only were the food extremely tasty but the whole presentation was amazing as well. At the same time the whole atmosphere at the table was great where the waiters were not too posh to not say a joke or make a laugh. Since Ingrid and I had 7 courses and the guys only 3 – the waiters always turned up with extra plates for the guys so they at least could taste a bit of our food as well. Also when we started the desserts – all 4 of us got the pre-dessert from the menu even if the guys have not ordered this – so a nice extra complimentary from the restaurant. The whole food experience finished with 2 extra tasters from the chef, which were to die for (strawberry ice cream with white chocolate and a small silver tree filled with dark chocolates).

The whole evening was just perfect and even if Mr Ramsay himself was not present you have to admire that he has found such a great team of people, who 100% live up to the experience you expect from a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. It is not going to be easy to beat this experience – so thanks a lot to Ramsay for making this such a special night.

Link to the restaurant…