Restaurants

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…

We arrived at The Square following early drinks at the excellent Mr Fogg’s down the road – so our arrival was more on time than early on this occasion. We were shown to a nice, large table in the centre of the restaurant but somehow the early minutes felt a little strained and not very relaxed. Once our main waiter took over, the mood improved and we were able to fully enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of The Square.

All of the wines were chosen with the help of the Sommelier. I thought the first was excellent but it was clearly not to Annette’s taste and the Sommelier immediately disappeared returning with an alternative that was more to her taste – a nice touch.

We all chose the tasting menu ad it wasn’t long before we sampled some very nice canapés and the first course arrived.

The first Tomato dish was excellent for something so simple, though not quite as good as the one at The Ledbury. The eel dish was not a dish I was looking forward to but I was pleasantly surprised. The dish had a huge amount of flavour and not at all what I expected. I would have certainly had seconds. The same could be said and was said about the crab lasagne. This was a really nice dish and one of my all time favourites. Annette mentioned to the waiter that this was excellent but too small for something so nice. The waiter disappeared and returned with a second helping for all of us, another great touch. It was just as good the second time around. Next was the Foie Gras. I found this a really nice tasting dish but had a texture that I did not enjoy, almost ‘fatty’. Then came the main which was Lamb. I thought this was one of the better mains I have had and was as tasty and tender as you would expect.

Annette and I now went for our kitchen tour. I am always impressed by how organised and small these kitchens are. The chef showed us around with great enthusiasm and was obviously very proud of what they were doing.

Then dessert, The pick for me was the Textures of Mango which was delicious!

I have wanted to go to this restaurant for a while and it really did not disappoint. In fact it was head and shoulders above some far more well known restaurants. The food was great and matched by the ambiance and  the relaxed but professional staff. This is the favourite of my choices so far.

Link to restaurant

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…