Best restaurant experience in London
 

Can anyone suggest a restaurant where the overall experience was nothing short of phenomenal/stellar? Thanks

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. It needs booking about a month ahead and is closed weekends, see www.gordonramsay.com for sample menus and prices.

Well fluffykitty my dear, assuming you're gonna get lucky and get that waxing done and you'll return with just "kitty"....

Gordon Ramsay bores me now, his food is ever so slowly going out of vogue, hopefully along with him, a man who can't stick to any principles - "I'll never do reality TV" and what does he do... no need to say anymore!

If you want an exceptional experience The Fat Duck in Bray (just outside of London) is phenomenal, and the most innovative cuisine available.

Thanks:)

the most amazing restaurant experience i've had in london was upstairs at sketch (conduit street). they call the upstairs the "lecture room" and the downstairs the "gallery." upstairs is definitely the better option. food, atomosphere, and service were unparallelled.

Thanks Victoria :)

Here are two articles regarding London restaurants by the New York Times (which is an excellent source of news about London).

http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/trave...5AC0A9659C8B63

nytimes.com/mem/travel/article-page.html?res=9A06EFD7103BF934A25753C1A9629C8B63

The review for the River Café and the Fat Duck alas requires payment.

We went to Rules (I think that's the name) in London last year and loved it so much that we returned a few nights later. It's near the theater district, so after dinner you can walk to a show.

Another vote for Gordon Ramsay - here's a write-up I did for a local foodie website :-http://www.discoverthetaste.com/reviews/archive/june_04.htm

Next in my sights is the Waterside Inn, also at Bray (they have nice looking rooms too) - www.waterside-inn.co.uk.

Caroline - do the Fat Duck at Bray before the Waterside Inn. I've never eaten food like it (Bacon and Egg ice cream, for instance...).

Fluffykitty, if you're getting confused here, Bray is a picturesque village near Maidenhead, a 30 min train ride from London, that inexplicably hosts 2 of the best restaurants in England. Hence the chatter amongst the Brits.

But I'm guessing you want London. Gordon Ramsey (make sure you go to his main restaurant in Chelsea) is consistently voted London's top gastronomic experience.

Sketch gets terrible reviews, mainly for ripping people off.

Is there a particular cuisine you'd like to try? There's so much choice at the top end.

MK2 and Kate : Have either of you eaten at the Fat Duck ? What was your dining experience like and how was the service ? I've read much on the place, the menu and the chef and expect that the atmosphere is suitable professional without being snooty. I'm hoping to take a few people there for a small celebration while in England next year and just wanted to hear someone's first hand experience.
Also any news on whether he's opened the pub across from the Duck ?

Fluffy : Another vote for the River Cafe. I lunched there in 2001 and very much enjoyed it. It fully met my expectation.
Don't know if they are still there but Ruth Rogers and Rose Grey (hope I have the names right) are great chefs for simple, and not so simple, well prepared food.

As we're moving to Maidenhead shortly (furniture delivered to our home there yesterday), we'll be trying out the Fat Duck in the near future...will post a report. I like modern cuisine although I'm a little skeptical about something that far "out there."
The nicest meal our London friends had (relatively) recently was at Petrus and that restaurant is also on our list. AAFrequentFlyer recommended Baltic and Baltic Wodka, so we'll be fitting those in too.

Hello and thank you very much everyone. I am planning my itinerary and adding lots of new stuff from you guys.

Hello Kate- I prefer upper-mid to upscale restaurants, especially Indian and Thai, and other Asian ones(other than chinese). I'd like to try other types of cuisine as long as they are noted to be outstanding.

:)

The Fat Duck gets my vote - I went there in September and it was faultless!

Fluffykitty, you might want to try Zaika for unusual and pretty upscale (but not through the roof) Indian. It's in a converted bank, so the decor is very interesting. I would regard Gordon Ramsey, and the others mentioned here all as upscale (but then you did ask for "phenomenal/stella".

A great place to research is Hardens.com Register for free and search hundreds of restaurants. Look for any restaurant that has a 112, 121 211 rating to get the best (these all rank food, service and atmosphere very reliably. They never give a 111 rating). They'll give you a guide price per person and you can search by cuisine types. As there's so many choices in London, you may want to look some up on Hardens, then come back to us with you list and we'll comment from there.

Mathieu, you're bang on about the atmosphere at the Fat Duck. Smart but not TOO stuffy. The menu sounds distinctly weird, but the food is really spectacular (yes, even the bacon and egg ice cream). Service is excellent, as you would expect, without being overbearing (although I still think Gordon Ramsey takes the prize for friendliest, unstuffy waiters).

BTIlke: Petrus is part of the mighty Gordon Ramsey empire, and is indeed very good. Well worth it.

Kate, I'm hoping to do the Fat Duck as well as the Waterside Inn :-) Also to stay at Oakley Court - well, OK, it's my hubby who really wants to stay there, due to it's having been used in Hammer horror films :-) Have you been there ?

BTilke : I had the idea Petrus had closed down ? In any case, why go to a Ramsay diffusion restaurant if you can go to the real thing ? I even got a kiss from the man himself :-)

Got back from London last month. We had a nice meal at Gay Husar's (Hungarian restaurant), and one at Bentley's. Never have been so disappointed and spent so much $$$ as I did at Zafferano's. Big mistake.

caroline, good for you. Hope your wallet and waistline recover!

Petrus is still alive - it's just moved to the Berkeley Hotel (a much better venue - the one on St James Street was a little bland). Anyway, it's still great, and just as worth going to as Gordon Ramsey.

But I can't believe you got to meet him. I finally got to go a few months ago, only to discover that the night I went he was live on telly doing Hell's Kitchen. Typical!

Read all about it here: http://www.gordonramsay.com/site/

Excellent, Kate, Thank you.
I'm really looking forward to it now.

Kate : I get the impression that GR doesn't actually cook any longer at either of his main restaurants, but just pops in to keep an eye on things. We were sitting in the small bar area having our coffee & choccies when he came in (in whites) & disappeared into the kitchen : I'd just asked the manager if we could have a copy of the menu, & the next thing was the great man himself came over with the menu, asking to whom he should sign it, with a kiss for me & a handshake for my hubby ! I went all weak at the knees :-)

flyffykitty, if you like Asian food, perhaps consider Nobu. It's a fabulous experience; extraordinary food, and great people-watching too. Very friendly staff too.

I imagine we'll try a GR restaurant, but I'm afraid I won't be that impressed by the man himself, having seen him skewered on too many Dead Ringers skits :-)

fluffykitty,
We have eaten in great restauants and many have disappointed us (Daniel in NY for one). Gordon Ramsay's did not disappoint. Creative, imaginative food and graciously friendly service. Outrageously expensive - yes. Worth it? - Yes!

One suggestion, lunch can be as enjoyable as dinner and will cost slightly less and may be easier to book. They will take fax reservations so you don't have to call at 3:00AM, one month prior (as I did).

Go for it!

JoeG

Hello Joe. Thanks for your suggestions. I will give it a try when there :)

Kate- Thanks for the link. Will check it and ask again later

Tulips- I did try Nobu on my first and only London visit, back in December of '98 and it was a really cool experience. I'm not big on Sushi (burned out years ago), but the sweet, fruity Sake and the big exotic fruit dish were two really standout items :)

Thanks to each of you who left me links or suggestions:)

We stayed at Oakley Court one night when we had an early morning flight out of Heathrow. It was nice to sit in the gardens and have drinks and watch the boats float by on the river.

Thanks PMB :)

Thanks too PMB - glad to hear Oakley Court is nice.

fluffykitty..you mentioned you like Thai food and upscale. There is a restaurant in London ( not sure where )called Nam.The chef is David Thompson who is from my home town ( Sydney, Australia). He had an upmarket Thai restaurant here called Darley Street Thai which was a sensation. Since moving to London his restaurant quickly gained three stars (I think) and has set the town talking. It won't be cheap but if it is anything like his Sydney one , you will taste Thai as you never have before! Enjoy!

Peteralan- Wow. Thanks for giving me the heads up here. I really am not into going to a "farang"-owned Thai restaurant, but if it gets good reviews I'm there! Thanks again:)

Yes fluffy, it is farang owned but he lived in Thailand and studied Thai cuisine and learned from an old Thai woman who had been previously employed by the Thai royal family.His cooking is Thai with a Western twist I'll admit but with style.My Thai friend who is also a chef says Thompson's cooking is not authentic Thai altogether but was impressed at the adaption! My taste buds are twitching so I will leave off! Cheers!

Peter- I saw the write up for Nahm in Zagat and it was quite good and pricey.
Twitching tastebuds? I'm there :)Thanks again.

Great..hope you enjoy it. Let us know if it lives up to the hype !