The Times
16 October
Giles Coren is pleasantly surprised by theatre/bar/restaurant, the Menier Chocolate Factory, London SE1
The factory salad contained no nuts and bolts or smoking chimneys, but rather some decent goats' cheese and leaves; the prawn, peas, lemon and sorrel risotto was perfectly made, light for its generous size with a devilish, green jus twinkling, moat-like, round its edge. It was rammed with small, cheap, nutty prawns and had three fat frilled ones on top.
Best of all was the monkfish, a dreary beast if not cooked right on the button. The tail was wrapped properly in the meat so that when seven medallions were sliced from it they remained intact and they were tender and fleshy. (Rating 6/10. £30 for three courses without wine)
Timeout
19 October
Guy Dimond at gastropub the Pig's Ear, Chelsea, London
Another starter of smoked eel was set on potato fondant which contained enough butter for several remakes of Last Tango in Paris, but then that's probably why it tasted so good. The eel was both smoked and "caramelised" (that much-abused term), which was perhaps a process too far, and so was outshone by the accompanying beetroot relish.
The Pig's Ear combines what's best about French and British eating out by serving good bistro food in a lovely pub. It is a wonderful miscegenation of eras and cultures that would have a UKIP politician spluttering into his G&T. If this is yet another example of continental decadence creeping into British culture, then I think we need more of it. (Meal for two with wine and service, about £70)
The Sunday Times
17 October
AA Gill goes back to chain restaurant the Gaucho Grill, which has a new American consultant chef and menu
The menu is more sophisticated than I remember it, although the starters - raw Ecuadorean king prawns with popcorn; oysters baked in horseradish - are exciting rather than appetising. We tried a trio of ceviche, the oysters and a palmito salad, which came with dates, avocado, onion, almonds and coconut milk, but tasted of nothing very much. The overall sense was of roll-out corporate catering designed for maximum added value with minimum required skill. (Rating: two stars out of five)
The Guardian
16 October
Victor Lewis-Smith is overwhelmed by the soup at Number One, Edinburgh
Who gets excited by soup? Well, we did. The love of my life had the "anaemic rhubarb" soup (or celery, if you prefer the wording on the menu) and thought the Stilton beignets worked well as an accompaniment (I tasted and concurred). My cream of onion soup with ham hough and truffle oil was equally sublime, with the meat encased within a single raviolo and floating on a pea-green coloured broth, surrounded by shreds of onion, and perhaps celeriac too. The chef may be Bland (Jeff Bland), but his cooking is far from it. (Meal for two with wine, £63.35)
The Oberver
17 October
Jay Rayner is unconvinced by his British roast dinners down at Throgmortons, London EC2
Why, in God's name, can a kitchen like this not roast a potato? It's not rocket science. Come round to my house and I'll show them how to do it. Here, they are huge, floury creatures of tough skin and no flavour. Ditto the dry, roast chicken, the undercooked root vegetables and the pallid excuse for gravy. It's a repeat performance with the roast beef. Grand, it's served pink, but it's tasteless and sinewy: the same dismal potatoes, over-boiled vegetables and gravy - and a Yorkshire pudding that tastes as if it were made in advance and reheated. (Meal for two including wine and service, £75)