Petrus branded as bland by critic Matthew Norman

The opening of the latest version of Petrus receives another drubbing in the weekend’s press with Matthew Norman of The Guardian describing both the room and the food as “bland”. 

He said that despite all the Michelin ponceries – “the fancy freebies, the absurdly lavish floral displays, the phalanx of nattily dressed tray-wielders approaching tables in battle formation” – the restaurant needs sharp improvement to merit even a single star.

Jasper Gerard of The Daily Telegraph finds a great local restaurant in The Vanilla Pod in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where Scottish-corm chef-proprietor Michael Macdonald is behind the stove.  Apart from a disappointing starter of onion and vanilla velouté, the rest of the meal is a hit with a string of successful dishes.

In The Independent, John Walsh describes the Tangerine Dream Café at Chelsea Physic Garden as “a lovely, peaceful setting for lunch”, despite the occasional overhead drone from airplanes. He enjoys the operation for its nice, relaxed way it serves a modest, small menu of quality dishes.

AA Gill of The Sunday Times is astounded that he is so bowled over by Terre à Terre, a vegetarian restaurant in Brighton. Despite it serving the kind of food he usually abhors – no meat or fish with dozens of competing ingredients, all fiddled and fussed with, everything done with a twist – he declares that the restaurant is exciting and fun and is held together with sound technique and a generous soul.

“This was a brilliant lunch, well worth the trip, and the parkin with oatmeal ice cream was one of the best puddings I’ve had all year,” he enthused.

For this review in full and more, see What’s on the menu? Visit Guide Girl for the latest gossip from the fine-dining world.

E-mail your comments to Janet Harmer here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next [bar/pub/restaurant/hotel] job here with Caterersearch.com jobs

Insert one of these links:

http://www.caterersearch.com/jobs/browse/bar.htm - Bar Jobs

http://www.caterersearch.com/jobs/browse/pub.htm - Pub Jobs

http://www.caterersearch.com/jobs/browse/restaurant.htm - Restaurant Jobs

http://www.caterersearch.com/jobs/browse/hotel.htm - Hotel Jobs