The Times
19 June
Giles Coren goes for a graze at 1880 at the Bentley hotel, London
[Executive chef Andrew Turner] offers "grazing menus"... I had the niner, which, with a frog-leg amuse-bouche and eventual petits fours, came to 11 in the end. It began, amphibious amputations aside, with a clam soup aux pistou... which was a bit of a damp squib, a fishy consomm‚ with cubed vegetables. Exquisite gravadlax rolled around a cylinder of potato salad was a highlight, as was a fat slab of foie gras, which glistened dark gold from the pan but wobbled with a lovely rareness. (Score: 7.33)
The Guardian
19 June
Matthew Fort is impressed by two neighbours in Clerkenwell, London - Medcalf and Zetter
They share a similar care for their food. At Medcalf, it is a bit gutsier, more French in its accents... Zetter, on the other hand, speaks in the olive-and-garlic argot of the Mediterranean. Set course against course - clams with white wine, chilli and garlic from Zetter versus soused herrings with crŠme fraŒche at Medcalf; or grilled squab pigeon with juniper, marjoram and roasted butternut squash versus grilled ox tongue with mash and herb sauce - and you see what I mean.
The Independent
19 June
Tracey MacLeod is wowed by a biodynamic salad at Due South, Brighton
Herbs and salad leaves are supplied by the chap who tends their pot plants. And he is part of a collective of biodynamic gardners, who plant and harvest at certain times of the day and phases of the moon... I know it sounds like a load of old guff - but hey, you should have tasted that salad... From the specials, a deceptively subtle pea and broad bean risotto gradually won us round to the gentle charms of the lovage pesto which flavoured it.
The Daily Telegraph
19 June
Jan Moir is blown away at Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, London
Our dinner kicks off as it means to go on, in an explosion of spices and herbs. The tender lamb chops are luxuriously marinated before their brief incineration in the tandoor, and the chilled raita acts as a minty plunge pool for the sweet heat of their flavour... Another starter features chicken three ways - most daringly as a black spiced chicken tikka that achieves its glossy darkness and depth of flavour by the liberal application of squid ink. How can that possibly work? I think to myself. But the strange thing is it does and, as India's answer to surf and turf, it has no peer. (Dinner for two, excluding drinks and service, £76)
The Observer
20 June
Will Buckley is pleased to find food from the land of the rising sun in deepest East Anglia, at Momiji in Harleston, Norfolk
You can eat cheaply and well at Momiji without so much as a glance at a raw fish... On our visit, the indecisive men went for the set menu at £21.50 per person. This is as enticing as it is comprehensive. I particularly enjoyed the pork gyouza (pan-fried, handmade stuffed dumplings) and the Japanese-style steak, sourced from an excellent local butcher and served with a semi-sweet sauce. (Dinner for two, including wine, £50-£60)