The Times

6 November
Giles Coren enjoys a memorable lunch at Mirabelle in the Grand hotel, Eastbourne

The cooking, it is fair to say, is "grand" in the same sense as the hotel. My chicken had been stuffed with smoked salmon, which is not something you'll see tried very often in London these days, but it was not done badly. Then there was a prawn and mushroom sauce on it. Sauces are another thing one doesn't see that often in town any more.

But if these throwbacks were unusual, then the new sommelier was a genuine first for me. He arrived at our table with the gold grape brooch and the big silver tasting spoon on a chain round his neck. When he had opened my bottle of Chablis, he actually poured some of it out into the spoon and drank it. Like Cleopatra's official blooming taster. (Three-course lunch menu, four choices per course, £19. Score 6.67 out of 10)


The Independent

6 November
Richard Johnson isn't taken with the menu at new Cuban restaurant Floridita, London W1

Cuban cuisine has been influenced by Spanish, French, African, Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese cultures. And I always find it starchy, propped up as it is by boring root vegetables. Floridita has tried its darnedest to take our preconceptions into consideration, with fish and chargrilled meat, but the overall impression of the menu was still rather heavy.

The head waiter came over, desperate to push the spit-roast suckling pig (£17.50). We had all but made up our minds to have it when he saw fit to mention that the suckling pig was slaughtered when it was only three weeks old.

We went for the chilled lobster salad (£12.75) instead. It came with mojo - or marinade. All I can say is, the mojo wasn't working. (Dinner only, about £30 for three courses. Rating: food, two stars)


The Scotsman

6 November
Gillian Glover samples the flavours of southern India at the NINE CELLARS restaurant and bar, York Place, Edinburgh

This is a southern Indian restaurant with a waiter from Goa who told us that the chef was a unique treasure - a man who understood the very soul of Indian cuisine.

The starters we ordered were very good indeed: chicken shikumpuri (£3.50), a sort of plump kebab stuffed with eggs and nuts; plus ajawaini jhinga (3.90), big, bruising prawns marinated with lime juice and then deep-fried. We then ordered the Goan fish curry, an extra-mild lamb dish and a pork vindaloo, for research purposes (all priced at £6.50). A potato-stuffed paratha (£2.50) and a side order of bhindi jaipuri (£3.90) completed our extravagance. (Dinner for two, £26.80 excluding drinks)



The Sunday Telegraph

7 November
Matthew Norman is not impressed with the fare at WHITS, London W8

"Oh dear," was my friend's opening remark, "this place has train-wreck written all over it." The owners have created an ambience that marries late-1970s provincial wine-bar dreariness with mid-1990s New Age affectation.

The mild shame about this is that the cooking is competent, and would be better if they didn't bombard the dishes with ingredients. Smoked duck is an opinionated meat, and a terrine of foie gras is no shrinking violet either, so harnessing the pair in a salad - along with French beans and artichoke - was always likely to elicit a "Yes, well... mmm, I feel it's trying too hard." (Dinner for one, £36.25 with coffee and half-a-bottle of house wine)