What's on the Menu? – A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews

28 September 2009 by
What's on the Menu? – A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews

The Daily Telegraph, 26 September
Jasper Gerard is delighted to find a restaurant as good as the Mulberry Tree in Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, a county not generally known for its cooking

It's tricky to find, but then we've spent years looking for a decent restaurant in these parts. Anyone who now considers Kent suburban should embark on an expedition in search of the Mulberry Tree. We snake down lanes narrower than pinstripes, past orchards and thatched farms, finally falling over a steep hill and into the Weald… In homage to the credit crunch I announce that Diana has chosen the set lunch. And what value: £12.95 for two courses, £15.95 for three. In case there isn't much of it, I fatten the old girl up on delicious bread, made with flour from a nearby mill. But she is spoilt with her starter, a generous confit of Gressingham duck leg on enough spinach for Popeye. The chunky duck is topped with mushrooms and plump raisins, giving a shot of sweetness. The pernickety might say the duck needs more jus as it is a smidgen dry, but this is a tummy-stroking starter for a set lunch. (Three course lunch for two, including wine, £59).

The Guardian, 26 September
Matthew Norman wonders whether More in London SE1 is a one-off labour of love or the latest concept from Theo Kyriakou that will eventually morph into a chain

The room is bustling, unpretentious and full of fun, and so, albeit a touch patchy, is the cooking. My friend kicked off with one of those veggie pasta dishes we vulgar carnivores suspect are designed with profit margins more than palates in mind, but work well all the same - a bowl of linguine with broad beans, rocket, spring onions, garlic, mint and pecorino. "Great," was the judgment. "Perfect al dente pasta, the beans are delicious - a general delight." My starter bordered, like the room, on being that iota too busy, crab coming with samphire, shaved fennel and peach salad, and a herby, citric dressing that such ultra-fresh crab meat didn't strictly require. (Price per head, with drinks and service, £35-40)
More - review in full >>

The Independent on Sunday, 27 September
Toby Young describes Quirinale in London SW1 as possibly one of the best three Italian restaurants in the capital

I start with a timbale of crab with broccoli and crushed olives, while Caroline has a rocket salad. Both are nice and light - a good opener to a five-course meal. The next course is meat-free, so we both have the same thing: casoncelli stuffed with fontina cheese and liberally sprinkled with shavings of black summer truffle. This isn't my favourite dish, not least because it clearly derives its flavour from truffle oil rather than the real McCoy - and the combination of thick pasta, even thicker cheese and truffle oil is a bit overwhelming. The next course is better - a fillet of Scottish beef on a bed of wild mushrooms, but my poor wife is given what looks like a suet pudding with an egg baked in the middle, doused in truffle oil. To drench one dish in truffle oil may be regarded as a misfortune, but to drench two… (About £140 for two, including wine and service. Rating: 15/20)
Quirinale - review in full >>

The Sunday Times, 27 September
AA Gill says the food at Green's in London EC3 is tortured in what must be the most depressing restaurant in town

Because this is the start of the oyster season, and this is an oyster restaurant, I ordered oysters. Which are your finest oysters, I asked the waiter, who apparently came from a landlocked European country. "The selection, sir." That's not really an answer, is it? Over the previous couple of days I'd had some very good Mersea natives in Scott's and Bentley's, so I ordered them. Oysters come in sizes: number ones being the biggest, number twos being a joke. These must have lied to get taken on as number 10s. They looked like the excavated effluvia from a dwarf's sinuses. The flavour was okay, but really an oyster bar needs to have better oysters than this. Next, my smoked salmon smelt of kipper and cat breath and tasted of fisherman's inner sole. I sent it back, and I rarely send anything back. (Rating: 0/5).
Green's - review in full >>

By Janet Harmer

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