The Daily Telegraph - 18 October
Jan Moir on Manchester's newest, glitziest and highest restaurant, Le Mont
The fish dish translates (sort of) as Morecambe Bay plaice served with Loch Fyne scallops and a sauce made of scallop corals. Well. It has been a long, long time since I have been served something quite so spectacularly nasty. The scallops are cold and rubbery, the fillets of plaice are slightly desiccated in a way that I associate with frozen fish fillets. On top of all this, the plaice does not even taste particularly fresh, as if some poor soul in the kitchen had a "freeze it or chuck it" dilemma on stocktaking morning. "Stop eating," orders my masterful S, after he has sampled it.
(Dinner for two excluding drinks and service, £66)
The Sunday Times - 18 October
AA Gill gives five stars to Petrus, London SW1
The old Pétrus was one of the few restaurants I've given five stars to, and I see no reason to reconsider. I still think Wareing is probably the best chef in London who's still fiddling with froggy members. The menu is a joy of restrained aesthetic opulence. Wareing's great talent is in knowing precisely when and where to stop. There's never a flavour out of place or a de trop garnish. You can eat off the carte for £55, or you can do what I did and choose from the set lunch menu: three courses with twiddly bits for £26. And that is the best deal in London. Go now. Go often. Don't tell your friends. Rip this page out of the magazine before your wife sees it.
The Independent - 18 October
Tracey MacLeod on Nick Jones's latest venture in Balham, the Balham Bar and Kitchen, SW12
The last time I ate a chicken pie in Balham, it came out of a Fray Bentos tin. This one was vastly superior, billed, American-style, as a chicken pot pie. Its pastry top wasn't just a flaky afterthought but a proper shortcrust lid, sealing in a toothsome mix of light and dark meat, button onions and carrots in a well-flavoured gravy. BB&K evidently shares its suppliers with the group's more illustrious outlets; these were simple dishes made special by quality ingredients.
(Dinner for two, £75)
The Guardian - 18 October
Matthew Fort questions chef Gerald Roser's wisdom at the Mirabelle in Eastbourne's Grand hotel
I have nothing against grilled sardines, but they don't tell you a great deal about the character of the chef. Tomato sorbet is another matter. Firstly, I would question whether it is an ideal accompaniment to hot sardines. Second, I would question the wisdom of serving it on a hot plate. And third, I would question making it with tomatoes that don't deliver the necessary flavour. This was not the Roser I knew and loved.
(Rating: 15.5/20. Dinner menus, £35 and £55)
The Sunday Telegraph - 19 October
Matthew Norman takes his mother to her favourite, Lemonia, London NW1
Along with the à la carte, there are two set menus, and preposterous they both are. In the age of the £20 sea bass fillet, it is startling to find it on a £7.25 table d'h“te that includes a starter and coffee. When that fish then turns up in its glorious entirety, you wonder what is going on. The bass was, as always when plain grilled with lemon juice, quite delicious. But so was everything else. This is fine, unpretentious Greek-Cypriot cooking, with a few more recherch‚ dishes added to the usual suspects, relying on the oddly elusive formula of good basic ingredients well and simply cooked.
(Dinner for one, £22, including a half-bottle of wine, and coffee)