The Observer - 21 September
JAY RAYNER wonders whether he should have taken a half-Welsh, half-Bengali critic to KASTURI in London EC3
For the main course we decided to share a whole leg of lamb known as rann. Simon makes his own rann and is clear on the fundamentals. A rann should be marinated and spiced for 24 hours and then cooked for a very long time. Here we got it in 45 minutes. So yes, it loses points on authenticity. But that meat was tender and the gravy it came in had a glorious depth and pungency. It may have cost £23.95 for two, but there was more than enough for three. I liked it.
(Dinner for two, including wine and service, £70)
The Guardian - 20 September
MATTHEW FORT joins the perma-tan brigade for lunch at the GREYHOUND in Stockbridge, Hampshire
My fish cake was soft, squidgy, sexy and rich, made all the richer by the perfect poached egg on top and richer still by the beurre blanc. It was the kind of dish that fills you with pleasure at the same time as filling your arteries with cholesterol. The duck was less happy, both in parts and in its cooking. The breast, which I think had been cooked off the bone, was not so much blushing pink as raw red, and it was cut into large chunks that were largely tooth-resistant (either that or my teeth aren't what they once were).
(Meal for two with food and drink, about £80)
The Independent - 20 September
TRACEY MACLEOD finds the starters at ETAIN in Glasgow Ms Dynamite, but the perfectly pleasant main courses slightly more Norah Jones
My roast halibut was an excellent piece of fish, well supported by fricasséed mussels and oysters. But Muriel found her duck breast harder going, and the accompanying braised endives stodgily saturated in a rich red wine reduction. She was also unprepared for a huge slice of seared foie gras which made an unannounced appearance; delicious, if you eat the stuff, but many people prefer not to, and Muriel could barely look at it.
(Meal for two with wine and service, about £110)
The Sunday Times - 21 September
AA GILL discovers a real find in Chinese-influenced ULI in London's All Saints Road
The menu is commendably short and to the point. I started with tom yum kung, a chilli prawn soup that was sharp and sour and utterly brilliant, like putting a battery on your tongue, but without the concomitant implication of being interviewed by the Burmese police. We had lots of stuff for main course, but I want to commend one dish - a Malay lamb curry. This was really fabulous. A dry stew of lamb and potatoes - intensely tasty, rigorously seasoned. A proper destination dish.
(Meal for two excluding wine and service, about £50)
The Scotsman - 20 September
GILLIAN GLOVER is challenged by the salads at SHAPES restaurant in Edinburgh
I started off with a chilli chicken, mango and avocado salad (£6.50) which was served in a vast white china bowl - big enough to accommodate the muzzles of several hungry Labradors. It was a bit extravagant on the foliage for my taste: I felt as though I was macheteing a small jungle in order to locate the chicken and avocado, but the dressing was light and tangy, and the mango subtly restrained.
(Meal for two, excluding wine, £50)