Bloomberg, 19 September
Richard Vines visits Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London SW1
What's the best restaurant in London? I'm often asked that, and find myself tripping over the meaning of ``best.'' The perfect spot for a date may not be ideal for your parents. The finest steak in town isn't a draw if you're a vegetarian. Is a great establishment costing £150 a head better than a very good one charging £50? Sometimes, though, you just have to give a straight answer to a simple question. So if pushed to name London's best restaurant, my response would be Petrus. Or, to give it its full new name, the Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, which is what the establishment became on Sept. 15, after the chef's acrimonious split with his mentor, Gordon Ramsay.
Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley - review in full >>
Metro, 23 September
Marina O’Loughlin visits Benito’s Hat, London W1
Given the swathe of publicity that followed in its wake, you could be forgiven for nodding sagely at the idea that Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers invented the notion of good, fast Mexican food in London with her canteen Wahaca and leave it at that. But there seems to be something of a quiet Mexican revolution taking place. Or should that be Calimex, or Mexicali, or even Calitexican? Because we're talking about the onslaught of the burrito. Appropriately for this most mammoth of snacks, it's arriving in a big way.
Benito’s Hat - review in full >>
Evening Standard, 24 September
David Sexton visits Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London SW1
Marcus Wareing met Gordon Ramsay when, aged 19 and straight out of catering college in Southport, he went to Le Gavroche as a commis chef. Ramsay, three years his senior, was already a chef de partie there. Not long afterwards, when Ramsay opened Aubergine, Wareing became sous chef there — and their friendship became so close that Ramsay was best man at Wareing’s wedding. In 1999, Wareing opened Pétrus at the Berkeley for Gordon Ramsay Holdings and went on to win two Michelin stars. But recently, after 15 years together, Wareing’s relationship with Ramsay broke down in public. Wareing gave an interview in which he charmingly remarked he wouldn’t give a f*** if he never spoke to Ramsay again.
Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley - review in full >>
Time Out, 25 September
Guy Dimond visits St Pancras Grand, London NW1
There’s something terribly romantic about train stations,’ said my dinner date, as a waiter walked past bearing a tray of Champagne glasses. It might have been more accurate to say ‘There is something terribly romantic about St Pancras train station,’ because the coffee bar at Clapham Junction doesn’t do it for me. The stunning £800 million restoration of the St Pancras is a marvel. It’s also something the whoppingly expensive Searcys 1847 Champagne Bar has capitalised on by plonking itself in the prime spot where this restaurant by rights should be. But the Champagne Bar does at least set the tone for the Upper Concourse, which is far more Eurostar chic than Hertfordshire commuter. St Pancras is also the cleanest railway station outside of Switzerland, spick-and-span enough to eat off the floors. There’s no need to do that though when the spanking- new St Pancras Grand restaurant occupies one side of the Upper Concourse.
St Pancras Grand - review in full >>