Recently in Philip Howard Category

Matthew Norman finds brutally minimalist decor but a superbly rich menu at St John Hotel, the latest venture from Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson.

The Daily Telegraph's food critic praises head chef Tom Harris, who presents his menu with rustic simplicity and without a shred of fuss. "Every dish was in perfect balance, every ingredient tasted purely and vibrantly of itself, only more so," Norman enthuses.

Meanwhile, writing in The Sunday Times, AA Gill says that although its heart is most certainly in the right place, the food at the St John Hotel does not offer precise flavours.

"It's well intentioned, its heart and all its other organs are in the right places, but its seasoning isn't. The flavours are smudged and imprecise. The dishes aren't clear, or doctrinal enough. And a lot of it is decent, but righteously boring," he says.

Writing for The Guardian, John Lanchester says Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social is fun, informal and customer-friendly. "It's the polar opposite of what we've come to expect of 'fine dining'. And it's also properly brilliant," he says.

The Times' Giles Coren enjoys immaculate service and skilful cooking at Phil Howard's two-Michelin-starred Square but adds he finds it hard to get real joy from this sort of procession.

According to Jay Rayner, writing in The Observer, Spuntino, the third venture from the team behind Polpo and Polpetto, is the capital's best Brooklyn diner, while The Independent on Sunday's Lisa Markwell says if you're caught in the maelstrom of Oxford Street's shopping hell, the Riding House Café offers respite.

In London, the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler says the Gilbert Scott, the new restaurant venture by Marcus Wareing at the St Pancras Renaissance hotel, is a dream ticket in need of direction, while Time Out's Guy Dimond finds it's the building that has the wow factor, not the meal.

The Metro's Marina O'Loughlin finds Yotam Ottolenghi's new Soho restaurant, Nopi is an undeniably glamorous restaurant offering wonderfully creative food which is interesting, affable and very delicious.

Liverpool chef Claire Lara has been named the winner of the BBC's Masterchef: The Professionals 2010.

30-year-old Lara, who is the first woman to win the title, was crowned the winner after a gruelling final under the watchful eyes of judges Michel Roux Jr and Gregg Wallace in which she beat fellow competitors David Coulson and John Calton.

The judges praised Lara for her brilliance and consistency throughout the competition. "Claire has an immense amount of talent. Her cooking skills are a revelation," said Roux. "We started this competition looking for a talent and we have uncovered a diamond. She has that exceptional talent that will take her to stardom."

A speechless Lara said: "I am so happy. I thought everyone was pretty good. This is brilliant."

The final of Masterchef: The Professionals comprised a series of tasks, which included a patisserie challenge judged by acclaimed French patissier Pierre Hermé as well as a service at René Redzepi's Noma in Copenhagen, which was this year named the best restaurant in the world.

Another challenge saw the contestants create a three-course menu at a dinner held at London's Pearl restaurant for some of the UK's most acclaimed chefs with more than 40 Michelin stars between them. They included Pierre Koffmann, Alain Roux, Michael Caines, Brett Graham and Phil Howard.

The Masterchef: The Professionals final culminated in a cook off during which the chefs each created a three course meal.

Lara's winning menu comprised a starter of crispy skinned sea trout with apple purée and caper and cider beurre blanc; followed by a main course of roasted boneless pigeon on mashed potato and peas and pancetta with quince jelly and a red wine sauce. Her dessert comprised raspberry and white chocolate millefeuille with lemon thyme discs and raspberries.

Two-Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard's latest restaurant, Kitchen W8 in London, is a must-consider for anyone in Kensington with something to celebrate, says restaurant critic John Walsh.

Writing in The Independent, Walsh is impressed by both the food and the service at Kitchen W8, which is a joint venture between Howard and restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas.

However, he is less keen on the prices. "With most starters costing £8.50 and main courses mostly north of £15 (rib-eye steak is £19.50) it's hardly snack territory," he says.

Meanwhile, The Guardian's Matthew Norman is effusive in his review of the Dean Street Townhouse, which is the first new joint offering from Nick Jones' Soho House Group and Richard Caring, owner of Caprice Holdings.  

"It mingles the bustle and slickness of the grand, all-day Parisian brasserie with a determinedly anti-Michelin English menu and a room cunningly designed (distressed mirrors, grand bar, wood panelling) for that ultra-voguish, modern media Soho clubland feel," Norman says. 

Meanwhile the new head chef at Gilpin Lodge in Windemere, Cumbria, received the seal of approval from Jasper Gerard in The Daily Telegraph. Despite fearing the place might be all cream teas and doilies, he is delighted to find that, as well as being friendly, informal and full, the food prepared by Russell Plowman is top notch.

In The Times, Giles Coren says his visit to new Japanese restaurant Aqua Kyoto atop the former Dickins & Jones building on London's Regent Street, was a fun experience. As well as consuming great cocktails and good sushi, he also enjoys the stunning night views.

Jay Rayner of The Observer finds a far better-than-average local restaurant in Maison Bleue in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk. Efficient, friendly service and perfectly judged fish cookery makes the town "a very nice place to be".

Tom Kitchin, chef-proprietor of the Micheli-starred Kitchin in Edinburgh, receives fulsome praise from Jasper Gerard in The Daily Telegraph for scouring the Highlands for the best quality ingredients.

The result is an exceptionally well produced menu that is unashamedly Scottish, hardy rather than twirly, showcasing the influence of Kitchin's mentors Pierre Koffmann and Alain Ducasse.

Meanwhile Sicilian restaurant Mennula garners another rave review, with John Walsh in The Independent praising chef-patron Santino Busciglio's knack of combining his grandmother's recipes with new flavours.

In The Times Giles Coren takes up a new cause: that of the vegetarian diner. In his search for a restaurant that serves non-meat eaters with something that is inspiring and enticing, he comes up with a corker in Philip Howard's new restaurant, Kitchen W8 in London.

His counterpart at the Sunday Times, AA Gill, is equally impressed with Kitchen W8 saying that while the food isn't quite as immaculately pristine as The Square, it is far better than anything else you can eat in Kensington.

Jay Rayner, restaurant critic of The Observer, pays a visit to Polpo, a Venetian-style bacaro in London's Soho, and likes what he finds. He is impressed by the authentic bare brick walls and distressed painted wood and - apart from a couple of minor gripes - with the quality and the price of the food, which is served tapas-style.

One of London's longest-standing and most consistent of restaurants, La Poule au Pot in Belgravia, impresses The Guardian's food critic, Matthew Norman, with its delightful décor and familiar French bistro cooking.

He takes fellow journalist Simon Heffer and together they tuck into a selection of Gallic favourites, including moules marinières and boeuf  bourguignon. "There can't be a more charming, cosy, nook-and-crannyish restaurant," he says of La Poule au Pot which has been welcoming customers since 1962.

A more recent arrival on the capital's dining scene is the Dean Street Townhouse, in Soho, which is the first major venture between Nick Jones, founder of the Soho House Group, and Richard Caring, the owner of Caprice Holdings which operates top London restaurants including Le Caprice, The Ivy and J Sheekey.

Toby Young says in The Independent on Sunday that during dinner there he found a restaurant that has the appearance of a luxury gentleman's club with a menu that is "like a stripped-down version of The Ivy's, with plenty of modern British staples".

Michelin-starred chef Philip Howard is set to open a new restaurant in partnership with London restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas.

Howard, who is head chef and co-owner (with Nigel Platts-Martin) of the two-Michelin-starred The Square restaurant in Mayfair, will launch the new venture in the autumn. It will be an informal neighbourhood restaurant housed in the former site of Mascarenhas' Bistrot Eleven (previously Abingdon Road) in Kensington, which closed today.

Mascarenhas also owns London neighbourhood restaurants Sonny's in Barnes and the Phoenix in Putney.

More details to follow on Caterersearch soon.

Picture of Phil Howard supplied by John Alex Maguire/Rex Features.