I've been away for a while - giving birth to my beautiful daughter Mia, who is now 6 months old. Now...
I've been away for a while - giving birth to my beautiful daughter Mia, who is now 6 months old. Now that I have a little more order in my life I hope to start writing regular reviews again, if my baby brain will allow it!
Member since:07.10.2002
Reviews:13
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I have always been a fan of Gordon Ramsay and I was extremely lucky to visit his restaurant at Claridges last July for my 30th birthday. I dropped hints to my husband about it, but was secretly plotting with my best friend to convince our husbands it would be an extraordinary meal.
Everybody was "up for it" so I used the online booking request facility on the Claridges website and was called back the following day. Unfortunately they could not offer me the date I had chosen, but I was able to pick another date for 2 weeks later. I thought this was a reasonable waiting time for such a popular restaurant, especially considering "Hells Kitchen" was being televised at the time. Claridges then phoned me the day before our meal to confirm.
We arrived in Mayfair just before 7pm on a very hot and humid evening. Once inside the hotel, the air conditioning was absolute bliss, and the entrance and foyer was very elegant in typical Art Deco style. The Foyer is also famed for its light meals and afternoon teas.
It has a magnificent light sculpture hanging down from its 18 foot high ceiling and music is played every day from 3pm.
There are no obvious signs for the restaurant (there are 2 restaurants in the hotel, the other being The Reading Room) but as you turn into the Foyer, there is a desk leading to the beautiful dining room that is "Gordon Ramsay at Claridges". The room was designed by French-born New York architect Thierry Despont, and although it is Art Deco in style it is very modern and with clean lines. The table settings are very elegant, with beautiful cutlery, glasses and centrepieces.
For apertifs we all had gin and tonic, which was incredibly refreshing after having been in such heat. First to be brought to the table was an amouse bouche of crostini with taramasalata and mousse of foie gras. The latter was so devine I could have munched on it all night! The sommelier helped us choose the wine: a french white sauternes and red south african Syrah. We were then given a complimentary course from the chef of gaspacho, which was also very refreshing.
For my starter I chose scallops on a white asparagus risotto cooked with jerusalem artichokes. It is one of the most divine things I have ever eaten and I could have eaten 3 plates of it. My main was Braised cheeks of West country pork, cooked with honey and cloves, pommes mousseline, sautéed foie gras, and braising jus. It was so unbelievable. The pork just fell apart when I touched it with my fork! I never order pork, but I am so glad I chose this dish. To cleanse our palates we were presented with a cute little mini saucepan of fromage frais granita with lemon & lime. I could have had it for dessert and everyone agreed it was fantastic. My dessert was Chocolate crème brûlée with caramelised poached pear and honeycomb ice cream. It was lovely but I was jealous of my friend's choice of trio of passion fruit desserts (flan, ice-cream and mousse). Her husband opted for the cheese board which is one of the largest I have ever seen. He passed me some blue cheese to try and I swear its the strongest cheese known to man. There is no way I could have eaten any more, and I am very partial to what I call strong cheese such as Rocquefort.
One would expect a Mayfair restaurant with a celebrity chef to be somewhat stuffy or pretentious. Not so. We found it to be one of the best evenings we had ever had. The staff were very attentive, but not in your face. We were treated like royalty and our every whim was catered to. My husband dropped his knife, and seconds later it was discreetly replaced. Any questions we had about the menu were expertly explained. We were not hurried or rushed in any way. We spent 3 hours savouring our food and wine in a lovely atmosphere, having all agreed it was the best meal we had ever eaten.
Don't assume I get to eat in places like this all the time! This truly was a treat, and yes it was expensive, but in my opinion, worth every penny. I can look back on my 30th birthday and remember the lovely evening I had with my husband and best friends.
***Essential Information***
Gordon Ramsay at Claridges has one Michelin star. In addition to the dining room, there are 3 other private dining rooms: The Amaryllis Room which features an ante-room for drinks and canapes, The Salon and The Davies Room, also with an ante-room. The private dining menu ranges from £55 to £110 per person (depending on lunch or dinner), not including the hire of the room, which ranges from £450-550.
Even more special is The Chef's Table which is situated in the kitchen for 4-6 guests
3 course lunch is £30. 3 course a la carte lunch and dinner menu is £60 per person. Average bottle of wine is £35. Prestige lunch and dinner menu is £70.
Lunch is from 12pm - 3pm. Dinner Monday to Saturday is from 5.45pm to 11pm Dinner Sunday is from 6pm to 10.30pm
Dress code is smart with jacket preferred. Tie not essential. We found a mixture of attire, but the majority of people were dressed smart casual.
The restaurant has a no smoking policy, although smoking is allowed in the private dining rooms with the doors closed.
Gordon Ramsay at Claridges Brook Street London Tel: 020 7499 0099 Nearest Tube: Bond Street
Gordon has two other restaurants in London: Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea and the Boxwood Cafe at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge.
If you ever want to treat yourself to a superb evening of food and ambience, then I highly recommend this restaurant.
Bon Appetit!
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Mar 13th, 2005
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