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-   -   Consolidated "Michelin Restaurants" thread (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/diningbuzz/308343-consolidated-michelin-restaurants-thread.html)

sig05 Oct 6, 2016 10:00 am


Originally Posted by VivoPerLei (Post 27309862)
I just happened to find my souvenir tasting menu from The Square this morning. Looks like they have revamped the menu quite a bit since I was there. Roast foie gras with sweet and sour plums, plum sake, and macadamia nuts was my favorite. Maybe they lost a star with the sale?

Shocked that you are eating at all of those places in one go. At one time in my life maybe, but not anymore. The amount of calories would do me in.

Been to all of them at one time or another except Alain Ducasse. I simply can't get past all the critical reviews. Every time I resolve to go, I change my mind.

Thanks to points and miles, our honeymoon has very limited cost so far. We decided to take that money and spend it on food experiences.

offerendum Oct 6, 2016 10:08 am


Originally Posted by sig05 (Post 27308299)
We have Gordon Ramsay, The Ledbury, Alain Ducasse, Dinner by Heston, and Helene Darroze coming up. I will have a pretty good comparison by the weekend.

I know all with excemption of Helene Darroze. Ledbury is my favourite, Ducasse I didnīt enjoy so much.


Originally Posted by VivoPerLei (Post 27309862)
Maybe they lost a star with the sale?

They lost both! Can only be connected with the sale as itīs mentioned in the guide (also not as a reason).

sig05 Oct 6, 2016 10:49 am

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

I was truly excited to come to my first 3-star restaurant. I thought the food and service was spectacular. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch at the Square yesterday, RGR blew them out of the water. The attention to detail was noticeable at every turn. We were there long enough to witness a turn over - the wait staff removed the table clothes in such a manner that you never saw the table liner. Another wait staff member flipped over the plates to ensure that the logo underneath was properly centered on the table cloth crease. Everyone seemed to en

2005 Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose
http://i.imgur.com/qX5SwL2l.jpg

Agnolotti - best I've ever had; the sauce was incredible
http://i.imgur.com/tv2TQZ9l.jpg

Cornish Skate
http://i.imgur.com/wKdzCHdl.jpg

Parfait w/ frozen lime rum bits and cocoa nibs
http://i.imgur.com/YZ0c0GAl.jpg

After dessert treat - Fig and white chocolate frozen and served on dry ice
http://i.imgur.com/gMCL039l.jpg

Salted mint chocolate with macadamia nuts
http://i.imgur.com/i3n4QUBl.jpg

EDIT - added a pic.

A fig infused gelatin served with the after the desserts
http://i.imgur.com/sObUB9Rl.png

Wife's Chicken
http://i.imgur.com/ua3NXQAl.png

Wife's Sea Trout
http://i.imgur.com/SAIlld3l.png

offerendum Oct 6, 2016 11:58 am

Thanks again sig. The figs look amazing. I ate at Gordon Ramsey a few yars ago but not after the chef changed. I also booked a table for dinner but ended with the Tasting..... Thatīs life;)

sig05 Oct 6, 2016 12:18 pm


Originally Posted by offerendum (Post 27311838)
Thanks again sig. The figs look amazing. I ate at Gordon Ramsey a few yars ago but not after the chef changed. I also booked a table for dinner but ended with the Tasting..... Thatīs life;)

Absolutely. Headed to Dinner by Heston right now.

Updating my Ramsay post with a pic I left off initially.

VivoPerLei Oct 7, 2016 2:33 am


Originally Posted by sig05 (Post 27311274)
Thanks to points and miles, our honeymoon has very limited cost so far. We decided to take that money and spend it on food experiences.

Glad you're getting some great meals on your honeymoon and I am envious that you have a spouse who likes fine dining - nothing bores my wife more so I don't take her. When I eat in style it is nearly always alone or with business colleagues.

If you liked RGR I bet you would have loved Petrus also. Only so much time, right?

sig05 Oct 7, 2016 3:00 am

Dinner by Heston

Much different atmosphere than Gordon Ramsay or The Square. It was a bit of maze to get there once inside the Mandarin Oriental - absolutely stunning hotel.

It is certainly more lively with all sorts of dress as this is a hotel-based restaurant. They seem to pride themselves on not being a normal Michelin star experience - except for the food and service. Our waiter told us that Heston has no intention of ever having Stars for this particular restaurant, but it seemed to work out that way.

The food is based on old country preparations. When you see a c. 1800, the food served closely resembles what was served or prepared at that time. I'm not sure I fully made the connection as it was being explained to me, but it was an interesting concept as historic gastronomy meets modern day technique.

http://i.imgur.com/zWI6LsEl.jpg

Meat Pie - this is a chicken live parfait inside a mandarin (soft) shell. The chicken liver is cooked for 3 days, then put in the blast chiller. The mandarin is cooked down until it is reduced to a syrup consistency. They pull the chicken liver out of the chiller and perform a double dip into the mandarin liquid.

http://i.imgur.com/uGkcKd4l.jpg

Chicken - cooked sous vide at 56 C for 1.5 hours after being brined for 24 hours. I've never had chicken cooked this way, and it was so tender and juicy. The accompanying lettuce was quite delicious. I just put an Anova sous vide on my christmas list.

http://i.imgur.com/6wsFu3zl.jpg

My wife's duck - sorry the picture is so dark. Was cooked med-rare, certainly the best duck I've tasted. The sauce slipped my mind.

http://i.imgur.com/GQyTTiIl.jpg

Tipsy Cake - the pineapple is slow roasted, almost rotisserie style for 5-6 hours every morning. You can see the pineapples spinning if you look into the kitchen. The cake was stunning.

http://i.imgur.com/xY9XV4Dl.jpg

Table side homemade ice cream - this was a surprise for us. The pour in heavy English creamed infused with vanilla. They take -196 C liquid nitrogen and combine into the mixing bowl and spin as you see in the photo. You have a choice of 4 toppings - raspberry, apple pop rocks, sprinkles, and chocolate.

http://i.imgur.com/DPbVvkbl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fyyYA7Yl.jpg

Melted chocolate with a cookie

http://i.imgur.com/jLTSNT1l.jpg

sig05 Oct 7, 2016 3:03 am


Originally Posted by VivoPerLei (Post 27314627)
Glad you're getting some great meals on your honeymoon and I am envious that you have a spouse who likes fine dining - nothing bores my wife more so I don't take her. When I eat in style it is nearly always alone or with business colleagues.

If you liked RGR I bet you would have loved Petrus also. Only so much time, right?

I was hoping to get to RGR before I was able to utilize credit signups to reduce our costs. My wife has never had any of these experiences before, so I'm afraid I just unleashed some kind of monster. She's been really good at trying new things and has really enjoyed herself. I really took it upon myself to create some memorable experiences for the both of us as we're only on a honeymoon once. It's been a nice combination of tourist attractions complimented by excellent meals and restaurant experiences.

I heard of Petrus, but it didn't make the cut this time. Sigh, only so much time to do Michelin star restaurants - I know, I will see myself out. :)

headed to The Ledbury for lunch and Helene Darroze for dinner tonight. Reports coming soon.

offerendum Oct 7, 2016 4:15 am


Originally Posted by sig05 (Post 27314690)
headed to The Ledbury for lunch and Helene Darroze for dinner tonight. Reports coming soon.

4 star day;) - once I have to do a 6 star day:D But to be honest, the least would be a little too much I guess, even your programm is on the border.

Glad you liked Dinner.

sig05 Oct 7, 2016 5:27 am


Originally Posted by offerendum (Post 27314774)
4 star day;) - once I have to do a 6 star day:D But to be honest, the least would be a little too much I guess, even your programm is on the border.

Glad you liked Dinner.

Yesterday was a 5 star day. We dropped Alain Ducasse after hearing not so many great things on here and from other travelers. Guy Savoy in Paris, and La Pergola in Rome are all that remain.

VivoPerLei Oct 7, 2016 6:06 am


Originally Posted by sig05 (Post 27314928)
Yesterday was a 5 star day. We dropped Alain Ducasse after hearing not so many great things on here and from other travelers. Guy Savoy in Paris, and La Pergola in Rome are all that remain.

Haven't been to Guy Savoy, but La Pergola is great.

sig05 Oct 8, 2016 2:26 am

The Ledbury

A nice jaunt out to Nottingham Hill, which is refreshing after being in Westminster for a few days. There were 15 tables inside a nice sized restaurant with lots of light on this nice sunny day.

As has been the theme so far, the food was great. As you'll see in the pictures, this is a different level of presentation.

http://i.imgur.com/bkWAXFKl.jpg

Puff pastry with mead

http://i.imgur.com/9g7N9rsl.jpg

Seaweed crisp with oyster

http://i.imgur.com/cDUdeybl.jpg

Deer dumpling with mustard fruit - they said this was made with six different parts of deer meat

http://i.imgur.com/d4WGVJgl.jpg

Cornish Mackerel - i was disappointed the smoked bone marrow was removed. Mackerel seems to be a constant theme during our visits thus far.

http://i.imgur.com/yzLfzCkl.jpg

Roast Scallops with pig jowl - the pig jowl was excellent.

http://i.imgur.com/23NbijLl.jpg

Red ruby beef - possibly the best short rib ever. The sauce was incredible and plenty of truffle.

http://i.imgur.com/IynDEtUl.jpg

Pre-dessert - yuzu icream

http://i.imgur.com/IA0XqRzl.jpg

Olive Oil panna cotta

http://i.imgur.com/bGgkWuFl.jpg

Juniper caramel stick with chocolate eucalyptus

http://i.imgur.com/PjJ3FKml.jpg

Marshmallow with mead

http://i.imgur.com/o5IhDoSl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8vopwEjl.jpg

offerendum Oct 9, 2016 3:02 pm

Ledbury is great, glad you liked it

VivoPerLei Oct 12, 2016 5:38 am


Originally Posted by offerendum (Post 27324304)
Ledbury is great, glad you liked it

I'm curious how he felt about Helene Darroze. Been awhile since I've been there and apparently they've gone to some gimmicky method of ordering, putting balls next to courses on the menu or something like that.

sig05 Oct 12, 2016 3:45 pm


Originally Posted by VivoPerLei (Post 27335530)
I'm curious how he felt about Helene Darroze. Been awhile since I've been there and apparently they've gone to some gimmicky method of ordering, putting balls next to courses on the menu or something like that.

We ended up canceling Helene Darroze. After the Ledbury and afternoon tea, we just didn't feel up to it and rebooking fell through the cracks. I can't say that I was upset about it. We had afternoon tea at Espelette in The Connaught and I didn't hear too many positives about Helene. It was sort of an easy cancel after they agreed to waive my 95 Euro/pp cancellation fee.

Guy Savoy fell off our list as we had some changes to our travel plans - this upset me greatly as I was really looking forward to eating at his restaurant.


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