uggboy

Interesting development...

Massimo Bottura to open a restaurant at W Dubai - The Palm

Please see:

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/31...ubai-the-palm/

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

aa213bb

Had fantastic meals about both Pujol and Quintonil a few weeks ago (prior to the earthquake).

Quintonil, in particular, was phenomenal.

bhrubin

In Rome:

La Pagliaccio was amazing. Truly worthy of its 2*. Could almost be 3* in our estimation. Service, food, wine pairings, timing, personality of the staff were all wonderful. Really amazing food, pushing he envelope, and amazingly impressive wine pairings. Absolutely our favorite meal in Rome. Would return in a flat second.

La Terrazza at the Hotel Eden was amazing, too. Felt almost like 2* even though it is 1*. The view was very nice but wasn't particularly incredible for us as much as some say. Service, food, wine pairings, timing, staff were all fantastic. Food and service were much better than even we expected as 1*. A very impressive feeling restaurant with food and service to match..with a nice view. Almost decade t atmosphere which we loved. I showed up unknowing in a dressy but short sleeved shirt, and they apologetically sent me back to get a long sleeved shirt since I didn't want to wear the jacket they kindly offered--and we still absolutely loved this restaurant and our dinner. Almost as incredible as La Pagliaccio. Would return in a flat second.

Aroma at the Palazzo Manfredi Hotel was a good 1* restaurant. Food was very good, better even than we expected, but service could be a bit slow. Wine pairings were good. The view onto the Coliseum is amazing. More casual in decor and feel otherwise, though the staff was more dressed. Would return, but not in a rush.

In Vienna:

Opus at the Hotel Imperial was perhaps the most beautiful of all the restaurants so far. It may be only 1* but it felt better. Plush, almost sexy, decor, incredible service, and very good food. Staff a bit formal but otherwise lovely. I was able to wear a shirt sleeve dress shirt here despite the formality. Excellent dining. Would return if back at or near the Hotel Imperial in a flat second.

Steirereck was a shocking disappointment for us. While the food was very good, and we enjoyed the service team, the restaurant has issues. The food itself was a study in subtleties, which for us lacked punch. Everything tasted good, but nothing really stood out. But the wine pairings were wonderful. Service had issues with timing throughout--the worst being a ridiculous 30+ min wait for the cheese course. We had to actually go hunt for our servers to complain. The lighting was too glaring on our table on arrival, and only ours, which we complained about. It took 5-10 min to fix. Then some staff flunkie turned the entire room lights back up to glaring not a short time later. Course card descriptions went missing for a few courses. Different wine pairings were brought for the same courses--though all wine pairings truly were outstanding. Felt a bit like a lot of pomp yet missing some important circumstance, resting on laurels long ago earned but perhaps not quite as deserved today. Looked like a 2* restaurant but delivered at best a 1* dinner. Overpriced. Definitely not a top 10 restaurant as its San Pellegrino rank suggests. Our concierge at the Hotel Imperial was stunned when he read my letter and email of complaint. It's been 3 days and still not a reply to our letter or email. Unlikely to ever bother returning.

In Paris:

La Scene at the Prince de Galles Hotel was fantastic. Hosted a surprise birthday party for my husband. Table of 12 by the open kitchen was wonderful. Service was very good and prompt yet also relaxed, friendly, and appropriate to our slight casual party atmosphere. Food and wine pairings were wonderful, with a few standouts that were truly spectacular. The 5 course meal at 165 euros and wine pairings at 65 euros seem a bargain in Paris and for the quality we enjoyed. Love the Deco design, though some of the other tables might be a bit closer together than I prefer. Definitely a 1* or better restaurant. Would return in a flat second whenever at the PdG or even at the FS George V next door.

Coming Monday night: Septime in Paris. Hoping for a truly remarkable meal.

DSI

Do they still do that huge slab of tasty butter with bread to start? That was my favorite part about La Scene, where the service that night, was very, very bad. We enjoyed it, but honestly the worst service fine dining service I've ever had: they'd only serve two of the four of us at a time and wine timing was off by ludicrous amounts. I did like all the points we accrued and the 10% coupon we had

offerendum

Which 3* do you mean?

bhrubin

My bad! Edited to correct, thanks.

Turns out to not matter, anyway, as the French ATC strike tomorrow has forced us to cancel Septime so I can Eurostar to London tonight...to be sure to make my flight home tomorrow!

damon88

I SO agree! Just came from Clove Club and we were terribly disappointed- especially since every other restaurant we chose in London was wonderful.

I am perplexed and have to admit I didn’t do my typical research, but trusted the “50 best” list. All of the restaurants we have visited on that list have been amazing, so we thought we could trust it.

But WTH?? The food was subpar- pretty universally and not one or two failed dishes. I am stumped.

All I kept thinking was “ the Emperor has no clothes!”

VivoPerLei

Where else did you eat in London?

GadgetFreak

I’m a big fan of Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy and Masala Zone for Indian food in London. Chutney Mary is the higher end one of the three. I think they are all owned by the same group. The maitre de at Chutney Mary once told me they had 7 chefs, one for each region of India.

Bohemian1

I generally avoid the 'lists' but have been known to check out places listed on OAD - that's how I tripped across Hedone. But every time I think about Clove Club, I see another negative review from people who appear to have experienced palates.

We'll be in London before Xmas and a visit to Clove Club will not be a priority.

op487062

Just visited Clove Club last night: I liked the dessert most—not saying the meal was bad at all, but nothing exceptional for all the hype. Maybe that’s the problem, my expectations were set too high because of the raves and ratings. Looking forward to Kitchen W-8 and Hedone (again) in the coming days

Bohemian1

Hopefully going to Hedone in a few weeks but would be very interested in seeing your notes on W-8 when you go.

Are you planning to share with the rest of the class?

damon88

So our favorite meal was at Restaurant Story- it most reminded us of Eleven Madison Park- fine dining with whimsy and a sense of humor - (and every morsel was delicious )

We also really enjoyed Gymkhana.

London had many small surprises. Our friend who lives in Hampstead took us to a tiny Tapas place that was really quite good.

And speaking of good (WOW). just had an amazing dinner at Antiche Carampane in Venice.

VivoPerLei

Agree completely! I loved my meal at Restaurant Story and whimsical is the perfect adjective for it.

HKTraveler

Was at Clove Club last Dec and the fried chicken was good. Other dishes were ok