And if so, what did you think?

I'm going to his (company's) pub, The Narrow, later this month, and wondered 1) if anyone has been there, what they thought and 2) if you've been to any of the others, was it "worth it?"

Just curious...

I went to London in NYC when it first opened. It's not a pub, but what was funny is that it had all the problems of the restaurants he goes to "fix" on his TV show. The food was too precious, menu was complicated, the waitstaff was over the top, and yet, couldn't really tell us what anything was or recommend a wine. We heard one waiter get reprimanded in the middle of the restaurant for some crazy thing like the spoon was a centimeter out of place. And of course the real offense was the reprimand!

Anyway, I'd guess that all of that was growing pains and things have been ironed out by now and they've tuned up the menu. I liked the "idea" of the menu, and some of it worked in a way that was interesting and innovative. What I learned was that if a restaurant has complex aspirations, don't go the first couple of months.

If the pub has been open for a year or more, it's probably pretty good.

I've been to his flagship in Royal Hospital Road and I was somewhat disappointed. I did not think it warranted 3 Michelin stars as the service was somewhat patronising and inconsistent and the food ranged from excellent (Michelin 3 star calibre) to downright average. Seasoning was inconsistent with some dishes being way to aggressively salted.

I think he is good but he is not, in my books, in the same league as Ducasse, Legendre, Robuchon, Bocuse and Boulud (just to name a few).

have been to the tokyo conrad one several times and it was ok.

foie gras was excellent.

dp

I been there too. most overated 3* in world. crummy service that tried to pushed high end wine. any chef with a few years experience and a decent book could have done better(and does).

on a par with the better restaurants in wash dc, but at 3x the price, and an order of mangitude more attitude.

icing on cake.. the damned place opened a half hour late, and made us wait outdoors in jan in london. we then sat on the little benches for close to half an hour while they got organized.

A search in the London forum will yield results.