My notes on this review will be shorter than normal owing to the occasion taking primacy rather than spending a lot of time taking notes on every aspect of the meal, but the above summary is extant throughout – there was not a thing that missed the mark.  The familiar canapés of coronation chicken tuile, parmesan cheese bite and duck liver were all superb once again and it was a delight to have the wafer thin croustade of salmon tartare and tartlet of beef tartare with caviar.  Delectable one and all.

Blissfully there are wonderful a la carte options – another aspect that seems to be a lost art in the finest restaurant scene.  My guest enjoyed the fabled langoustine with sauce nage and bronze fennel and I enjoyed a dish I had not had before: Dorset crab with crème fraiche and Imperial caviar.  This had such fresh and sweet crab with a superbly balanced level of salt from the caviar, vibrancy from the herb gel and coolness from the thinned crème fraiche – an absolute triumph of a dish.

For the mains, my guest opted for the veal fillet which was superbly tender, large in quantity, coated in sublime sauces and served with turnip and lovage.  I opted for another dish I have not had and as were just inside the game season, a rather lovely grouse option was revealed.  As we are at the start of the grouse season, all starting on the Glorious 12th (of August), these grouse will have been quite young.  Coincidentally, a different Michelin starred chef Galton Blackiston informs me that young grouse have obviously not had as much time to eat too much heather and are not as strong as older grouse (meaning more lean).  Indeed these were beautifully tender and served with a wonderful jus, glorious soft foie gras inside a subtle beetroot gel, beetroot, blackberries and pomme soufflé as another touch of finesse (slightly harder than usual).  All of this was a sheer delight of the most delicate of game, richness from the foie gras and jus, sharpness from the well judged beets and crunch from the pomme soufflé.

Pre-desserts were one crepe each from the legendary Crêpes Suzettes served table side by the manager himself.  These were as good as they always have been made since the early 20th century.  The desserts themselves were one of the best comprised apple tarts I have seen and tried (such powerful apple, delicate pastry and creamy ice cream) and for only the second time I had to have the eponymous chocolate soufflé with Chantilly cream.  This is simply one of the greatest soufflé desserts that exists and my favourite on the planet.  Even the petit fours were a talking point of brilliant judgement – not too many and the key, different types of chocolate ganache, berry gel and a creamed macaron.  I loved these and they exemplify the pitch-perfect judgement of the kitchen.

This was another superb meal at The Ritz and it is simply a guarantee of excellence all round when one dines here – I have yet to have a bad experience here on any aspect.

Food Grade: 90%

Our meal began with canapes of cheese and pepper puree placed on top of parmesan biscuits which had excellent cheese power and a lovely combination, followed by coronation chicken in mini pastry ‘cigars’ which are stunning with their sweet pastry complementing the sweetness of the coronation which usually has small pieces of mango chutney.  Steak tartare also came in pastry tubes with small drops of mustard on top which are luxurious and brilliant, as were the wonderful and simple cheese gougeres, which are frankly better than those served at 3 Michelin starred Gordon Ramsay on my last visit.

Our first course inside was a tomato salad served with lobster, wonderfully fresh tomato consomme and on the side a tomato tartlet with almonds, garlic, more basil and almond mousse – a beautifully fresh and light starter for the summer and brilliant that the tomatoes had come from Provance as well.  Next up fresh langoustines were shown to the table (alive) along with red mullet prior to both being cooked.  First back were the langoustines in a creamy nage sauce (white wine reduction, dairy and herb) and this was a perfectly judged fish and cream sauce – the langoustines plump and sweet and the sauce complimentary without overpowering, a brilliantly handled dish.  Red mullet then arrived with crispy skin and sat on top of basil puree and with the additional basil leaves, olives and artichokes was a splendid collection altogether with the fish being light and spot-on in terms of cooked state.

Then came the main event and what I had booked the week in advance – duck a la presse.  The dish was conceived in the 1800s and popularised in the following century by the restaurant Tour d’Argent in Paris, where every suck is numbered and guests receive a card of which duck they have had – if you go now for duck a la presse in 2020, based on the historical projection, you will be receiving the millionth and something duck.  Anyhow, the duck (from Bresse) comes in two parts.  The first is carved at the table from the breast of the whole duck and the remainder is placed in a press to extract every last bit of juice from the bones and carcass of the bird.  This is then poured in to a pan with port, butter, foie gras and then flambéd at the.  This was a wonderful piece of theatre and the sauce being utterly top-notch as was the perfectly cooked duck, served with wonderful pomme souffle as well.

The second part of the duck were the legs which had already been removed and were confit cooked (soaked in duck and goose fat and left in the fridge overnight prior to being oven cooked in this fat the next day). These were served with a mustard, onion & herb breadcrumb and endive leaves on the side which were both wonderful together.  Both of these parts of the duck were as good as you are ever likely to get any duck and it was a sheer privilege to be joined by the Head Chef, John Williams afterwards to explain how classical cooking remains at the very core of his cooking philosophy.

Two small desserts were then enjoyed.  The first was a refreshing compressed cherry and vanilla elderberry gel and vanilla yoghurt which was lovely.  Even better was the strawberry sorbet served in a strawberry meringue cup with vanilla mousse which was wonderful.  These were followed by simple yet pleasing petit fours of vanilla macarons, madeleines and dark chocolates.  This concluded a sensational meal and one I will not forget for a long time.

This meal was a treat that I was giving to my father who will be reading this review so I do not wish to upload the receipt or state the final tally, but suffice to say, for what you are getting from the sheer quality of the ingredients and the supreme execution combined with the splendour of The Ritz setting, this was extremely reasonable for what was enjoyed.

There really wasn’t much not to like about this meal and I used to think years ago that this would always be a stuffy affair, but you do have to come to see for yourself that this isn’t as much as you would initially think.  The rules on attire are still very much the same which I have commented on at length in my previous review (draconian rules on dress code still persist) but these are mainly cosmetic.  Once inside the service once again proved very accommodating and warm.

Canapés at this meal were lemon macaroons with creamed salmon (topped with eggs from salmon), caramelised pastry cigars with coronation chicken and shortbread with whipped goat cheese.  Not one of these were out of line and all simply really enjoyable and what a treat to have coronation chicken in a bite-size tube that turned out to be a joy.  The homemade brown bread was served warm and in a similar fashion to that of The Typing Room, and whilst visually pleasing, plain, brown bread itself is only as exciting as it is.

The soft boiled egg, with shallot croutons on top, girolle mushrooms and watercress leaf with edible flowers and watercress puree was as pleasing as you can imagine with those components when done well, which was the case.  A simple and effective starter.  There was a faint kick of heat from mustard within the watercress puree and this was very well done – just enough to jazz the dish up.  The crispy shallot rings on top were frankly a delight and perhaps the secret weapon of this dish giving it a final spark.

The terrine of goose liver is a signature classic of the restaurant, modified slightly from the last year and by all accounts, still as good as it has been in the past.  As it was another game season visit, clearly the grouse had to be sampled and this breast of grouse came with juniper powder on top, pickled blackberry, mushrooms, celeriac puree and walnut crumble with a gravy sauce.  The grouse itself was perfectly tender and with the supporting elements, the bird itself was enhanced with the creamy celeriac, combined with and sharpness from the pickled raspberries but thankfully the rich flavour of the meat was not lost.  I can’t say I noticed the juniper very much, but this wasn’t a problem when the dish is coated with a gravy that would make you want to drink from a gravy boat (the environment was the only thing that stopped me doing!).

Then clearly it was time for the flambé show of crêpes at the table, capably done by our man, Daniel.  This actually takes upwards of 10 minutes at the table to be done, and it very much worth the wait.  There are probably enough calories in this dish to sink the Titanic, however, the flavours of the caramelised sugar, grand mariner and orange lusciously draped over virtually perfect crêpes, cooled down by wonderful, buttery vanilla ice cream that melts into the sauce from the surrounding heat makes it simply a crime not to go for this if here.  Petit fours seem to be the same as they were last year as signature items, but again, there was nothing about these that I didn’t enjoy (especially the chocolate cream) which basically makes a very high strike rate and a strong level of consistent dishes enjoyed here on the second pass.

It was the very good to have a quick chat at the end with the Exec chef  (John Williams MBE) who was in and in full regalia, discussing his classical roots of cooking and how these underpin all signature and new dishes, using British produce.  I don’t think it’s possible to come here and not be pleased when everything fits so well and this is now two from two as far as I am seeing and experiencing.  Moreover, it was a milestone and special occasion for me which was a sheer pleasure to enjoy with my dining companion.  We agreed that perhaps the decor and dress code simply attracts a clientele of a more senior age bracket, or maybe it is the fact that it is simply the institution that it is.  Either way, it was a lovely meal all round and I still don’t like the chairs(!).  Perhaps a slight adjustment here or there without breaking the iconic feel may attract a younger crowd, but every single other aspect seems to work like a charm.  Another great meal here.

First up, if you are dining here, you have to accept that there will be an added filter on attire.  Guests are not allowed in the bar or restaurant without a tie and my host was asked to make his way to the changing room to change his trousers from the expensive jeans he was wearing to chinos, that were hopefully washed, but with no guarantee.  My version on this is that if a house has these rules then so be it and the diner should be willing to abide however, I simply don’t think it is necessary for ties these days and is in fact out-dated.

Equally, I don’t think anyone should be allowed to bimble into this restaurant (mainly filled by wealthy senior citizens and travellers who don’t say a word during dinner and generally look absurdly miserable) wearing trainers or sandals either.  It was however, actually getting quite hot towards the end and although we were by the window, the staff either weren’t able or forgot to open it and the tie is quite restricting and ultimately I was burning up.  Formality in this context yes, ok, but to be uncomfortable or borderline suffer is a big no no for me at the expense of an out-dated sense of protocol.

The service could not have been more attentive.  It was not stuffy nor condescending however, with the confidence of the staff in their environment and number of times we were asked how everything was throughout the meal, I can imagine that lesser-experienced diners might struggle to feel as though they can’t say anything other than “Oh yes everything is wonderful”.  Fortunately, it’s been quite a while since I was intimidated by a restaurant as the key is that these enquiries of the staff are mainly as they are on show and they wish to check how they are rating.

And so on that note, I’m happy to report that I was actually exceedingly impressed with the cooking here and the technical skill and care of attention to detail was genuinely sitting in the Michelin starred family.  I say this from comparing with all the other 65 Michelin starred restaurants in London and numerous other 2 and 3 starred venues I have visited and reviewed.  That’s not to say that every dish was brilliant.  I will get the negatives out the way first, as I found the pea sponge, beautiful as it was a little too soggy, the liver paté just a bit too large for its density and similar to the sweetbreads, although prepared superbly, it seemed to be missing a sweeter spark.  I say this when reflecting on the sweetbreads had at Daniel Clifford’s 2 Michelin starred Midsummer House sweetbreads with maple foam in comparison – the latter was simply a higher level of happiness.

However, those dishes were still good on the eyes and on to the full-blown positives, the langoustine was utterly divine all round – such soft, fresh and lovely combination of flavours making everything in the world right again.  The cod was immaculate and it was also a testament to the restaurant that they were able to accommodate the beef wellington which was a swap on the menu.  The wellington itself was a work of art and virtually faultless (but if there was one thing I thought was marginal it was the foie gras in the centre which, needed something to make less bitter).  The crêpe Suzette cooked at the table, flambéd twice with brandy and grand Marnier was not only a lovely touch as I think cooking at the table is a lost art and not seen much anymore and were frankly out of this world.  It was hard to fault this and this course has actually entered the pantheon of the greats.

And if that wasn’t enough, the strawberry dessert done multiple ways was also genuinely a delight.  The only problem being that at the end of the meal I was absolutely overloaded.  I can accept that French cooking and occasions like this and that had at Le Gavroche will need doing a half-marathon beforehand to reduce some of the calorific damage, but I was utterly stuffed at the end, borderline bloated and that was leaving some dishes unfinished.  Perhaps we should have been careful not to ask for the beef wellington, but having one slice of this would have been better as the two were virtually a meal in itself as that was a lot of protein on a plate(!).  I have had 19-24 courses at 3 Michelin starred venues and not felt too packed and that is where the difference lies.

That said, my conclusion of finally getting here is that it was a genuinely pleasing experience with warm service.  I still don’t like the chairs as they look as if they haven’t changed since the 70s and are as outdated as the stipulation for the tie.  But, I thought the food was easily 1 Michelin starred – without a shadow of doubt.  In fact, I cannot see why the guide has historically avoided awarding a star here to this venue.  A great food show – make sure you don’t forget your wallets and best rags when coming and probably save the visit for a special occasion and you will be very well looked after here.

First things to note are that the bar has been redecorated and (yellow wallpaper uplifted to a lighter hue), there is a conservatory dining area now called the Veranda (formerly Siren) which serves casual plates of food on a limited menu and there is also an outdoor garden terrace for drinks, so plenty to choose from.  The Luxury Restaurant Guide membership also came into its own here allowing a complimentary glass of champagne for all diners, so for 6 people that was a fairly welcome and superb start, not only for the visit but also for the bill at the end.

As this was a family occasion there are less notes from this meal as this would have detracted from the occasion.  Also, no sharing for safety so I didn’t experience the other dishes.  However, I have included all photos taken to give the fullest pictorial idea of the menu and the details of the meal I had.  Opening bread was homemade focaccia and tomato sourdough, both served warm.  The canape bite for everyone was a Comte cheese gougere made with parmesan truffle and béchamel sauce and was very received by absolutely everyone and for good reason.  

To start, I opted for The Goring’s signature eggs Drumkilbo, lobster, caviar and Granny Smith apple. The dish was reportedly born at Drumkilbo House in Perthshire, for some late-arriving guests who had the audacity to miss dinner and is a form of crustacean cocktail using quails eggs for the emulsion with finely chopped quails eggs as well.  Mine was a lobster with a form of quail egg espuma on top with small pieces of apple gel on the bottom which worked very well to provide the sweet and acidity to help with the mound of pleasantly creamy topping. It is a fresh and decent dish but as with all lobster dishes, the price tag for the starter is always higher. Pastry shards with a spicy, paprika emulsion is also provided for this dish to scoop up the starter as is traditionally served with toast.

For my main was Roast Sirloin of Longhorn beef, duck fat potatoes, buttered cabbage and Yorkshire pudding.  As one would expect at an establishment like this, you would have expected the roast main to be good quality and this was.  The beef with good flavour, the duck fat potatoes a dream, the horseradish sauce toned down very nicely and creamy at the same time with a quality Yorkshire pudding – all very important to be done well and thankfully these surely were.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the dessert which was the Yorkshire rhubarb and custard trifle, elderflower and blood orange which was absolutely a hit.  The air-light custard in its mousse form was still rich,  the compote of elderflower was a welcome uplift to strawberry and the biscuit ‘croutons’ on top gave a lovely texture to the pudding.  This was probably the knock-out element of the whole meal.

So, the restaurant is in new(ish) hands, but is as steady as a rock in conclusion.  It is a very safe bet location and a lovely place where you will be very well looked after for a special occasion.

Now that The Goring is fait accompli with a brand new Michelin star, it was especially nice for three of us to drop in for the pre-theatre menu following a tour of Buckingham Palace.  At £55 for 3 courses and two glasses of wine, it is a reasonable menu but I do think it would benefit from having the option of not having the wine as mandatory as well and just being the 3 courses of food for around the £30-£35 mark (for the quality of this menu) which would make the set option easier on the eye.  The food itself on this menu was however, easily in the upper bracket of set menus I have experienced.  Most pre/post-theatre menus or set lunches traditionally have smaller portions and less expensive/sizeable cuts of meat, but this pre-theatre menu really didn’t actually feel like this with a wonderfully smooth foie gras terrine with superb brioche mini bun with slivers of ham and shavings of truffle on top – this was not your average set menu starter.

The fish broth was very clean in its flavour and I would also like to make a special mention that the children’s menu was a lovely touch – all the right options for kids and cleverly done and this is another example of how well the establishment gives that extra bit to look after its guests which I think goes a long way.

I thought the mains looked as if they had come from the a la carte as a first impression with beautiful cuts of lamb and sweetbreads in breadcrumbs.  The pork main was elegantly presented, but rather unfortunately there was still netting left in the slices of meat that were served which was not the best to bite into or see after removing.  Although this is not the end of the world, it was genuinely quite a surprise (and have hence had to adjust my overall grade), so I asked if the dish could simply be replaced by the lamb as it seemed a safer bet and this was done as quickly as possible with apologies.

A selection of British cheeses was offered to the table with the restaurant’s compliments for the inconvenience which was warmly received.  The wines that were selected as the two choices worked well as well – a subtle Sauvignon Blanc for my starter and a rather smooth Cotes du Rhône to go with my main and both were perfectly pleasant as the choices for the set menu.  The desserts were light, interesting and pleasant to finish the experience off – the kid’s banana split being pretty splendid as well!

The things I loved about this was the warmth and the unobtrusive nature of the service combined with the lovely dining room (and yes I do like the modern chandeliers) with very elegant food which, all in all, was lovely to experience.  I’ve had to reduce my food-grade based on the little episode on this visit, but overall, if the set menu is anything to go on, then I very much look forward to trying the a la carte as this experience has confirmed that the latter will have some superb elements and design.   It’s a lovely option to have for Michelin dining and I look forward to mark another occasion with a lovely meal here in the future.

There are two menu choices at Hélène Darroze at the Connaught: a full tasting menu of 7 courses starting at £165 prior to any supplements and a shorter 3 course menu for £65 prior to any extra supplements.  It was a special occasion and probably not going to be done very often to this level, so in the end, all agreed to go for the larger tasting menu. The meal began with an amuse bouche of cucumber, lemon verbena and tarragon oil which was refreshing but a little underwhelming as a starting impression.  Canapés were next and there were three: bluefish with cured sardines and cantaloupe melon which was nicely balanced; a mackerel taco with cucumber and roses which was not my favourite and a stunning anchovy parfait with dill and chive.  Homemade sourdough came with two artistically presented butters – plain and unsalted from Oxfordshire and espelette pepper which comes Armagnac.  Not that surprising as Helene Darroze herself comes from Armagnac, so this region is showcased as much as possible within this restaurant and menu.

Brown and spider crabs from Dowrick, Cornwall was the first course presented in the open, half shell.  The crab itself sat beneath a layer of  pomelo and crab espuma (the largest of citrus fruits), lampong pepper (black pepper from Southern Sumatra, Indonesia), “txangurro” (shredded spider crab in Basque) with wild garlic flowers. This was extremely light and pleasant as an introduction.  Celtuce, a large citrus was the next course with Scots pine sprinkled on, a Bellota ham consomme and timut pepper.  Different and refined, but ultimately not anything to stop traffic over – the main enjoyment was the unusual texture of the celtuce and that was the highlight.  The paired non-alcoholic drink was  cucumber with fennel – the fennel providing a flinty minerality and the cucumber for texture.

An interlude of foie gras from Landes with a sake sauce with cherry, almond, lemon verbena and elderflower was lovely and soft as a little course to have. I have had more mind-blowing foie gras but it went very with the sauce. This was paired with a non-alcoholic drink of melon and  strawberry which had a base of acidity and vibrancy with the star anise.  Lobster from Phil Trebilcock in Cornwall was served with lobster mousseline, tandoori spices, coriander oil, carrot mousse, citrus, spring onion, buerre noisette.  There was no doubt in anyone’s mind at the table that this was a significant dish.  The utterly succulent lobster was perfectly matched with a sensational balance of silky smooth and sweet carrot with flawlessly balanced spices to accompany and a touch of decadence from the buerre noisette.  This was an utterly beautiful dish in every way and well worthy of the 3 stars. 

Next was John Dory from Bonnie Grace in Cornwall came with a stunningly sweet and smooth buerre Blanc, girolle mushrooms and broad beans.  Nothing really not to like with this dish.   For the meat, there was a choice of pigeon as part of the £165 menu, or the Wagyu for an additional £95 supplement. My logic of opting for the latter was I would probably not be doing this every week and you cannot opt for this on the £65 set lunch menu, so if I was to come back again just to try it, it woud cost another £165 just to try it, so I thought it may as well be done now…

Highland ‘Wagyu’, was displayed on the menu and was served with oyster mushrooms, tarragon & parsley cream, capers and a beef jus made with fermented pepper and a bone marrow accompaniment.  One point on non-Japanese wagyu which is a bit of a contradiction because the literal translation of ‘wa-gyu’ is ‘Japanese cow’ and if you speak to any chef in Japan they will laugh at you if you say you had wagyu from reared cattle outside of Japan.  On asking the staff, it was confirmed that the herd this had come from was indeed from black, Japanese cows but I couldn’t get an answer on which bloodline these were to authenticate:  Tajima, Kedaka or Shimane.  I also couldn’t gain the supplier name so my suspicion is that this wagyu was from a herd of Scottish Highland cows that had been mated by a Japanese bull in order to be legally compliant in order to be called ‘Wagyu’.  Why do I babble on about this? Because it actually makes a huge difference of not only the rearing process of the cow but also the ultimate flavour of the beef and I can say 100% that unfortunately, whilst basically passable in flavour, this was no-where near the same levels of wagyu experienced in Chateaux Joel Robuchon, Tokyo or Mizai in Kyoto – not one bit.  The fact that it was an additional £95 supplement on top of a £165 menu made this frankly a kick in the teeth and ultimately a huge letdown. I’m afraid for the asking price, I simply would not recommend this.  Still, on the side there was a beef tartare taco which was light and nicely done to enjoy. 

On to the sweets, first was Garigette strawberries (from SW France and prized for their sweetness), were served with Chantilly cream, white balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and craquelin choux pastry crackers.  This was a sensational dish with the sweet beauty of the strawberry sorbet and strawberries themselves and the genius of the pastry. Knock out. 

A beignet or small doughnut was then prepared at the table after with cream and a raspberry jam filling.  Finally a signature Baba (an additional £18) made with Armagnac was served with raspberries with raspberry gel inside them as a lovely touch.  The baba itself had a gorgeous texture and was made with long pepper (complex) and expensive Sarawak pepper (from Kerala, SW India) and lovely whipped Chantilly cream, all laced with Armagnac within the sponge.  About as good as one can make this and probably pipping Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester‘s version to the post by a nat’s hair. 

The Petit Fours were equally pleasant in their simplicity and I was pleased with these. First were marshmallows with tarragon olive oil which, whilst weren’t everybody’s favourite at the table, I actually enjoyed the light and fatty combination.  Next were beetroot and red pepper gels which sound odd but were sweetened and balanced with sugar well enough to be ok with ultimately and then very good, simple ganaches with Talisker whiskey which was the winning petit four – a lovely, subtle flavour of Talisker and a combination not really exploited enough.

In the end and to my huge surprise, the bill was actually taken care of by my unspeakably generous dining companions so out of courtesy I will not be seeking the total however, you can get a feel from the aspects I have raised which will be corroborated by the open-source prices on their website.  The one thing that I was also amazed about to learn afterwards is that the paired non-alcoholic drinks menu to accompany the tasting menu is an unbelievable £130 extra. The glasses that I had were in a mixed show of some very refreshing to a couple of average tasting juices to one that was actually undrinkable.  Unless the fruits had come from the of depths of the Sembikiya fruit parlour in Nihonbashi, Tokyo and were bought retail, I cannot see in a million years how 7 half glasses of fruit and vegetable juice can marked up as £130.  I’m afraid this is another option I cannot recommend. The only matching drink that was extremely good was the coeur de boeuf tomato, celery, Worcestershire sauce with Tazmanian pepper that went with the pigeon course and I can imagine took a longer time to prepare. That said, you would be far better off and far healthier drinking a matching tea menu of finest-grade tea from companies such as Lalani and Co bringing the sheer health benefits (in comparison to the sugar content of the suggested mocktails) and far more unique experience.  If you do not drink, I would actually recommend you try this instead as I believe the restaurant does stock this tea.

This was a refined meal no question and there was much to enjoy with a couple of absolute top-class moments in the lobster and strawberry dishes.  Sadly, other than those two dishes, you have to question the expense of what you are gaining here and whilst a pleasant meal, the ultimate food truth is that based on this meal, I would genuinely rush back quicker to the likes of SOLA or The Ritz well before my next meal here at the delightful Connaught.

Food Grade: 81%

Snacks included seaweed crackers with mackerel tartare which were light and decent.  Foie gras and the smoked eel was warm and pleasant and the churros cep and potato and with parmesan was light and pleasant enough.   

The bread included a homemade campaillou (rye & wheat flour) and unsalted & Espelette pepper – both good, however, the pepper being a little distracting from butter.  The butter itself from Brittany takes 3 days to make the butter from Jean Paul, making it with wooden paddles to relax the butter.   

Lobster from St Ives in Cornwall (another place I visited as a child) was my chosen starter was beautifully fresh and came with vibrant lemongrass which was beautifully judged.  The pasta was actually the highlight and wonderfully fresh all round and the supporting parts of wild garlic, broad beans and white asparagus were very nice seasonal add ons.

Duck was my choice for main, served with beetroot and blood orange which was ok, but the spiced crust was more the star as was the softened beetroot, more than the quality of the actual duck itself.  

A pre-dessert of pineapple & mint sorbet was creamy and refreshing – no issues with this.  The rhubarb with lemongrass foam was delightful with meringue – albeit with a subtle rhubarb; at least it wasn’t radioactively acidic as they often can be.  The rhubarb ice cream was the genuine hero of the dish however.  A bonus chocolate dessert was a combination with sherry and was fine and I could see that the sour of the Greek yoghurt cancelled out the sweetness of the chocolate nicely.  Having the sherry served at the table from the barrel and poured through the air was a nice bit of theatre as well.  

Petit fours included yuzu chocolate, pineapple gel, apple tart and vanilla (with the latter being wow levels!), raspberry marshmallow and a lovely salted caramel truffle.  All in all, this basically meant an eight-course meal with three glasses of wine for £61 all in which, for London, let alone a 5-star hotel in Mayfair is superb value.  That will just about get you a starter in some Parisian 2 and 3 Michelin starred restaurants and is another example of where you really can get some exceptional deals in London.  

The only catch being that as fun and lovely as this was, especially with the marble board menu at the beginning, it wasn’t blow your socks off food.  If anything this appeared to be possibly poking into a 2-star meal, but was nevertheless a very pleasant experience and in excellent service hands.  Another tasting menu beckons for the next visit to pump up the wattage a tad I feel. 

The food was extremely well balanced on this tasting menu occasion and stylishly created yet my only negative is that I cannot remember too many of the dishes which is not a good sign in terms of the genuine impact they had in the mouth.  The custard foie gras starter was without a doubt lovely and the creativity of all the remaining dishes was pleasing which was the overall impression gained.  The wine menu was impressive and the options were carefully selected by the sommelier and were enjoyably original.

First things first, you must accept various things regarding a visit to Ynyshir Restaurant & Rooms:  1) The rooms are available for one night only to serve as a resting place for diners rather than a hotel for random hikers; 2) Do not get off at Dovey Junction if you are going by train even though is closer to Ynyshir as this involves a 20 min walk to get to the main road – Machynlleth is your baby(!) and 3) Prepare yourself during the day that this will not be a short dinner (or lunch).  For that reason I have to say the value for money is still exceedingly good here.  The 20+ courses for dinner with wines we had and the stay came to £225 per head with an additional £125 for the matching wines and additions totalling just over £350 for the marathon meal, stay and breakfast.  This is tremendous value comparative to the rest of the country’s high end notable eateries as a huge bonus (and comparative to other establishments across the world cooking at this level).

And so, on to the good stuff.  The meal began with something I had had before entitled ‘Not Onion Soup’ which is a small soup made with miso onion, tofu, sea vegetables, onion oil, dashi and croutons.  I actually forgot how insanely good this was and made no bones about this in the summary of my first trip last year and is one of the stronger openings to any meal I have on record it is that good and worth the attention here.  Leg of Aylesbury duck with black bean glaze with spring onion & toasted sesame came next which, in spite of being a fraction dry had a wonderful crunch and glaze of the orient.  

It’s always lovely to have wonderful dips and for the bread course here, you are in for a treat.  Although this particular sour dough is not my absolute favourite in being a tad bitter, it is carefully made and proved over 7 days and the wagyu fat and miso butter are things of beauty to dunk this in to.  The miso butter in particular, which is in fact pure gold in the butter world.  Another previously enjoyed dish of mackerel, dried in kombu and brushed with miso butter with Yorkshire rhubarb ketchup, soy and back fat was very good, with all accompanying oils and fats working well with each other and the mackerel which was prepared very well.  

Crab claw with soy sauce with curry ketchup, coriander and puffed rice was sheer knock out, plain and simple.  The crab worked excellently with the fresh curry and I honestly haven’t had a creative curry dish like that since the pork and banana curry at 3 Michelin starred Alinea and this frankly at a similar quality line.  The pork belly char su was marinated for 4 days and barbecued, proving to be very succulent and with pleasing flavour.  The breast of duck with hoi sin, pickled cucumber had perfect breast meat with wonderfully subtle hoi sin but also had just the right ‘hit’ of how sin at the same time, perfectly balanced with the pickled cucumber; a great dish. 

Duck liver was next with spelt crisp, grated smoked eel and birch syrup grade creating a smokey, silky liver mousse collection.  This really was destroyed in a matter or seconds it was that good having such a smooth texture and decent flavour.  Yellow & red tomatos came next in  dehydrated form and also pickled with back fat, sour dough and smoked cream cheese.  All these components went well together and really nothing to not like on this.  

Garlic prawn from Isle of Skye (wild garlic in the UK becomes abundant between Apr-May) was served with oil made with garlic and also frozen with stems pickled and vacuum packed.  The sweetness of the langoustine was lovely and the garlic oil with pickled wild garlic stems on top was a cracking combination.  St George mushroom with mushroom cream was a luscious mini-celebration of mushroom, the flavour being enjoyable.  Asparagus was the next dish with garlic,  miso butter and mussels with fermented grains.  This was quite vinegary as the main element and it seemed the asparagus’ main job was providing the necessary texture. 

 On to the meats! The short rib wagyu was 72-hour slow cooked at 60 degrees producing all fat to be rendered down nicely.  It was then barbecued and served with pickled lettuce, puffed rice with shiitake ketchup and soy which was joy in the mouth altogether.  The same can be said of the Wagyu ‘burger’ with fermented lettuce sour dough mayo, charred gherkin pickled shallot sesame seeds – a superb biteful collection.  Then finally was the prize of upgraded Wagyu which was aged 250 days encased in wagyu fat (to stop the air drying it out too much) then given a dose of ultra violet light at 2 degrees Celsius for final entrapment of flavour.  The fermented lettuce with Hampshire-grown wasabi came with beef dressing.  Initially I thought there was a danger of too much fat, but it’s job was to kill the harshness of the wasabi which it did brilliantly and the overall effect was a deep and flavoursome umami sensation and a lovely addition.  

Sour dough pieces with wagyu fat and onion came as almost a miniature soup and texturally was a nice change and the onions gave the fat the slight relief it needed.  Next came the sour dough crumpet with Tunworth (and camambert from Hampshire), ‘minus 8’ vinegar (grapes picked at 8 degrees and turned in to iced wine and then in to vinegar) with maple syrup blended with Italian biancito truffles which was just heavenly.  Yes, this was as good as it sounds and another great dish from a genuine composer.  

The Yuzu shlush was a lovely mouthwash to have in the crossover to sweet dishes (I happen to adore the freshness of yuzu as a citrus fruit), followed by white chocolate and tofu mousse black bean syrup black bean biscuit.  The latter I have had before and was very pleased to show to my associate at the table who concurred that it was as quality as I had recalled it to be.  Next came a lovely little compote of Yorkshire rhubarb with raw slices on top.  The custard here was made the old fashioned way: cornflower, eggs, milk and sugar and was utterly first rate custard, there is no question here.  I was especially pleased how well the raw rhubarb had been toned down as was not the acidic slaughter house it often can be and was balanced really well.   

Sticky toffee pudding had dates with no stones, vanilla ice creamed with Tahitian vanilla and a lovely, sticky toffee sauce.  No issues with this at all and another pleasing dish to add to the proceedings.  Nettle granita with nettle oil and nettle biscuit, goats curd pannacota granola and fresh lemon had a visual and lovely scent across the whole table and I was pleasantly surprised at this dish as well – I have had some poor experiences of nettle being attempted but this was actually quite refreshing.  Finally, the old favourite of tiramasui coffee and cake purée, vanilla mayonnaise, sweet masala wine gel, frozen madcapane and masala wine sprayed on top with 100% Madagascan chocolate grated on top.  There is not much that can be faulted on this except if you have a problem with deconstructed dishes – which I don’t in anyway if it produces the flavour goods and this most certainly does.  It was a wonderful finish to the meal, with all parts of this dish coming together well and in a fun and innovative way.  

To sum up, there were very few moments of this meal that didn’t strike a memorable chord and the bottom line here is that right now, I simply can’t see any other appropriate tier for this restaurant to sit in other than 2 Michelin star level based on the handling of the ingredients, creative combinations and balance.  Price is also an interesting factor which, is interesting to see – this was an absolute steal for this level of quality when comparing to the $1,200 price tag I had for just one dinner (for 2) with very modest wine at The French Laundry…and the £350 here will give an abundance of good wines on top of the tasting menu and a lovely room at Ynyshir as well!  Powys is a little easier to get to than you might think – if you’re coming from London, a quick change in Birmingham, a bottle of fizz and a laptop or tablet with a film loaded on and you are there, so this was actually better than driving as I did last time.  

I was fairly sure this was a great venue within the UK when I visited last year; I’m now convinced and know it is above that from this second visit and rarely does a menu with so many courses have so many genuinely decent moments – very difficult to pull this off which proved to be possible here.  A lovely food & weekend escape in all ways – thank you, Ynyshir for another belter! 

As a welcome to the table, a Birch tree had been ‘tapped’, enabling sap to pour out and be collected.  This was allowed to ferment slightly, kicked off by adding a dash of sugar and then with rasins added resulting in a refreshing and sweet, fractionally carbonated welcome drink – a very nice touch an opener.

Miso onion and dashi with local sea vegetables from the beach two miles away were then brought in a bowl and I had an automatic love with the buttery feel of the dish (pretty impressive when no butter was used) and refreshing fragrances of the sea but without being too pungent.  I seriously wanted more and more of this dish.  The sour dough was made over 7 days of proving to increase the sour flavour, with fermented grains was deliberately charred on the crust but carefully made not to taste burnt.  This had a lovely texture but in retrospect I personally would have opted for a crust that stretches more as opposed to being brittle, but the effort was plain to see.  The cultured miso butter (made by adding yoghurt and putting in water bath for 4 days) then churning (beating to separate fats to gain consistency) was more the pleasure as was the wagyu dripping butter; the miso butter was itself on way to being cheese and had a complimentary sourness to the bread – overall a clever and a good combination.

The mackerel turned out to be wrapped in seaweed for 24 hours with rhubarb ketchup and pork fat shavings.  This had sweetness from the ketchup with richness of fat and the crunch of the slices and was a very good dish.  It was fresh, fatty and tangy all at the same time – utterly well done, with all components serving their function absolutely.  Then came the duck liver with apple syrup and woodsorrell with spelt biscuit and smoked eel shavings on top – this was beautifully smooth, had the earthy overtone of woodsorrell, glorious crunch from the spelt and v good combo of the eel and liver.

Then came the Lamb rib: treated and rested for four days in total with shizo onion in vinegar with soy glaze and mint.  This was undeniably a lovely play of sweet and acid with the most tender of lamb had in a LONG time.  I could have have practically eaten the fat on its own and this was perhaps the nicest piece of lamb I think I have ever had, it was that good.  Next time I come here I am going to simply destroy this rib in about 6 seconds.

Then another absolute belter of a lamb dish came(!) – mint kombucha (Asian tea left for a month which turns in to a vinegar) with roasted lamb and soy sauce.  The lamb itself, prior to cooking, had been brushed with lamb fat for 2 days in order to lock in the moisture and the combination of the soy and the mint was frankly an outstanding combination.  This was also a perfect example of using good fat and moisture with Asian influences without the need for dairy / butter.

The truffle and cultured butter tunworth cheese with maple and sour crumpet made me instantly happy.  I usually find cheese on its own on a board with grapes or chutney a little boring frankly, so having a cheese course like this I thought put this in the same league as The Square when I visited there a few years ago – cheese to be made ultra interesting and wonderful to the taste as well.  This was another corker – light vinegar was sprayed on for the final effect producing an absolutely instantaneous, lovely squidgy, rich, smokey combination.  I literally couldn’t have been happier.

Beer was poured over lime gel with grated lime on top for the next course.  The lime gel I found quite sour and with a hard crunch; it was nice to have balanced with yoghurt at the bottom but overall I found this a little too sour for my palate.  Next up, white chocolate with black bean which was beautifully sweet, rich and with a savoury blend.  Too much of any one of the components of this dish would have been a train wreck but together and in the portions they were, this was absolute harmony.

The nitro rhubarb with rhubarb gel was wonderfully sweet with a sharp twist and an enjoyable, light crunch in the mix as well.  This was followed by a deconstructed tiramisu which was very nicely balanced, with good textures but the only aspect being a bit of a shock for the roof of ther mouth being so many nitro-frozen elements dominating the sesnations in the mouth.  Flavour wise this was very nicely balanced for the coffee as well.  Finally, a Fat Duck style nitro-poached white chocolate mousse with injected fennel emulsion was provided in the kitchen for a lovely finish.

This really was a superb meal and I instantly regretted having to do lunch as opposed to dinner (my other restaurant that day did not do lunch and meant having to do it this way round).  As this ‘glimpse’ of a lunch was so impresssive in its own right, in my mind this is one of the discoveries of the past 12 months for me and of all the Michelin starred retaurants (1-3) in the UK, I haven’t been this keener to get back to one so much, since the likes of doing Midsummer House for the first time.  This is an incredibly strong 1 Michelin starred restaurant which, based on the flavours alone, I would go back to before I would to at least eight of the 2 Michelin starred restaurants in the UK.  I honestly cannot wait to get back here for the full, nine yards; it was a great meal and living proof why this is so enjyoyable to do.  Thank you, the team at Ynyshir for making this what it was.