RIP - CLOSED AS AT SEP 2017

27th January 2015
1st July 2010

My second visit to L’Autre Pied was much better and this time it was very good to see an amuse bouche (a nice artichoke mousse) and the parmesan cheese bread was extremely good. The braised deer was lovely as was the pig and subsequent rhubarb. The white chocloate and grand marnier petits fours were splendid and rounded off a very good set menu lunch. All in, with tea and service charge came to £37 which could have been less, had I opted not for the tea but still ticks the good value for money as it technically meant five diferent courses at Michelin starred level. Fuller notes on the food is at the below expansion button.

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What the restaurant loses points for, in my overall esteem however, is the fact there was a hair in my tea which was clearly visible through the lemon clarity of the lemon tea and the hospitality. Dealing with each one in turn, the latter can happen and it was replaced but I was surprised that a little something was not taken off the bill or more petits fors were given for example as a gesture – sending anything back is a big negative for a Michelin starred reestaruant so it was a bad dissapointment that this did not register more with them.

The second negative was the dissinterested nature of the front of house Maitre d’ on greeting and pleasanties after the meal – no checking of whether the meal was enjoyed or even eye contact and was a very poor effort on the part of the front of house here. This was a shame as the waiter had done a very good job of looking after me throughout the meal.

Overall, the food was a very good, but the hospitality requires a lot of attention. A very reasonable venue if you are willing to deal with some care-free handling and do not require an atmosphere.

Food Grade: 81%

Definitely a good 1 Michelin starred restaurant in that it has style as a place and a very reasonable set menu which often appears on amazon local and Groupon for set deals which are basically the same as the restaurant but with a free drink thrown in. Like many 1 Michelin starred places, the food was certainly well done and crafted but the service was just a little plain on my visit. It is only, somehow the 2 and 3 Michelin starred places (in very rough terms) that the service and wine list begins to come in to its own and this was no exception to that rough and ready truth. A good meal on this visit and would recommend here for something different and would be perfect for starting off a stag do over lunch or a work do for example for not ridiculous prices. Probably not for special enough for Birthdays or major occasions but definitely a good little place worth doing when there is time.

Food Grade: 71%