I visited Criterion http://www.criterionrestaurant.com/home.html on a surprisingly sunny day, further improved by the fact that it was my birthday and I was being taken there by a very nice agency that works for me. I have to admit that, despite an interest in eating out and some effort to know what's what, I knew little about the place. It was a fairly quiet Wednesday lunchtime, but there were still a number of tables occupied. We were seated quite close to the back of the dining room, which is quite impressive to look at and instills a feeling of calm, as well as the sense of excitement that a birthday should bring...even when you're the wrong side of thirty. The surroundings were incredible, with high ceilings covered in ornate mosaics, which added to the feeling of opulence.
Our waiter was attentive without being overbearing and didn't rush us to make our selections, which was lucky as it was a process that took some time. Before our starters, we were given little canapes with tomato and some lovely fresh bread. The starters arrived pretty quickly and my fois gras parfait was very good - rich and smooth - and served with toasted brioche and a port reduction, which worked well but my preference would have been for some kind of compote or chutney to provide some contrast and acidity. My two dining companions chose the king scallops with broad beans and spoke very positively about them.
Once we'd finished with our starters, leaving only very clean plates, our table was promptly cleared and our main courses followed quite quickly. I chose the dukkha spiced ostrich tender loin with sweet potato and beef bobotje, which was incredible and quite possibly one of the best things I've eaten in ages. Served medium rare, the ostrich was juicy and incredibly flavoursome, perfectly complemented by just the right amount of spices to add a really interesting tang but not heat. The pureed sweet potato was a wonderful contrast in terms of texture and worked really well with the tender meat, while the bobotje was amazingly aromatic and added another dimension of flavour and a third texture. One of my companions opted for wild salmon and lobster ravioli with bisque and really enjoyed it and seemed pleased to have selected this rather than steak. The third person at the table chose baked fish with confit potatoes and was equally appreciative. Needless to say, none of us left anything on our plates and all felt incredibly satisfied. Our food was washed down by two bottles of a wonderful Pouilly Fume, which was beautifully light and perhaps a little too drinkable as we finished the first bottle before we got to the end of our starters.
After polishing off every last morsel on our plates, we had simply no room left for dessert. However, my companions had ordered a little surprise - a lovely, light chocolate mousse cake, complete with a perfect quenelle of vanilla ice cream and a candle - a great and very pretty end to a wonderful meal.
Throughout the meal, the staff were polite and attentive, but not overly so and on finishing our meals we were by no means rushed to drain the last drops of fresh mint tea from our cups, and left to chat, even though lunchtime was officially over. Criterion succeeded in serving up amazing food in very impressive surroundings but without any of the pompousness that you might expect. The staff know their menu and are happy to provide recommendations and advice and the little extra touches - even the goldfish in bowls in the bathrooms - make the experience of eating there feel like a real treat.
I like to think that I'm as happy in a country pub as I am in a fancy London restaurant but this was a really wonderful experience and a truly memorable meal - and a great birthday experience.
Sunday 20 September 2009
Friday 11 September 2009
Cipriani, Davies Street, London
I really like my job on the days when it takes me to some of London's most interesting restaurants. Actually, I like it most of the time but that's another story/blog!
When I needed a venue for a business lunch, someone suggested Cipriani (http://www.cipriani.com/locations/london.php). As a true country mouse, I hadn't a clue about it...my Time Out Guide to Eating and Drinking in London has, perhaps wrongly, been buried in the magazine rack for a while now so I tend to go with recommendations. This was a pretty good one and for a venue for conversation as well as scoffing, it is pretty good. It's lively enough to be interesting and fill the moments when conversation lapses but quiet enough to be able to talk properly. As the lunch was a business meeting, I didn't force my co-diners to analyse their lunches to the nth degree, so I can speak only of my own experiences, but they were good.
The dining room at Cipriani has a fantastic feel to it - it's very art deco in style, with a busy bar and is a great place for people watching...when you're not meant to be focusing on the discussions you're actually there for. The first thing that wowed me was the bread - like croissants, but rolled into sort of a flat-bottomed sea shell. These were incredible, and although I could feel the calories going straight to my hips, there was no way I was going to leave even the smallest crumb! The menu at Cipriani has a great mix of pastas, risottos, meat and fish and making a selection was something of a challenge, to say the least. To start, I chose bresaola, which came with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan shavings. This was a fantastic start, the meat was soft and full of flavour and really got my tastebuds warmed up. To follow, I chose swordfish steak with cherry tomatoes and black olives: the steak was not an even thickness and so while the middle was perfectly cooked, some of the edges were starting to get a little dry. The cherry tomato and black olive topping was a great way to serve the fish, and was laced with basil and black pepper, although the generous quantity somewhat drowned the fish. This dish was served with a portion of rice, which was nice enough but somewhat surplus to requirements.
As this was a business lunch, I stuck to water, although the wine and cocktail list was certainly calling my name - the Cipriani family, which owned Harry's Bar in New York, has a strong connection to the Bellini but as someone who is often somewhat knocked out by lunchtime drinking, I just had to resist. Perhaps if McFoodie and I are ever in the area and on our own time, we'll give it a try. I'd certainly be interested in trying something else from Cipriani's menu and doing some more focused people watching.
When I needed a venue for a business lunch, someone suggested Cipriani (http://www.cipriani.com/locations/london.php). As a true country mouse, I hadn't a clue about it...my Time Out Guide to Eating and Drinking in London has, perhaps wrongly, been buried in the magazine rack for a while now so I tend to go with recommendations. This was a pretty good one and for a venue for conversation as well as scoffing, it is pretty good. It's lively enough to be interesting and fill the moments when conversation lapses but quiet enough to be able to talk properly. As the lunch was a business meeting, I didn't force my co-diners to analyse their lunches to the nth degree, so I can speak only of my own experiences, but they were good.
The dining room at Cipriani has a fantastic feel to it - it's very art deco in style, with a busy bar and is a great place for people watching...when you're not meant to be focusing on the discussions you're actually there for. The first thing that wowed me was the bread - like croissants, but rolled into sort of a flat-bottomed sea shell. These were incredible, and although I could feel the calories going straight to my hips, there was no way I was going to leave even the smallest crumb! The menu at Cipriani has a great mix of pastas, risottos, meat and fish and making a selection was something of a challenge, to say the least. To start, I chose bresaola, which came with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan shavings. This was a fantastic start, the meat was soft and full of flavour and really got my tastebuds warmed up. To follow, I chose swordfish steak with cherry tomatoes and black olives: the steak was not an even thickness and so while the middle was perfectly cooked, some of the edges were starting to get a little dry. The cherry tomato and black olive topping was a great way to serve the fish, and was laced with basil and black pepper, although the generous quantity somewhat drowned the fish. This dish was served with a portion of rice, which was nice enough but somewhat surplus to requirements.
As this was a business lunch, I stuck to water, although the wine and cocktail list was certainly calling my name - the Cipriani family, which owned Harry's Bar in New York, has a strong connection to the Bellini but as someone who is often somewhat knocked out by lunchtime drinking, I just had to resist. Perhaps if McFoodie and I are ever in the area and on our own time, we'll give it a try. I'd certainly be interested in trying something else from Cipriani's menu and doing some more focused people watching.
The White Oak, Cookham
Eating out has been something of a rare treat in these credit crunch times, so a trip to the White Oak (http://www.thewhiteoak.co.uk/) with McFoodie's dad and step mum was a real treat. It's a regular watering hole for us and we'd eaten there once before and really enjoyed it.
We met my parents for a drink in the bar before dinner and were left to enjoy ourselves with no pressure to move through to the dining room, even though it was a busy Friday night. The White Oak has a great selection of wines - I particularly recommend the Chilean sauvignon blanc - plus a good selection of beers. The atmosphere is spot-on - relaxed and informal yet smart, friendly and genuinely welcoming.
On moving through to the dining room, we were sat in the calm and well-lit dining room and given bread and menus very efficiently. In most cases, the staff really know the menu, although there was one dish that the waitress could not comment on as she'd not tried it (on a later visit, we overheard that the new menu had just been introduced and that all the staff had been tasting it). To start, McFoodie chose the chicken liver parfait and I had the goat's cheese salad. Both were great dishes with a big chunk of parfait that had a wonderful texture - the usual comment about not quite enough toast was made but bread was easily obtained to make up for it. The goat's cheese was beautifully nut-crusted with a lovely dressed salad of green leaves and beetroot - you get a lot of cheese for your money at the White Oak and the dish was very well-balanced and enjoyable - the only slight criticism was that there could have been more beetroot, which was specifically mentioned on the menu. Still, at least I'm not moaning about a lack of cheese!
The main courses really were sublime and McFoodie and I both thought them to be the best things we'd eaten in ages. Duck breast with a spiced honey sauce and gnocchi was the perfect choice for my husband, for who only a small number of potato dishes are acceptable. The duck was perfectly cooked and full of flavour and the spicing was just right. For me, lamb cutlets with gratin dauphinoise was impeccable - it was served with roasted carrot and parsnip and the kind of jus that you want to ask for in a pint glass. The lamb was so well-cooked, beautifully pink and incredibly flavoursome. The meal was washed down with a very enjoyable Marlborough sauvignon blanc (yes, white wine with lamb and duck!).
Once main meals were done, I couldn't even consider eating anything more for fear of bursting at the seams but McFoodie chose a selection of Salcombe Dairy ice creams - staying true to our shared love of Devon.
Overall this was an incredibly enjoyable experience - great food, lovely surroundings and very good staff in both the restaurant and the bar. I can't recommend this place highly enough and between that visit and writing this, not only have we returned for many a glass of wine but also shared a starter platter one evening - wonderful honeyed sweet potato soup, that amazing chicken liver parfait, the best breaded king prawns I've ever had and a ham hock terrine that, on reading the menu left me unmoved, but proved to be the jewel in the crown.
Bottom line - if you're going to eat in the Berkshire/South Buckinghamshire area, this is a real must. I can't tell you how much the bill was as McFoodie's father payed (thanks pa-in-law!) but I can say that it's worth every penny!
We met my parents for a drink in the bar before dinner and were left to enjoy ourselves with no pressure to move through to the dining room, even though it was a busy Friday night. The White Oak has a great selection of wines - I particularly recommend the Chilean sauvignon blanc - plus a good selection of beers. The atmosphere is spot-on - relaxed and informal yet smart, friendly and genuinely welcoming.
On moving through to the dining room, we were sat in the calm and well-lit dining room and given bread and menus very efficiently. In most cases, the staff really know the menu, although there was one dish that the waitress could not comment on as she'd not tried it (on a later visit, we overheard that the new menu had just been introduced and that all the staff had been tasting it). To start, McFoodie chose the chicken liver parfait and I had the goat's cheese salad. Both were great dishes with a big chunk of parfait that had a wonderful texture - the usual comment about not quite enough toast was made but bread was easily obtained to make up for it. The goat's cheese was beautifully nut-crusted with a lovely dressed salad of green leaves and beetroot - you get a lot of cheese for your money at the White Oak and the dish was very well-balanced and enjoyable - the only slight criticism was that there could have been more beetroot, which was specifically mentioned on the menu. Still, at least I'm not moaning about a lack of cheese!
The main courses really were sublime and McFoodie and I both thought them to be the best things we'd eaten in ages. Duck breast with a spiced honey sauce and gnocchi was the perfect choice for my husband, for who only a small number of potato dishes are acceptable. The duck was perfectly cooked and full of flavour and the spicing was just right. For me, lamb cutlets with gratin dauphinoise was impeccable - it was served with roasted carrot and parsnip and the kind of jus that you want to ask for in a pint glass. The lamb was so well-cooked, beautifully pink and incredibly flavoursome. The meal was washed down with a very enjoyable Marlborough sauvignon blanc (yes, white wine with lamb and duck!).
Once main meals were done, I couldn't even consider eating anything more for fear of bursting at the seams but McFoodie chose a selection of Salcombe Dairy ice creams - staying true to our shared love of Devon.
Overall this was an incredibly enjoyable experience - great food, lovely surroundings and very good staff in both the restaurant and the bar. I can't recommend this place highly enough and between that visit and writing this, not only have we returned for many a glass of wine but also shared a starter platter one evening - wonderful honeyed sweet potato soup, that amazing chicken liver parfait, the best breaded king prawns I've ever had and a ham hock terrine that, on reading the menu left me unmoved, but proved to be the jewel in the crown.
Bottom line - if you're going to eat in the Berkshire/South Buckinghamshire area, this is a real must. I can't tell you how much the bill was as McFoodie's father payed (thanks pa-in-law!) but I can say that it's worth every penny!
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