Giles Coren in The Times Magazine visits two restaurants in an attempt to see how London dining had improved over the past 30 years.
He chose Oslo Court in St John’s Wood as an example of a restaurant that hadn’t changed since the 1970s. Tom Aikens in Elystan Street represented contemporary 2008.
His fellow diners in his 1970s experience included women with “big hair” who wore “perfume made from Edwardian wardrobes.” His Steak Diane main course there was also “terrible.”
Tom Aitkens’ interior was seemingly designed by the “Wicked Witch of the West” but the roast scallops with braised oxtail were “awesome”. Higher marks were awarded to the more modern eatery.
Jasper Gerard takes a trip out to Cranbrook in Kent and tucks in at Apicius, named, says the reviewer, after a Roman professional glutton.
The restaurant, which recently gained a Michelin star, was founded by Tim Johnson, formerly personal chef to Paul Getty Jr..
He finds the “food to sigh for” and realises why you need to book six weeks in advance for a weekend lunch at £20 a head at the nine-table restaurant.
John Walsh in The Independent Magazine visits The Grill in Brown’s Hotel, London’s oldest operating five star hotel which opened its doors in 1837.
He says the menu- consisting of dishes like roasted scallops and hedgerow garlic- reflects the stamp of the new director of food, Mark Hix.
Walsh admires the “commitment to British food” and is bowled over by “the tastiest, most enjoyable and by some way largest lunch” he has eaten in months.
Matthew Norman pays homage to Sir Michael Parkinson’s gastro pub, The Royal Oak, besides the Thames, near Maidenhead in Berkshire.
He finds no “braising or boiling emu”, “cardboard Peter Ustinov in the corner” or other evidence of the great man’s career.
Instead, Norman says the pub is run “immaculately” by Parky’s son Nicholas.
He adds “every single thing about the place is spot on ” with the “headline act” being chef Dominic Chapman, poached from Heston Blumenthal’s nearby pub.
The Scotch eggs with “runny quail’s egg yolk” were so good Norman and his cousin had to order some more.
The Times 08/03/08 (Magazine) page 63
The Daily Telegraph 08/03/08 (Weekend) page 18
The Independent 08/03/08 (Magazine) page 55
The Guardian 08/03/08 (Weekend) page 76
