Zoe Williams of The Sunday Telegraph reviews Alexanders in Limpsfield, Surrey, which she compares to “a restaurant from a film made in a country that has struggled long under Communism, and only grandma can remember what a restaurant is like”.
The staff are “bizarrely interrogatory”, the tian of Cornish crab is “tired-tasting” and Ms Williams gets “the impression that units just aren’t shifting fast enough”. However, her cep pureé “swept across the plate like a Persian cat” and her noisette of veal is “tender but resilient” and “delicious”. She awards the meal a score of five out of 10.
Alan Brown of The Sunday Times visits The Plumed Horse in Edinburgh. He describes the cooking as “complex, PhD level stuff, slightly bloodless and overhyphenated…but with surprisingly powerful twists and turns”. Although he appreciates the restaurant’s “high culinary game” he finds it “lacks warmth”.
Jay Rayner of the Observer reviews Suka in London’s Berners Street. The £15 satay starter is “a mugging on nice crockery”, and two tiger prawns and an overdressed lentil salad cost him £16. The curried crab laksa is “a bastardisation of a fantastic dish” and the crab cake has “the texture of a sponge”. The main courses are similarly disappointing and even the décor and furniture draw Rayner’s criticism.
Terry Durack of The Independent on Sunday visits Haiku in London’s New Burlington Place. He finds the menu over-long and complex and the waiting staff make several mistakes with his order – he is charged for a dish he neither ordered nor ate. The food is “a mixed bag” – although his saffron rice is “a dream” and the dim sum is “good work”, the Thai prawn salad is “unlikeable” and “vulgar”. He awards the restaurant 11 out of 20.
The Sunday Telegraph 29/4/07 page 72 (Stella magazine)
The Sunday Times 29/4/07 page 10 (Culture)
The Observer 29/4/07 page 59 (Magazine)
The Independent On Sunday 29/4/07 page 49 (Magazine)