Sienna

Sienna is not a name I have come across, restricted as my gluttony is to London and anywhere an hours drive from it. I was therefore relying entirely on the trusty Michelin guide to help me choose a final meal whilst in Devon and there is plenty of competition. It sits amidst Mark Hix's Oysterhouse' Matt Follas' wild Garlic' the Crab House in Wyke Regis and the occasional evening meal at River Cottage which form a gastronomic trail from Weymouth to Bridport like so many edible pearls on the Jurassic coastline. The first had been dispatched earlier in the week, the last was sold out so the fat mans star helped finalise the choice.

The exterior is unremarkable and the interior a pleasant and straightforward small Mediterranean themed dining room. Front of house is pleasantly and professionally dealt with by the chef's partner Elaine Brown, the wine list is limited but offers a worthy variety of choices from both the old and new world.

Bread is home made and excellent, an the quality of ingredients is high but the technical quality of cooking is exceptionally so.

An amuse bouche of courgette tartlets showed a delicacy of touch on the pastry front and was paired with a savoury earthy "goats cheese truffle". Both bought the taste buds enthusiastically to life.

A Panzanella tomato salad with creamy buffalo mozzarella and a rich balsamic vinegar was a deliciously simple dish that relies on sympathetic treatment of high quality ingredients. A main course of loin of lamb and shepherds pie offered lamb two ways with 'peas and carrots' in the form of pea shoots and a silky carrot puree raising a smile both for the touch of humour and the primal satisfaction of a perfectly executed British dish.

Lastly, mascarpone mousse with poached peach on a shortbread biscuit, offered a light and delicate finale of cream and acidity. The cheesecake was rich (perhaps a little too much so?) and creamy whilst Petit fours showcased the chef's broad technical skill and penchant for chocolaterie.

Russell Brown has spent the last eight years nurturing this 15 cover dining room on Dorchester High street so his ability to maintain it must be something of a labour of love. Perhaps the decor and choice of music is a little dated and the noise of buses stopping outside the front window but these gripes become petty once you begin to enjoy the classically prepared french cuisine

It is a pleasure to find that Dorchester can support cuisine of this quality and that the restaurant has deservedly kept the star awarded in 2010.

Hix Oyster and Fish House

On a recent trip on the Dorset Coast we visited the Hix Oyster and Fish House.

This one of Mark Hix's five venues, a brand that is rapidly turning into an watchword for quality British dining. An unusual cross between a chalet and wood fronted conservatory on stilts, it overlooks the Cobb in Lyme Regis from a small deck and through ceiling to floor windows offers a beautiful view of the bay. On our visit, unusually warm British weather tested the ventilation of the restaurant as it does not have air conditioning. This is rarely likely to be an issue in the UK however, global warming notwithstanding.

The menu is straightforward and offers spanking fresh fish cooked simply and served by polite young and slightly nervous staff, perhaps beginning their summer holiday front of house stint in the venue.


The wine list is short and limited, heavy on the new world selections with nary a Sancerre Pouilly Fume or Albarino in sight. The cooking, however simple, is consistent. Chips are good, soft in the middle, crunchy on the outside. Crab salad and crab on toast were both well seasoned and presented. Local Bream and Bass were excellent and served with a good green and hollandaise sauce. Authentically creamy ice cream and refreshing sorbet finished the meal though we had time for a quirky little alcojelly under the name of the "Shot of Hix Fix". Wine mark ups are closer to London levels at 300% at the budget end of the list. This venue has been in place since 2008 and turned tables twice on a summer lunch service so I am sure is proving very successful.

The view through the left of the restaurant jars slightly with that through the front as the former neatly frames the crazy golf course but this is the English seaside and if the view were of the med and the locals were playing boules instead it would seem authentic rather than twee.

It would be easy to attempt a comparison to Rick Steins fish restaurant. The formula is too straightforward to be put in the same category however, aimed as it is at well heeled casual holiday visitors who will not venture far enough down the coast to try the local competition which offers a similar approach for a few pounds less.

In conclusion then, the cost of the meal is perhaps a little high given the simplicity of the food but the quality is there and the location stands out.

York and Albany

From time to time I fail to record restaurant visits here and this is usually for four reasons. Perhaps I have already written about them and am visiting again, they are bland, bad or I had such a wonderful time, I made no notes, took no photos and can type up nothing of note other than "ooohhh lovely". From time to time though, a meal can fall into one of these categories but provoke a comment for another reason.

Launched by Angela Hartnett in '08 with a predominantly Italian menu (hence the adjoining deli Nonna's) whilst she was also creating Murano to the west in Mayfair, Colin Buchan has taken on the role and all trace of his predecessor are now removed from the website.

The menu is described as Mediterranean which in this case seems to touch broadly on Italy, Spain and France, though not specifically the mediterranean parts of any of them, so no bouillabaisse, no Greek or Turkish touches. Main course prices with the exception of the pizza excepted can equal those in the Savoy Grill or Claridges so expectations are high.

The bread was good, service very competent and the dining room at the back of the venue pleasant and well lit. Confit of lamb with carrots and puree was well presented and cooked though a little richer than expected whilst the Ice cream elicited no complaints.

There is an issue however. The layout of a bar at the front with a dining room at the rear means this feels like a very well decorated gastropub but doesn't focus on the typicity of it's food enough to merit the title. Nor can it be thought of as a Ramsey twist on a traditional English pub. For this, visit the The Narrow. The cuisine is perfectly competent however the menu seems confused as does the identity of the venue.

Perhaps the fault lies with reviewer here. Possibly a walk north from Regents Park tube rather than west from Camden Town may have encouraged the elegant townhouse restaurant ambience the website advertises but I suspect the departure of Angela Hartnett has robbed it of the culinary element of this approach. And here is my point. To impress a restaurant requires a focused identity. This can exist whether the food is simple and straightforward such as Maze Grill, a tribute to it's history such as the Savoy Grill or a destination restaurant. In this case it seems absent.

So a lukewarm review here because Gordon Ramsey, for all the criticism he has received, runs some great restaurants. One can't help but feel that the inspiration for the venue has moved on and given the Mayfair prices three miles east of where they belong, there is little to prompt a return.

My First First

This is one of the great pleasures of blogging. You can write whatever you want and no-one can do more than post a snotty reply on your blog, which you can then, of course delete. With that in mind I shall record my first taste of a first growth claret. As a wine bore in the making, this is both a event of geekery, luxury and frankly enormous generosity on the part of a friend who presented this bottle at a recent meal along with a sterling steak and chips (is there a better accompaniement to claret?).

I would love to wax lyrical and roll out a Jilly Goolden like rollcall of tasting notes but rather than fill the screen with the predictable (blackcurrant, cassis, pencil box, lead, spice etc) what actually struck me most was the endless length of this wine, the freshness of the fruit that suggests a good couple of decades of life ahead of it, even at 28 years of age, and a concentration the like of which few now have the budget to enjoy and which I will remember for some time to come.

For anyone who doubts the sheer grandeur of Bordeaux's greatest, if you ever have the chance, indulge.

Cinnamon Kitchen

Spending money in an upmarket Indian restaurant is always a tough sell. Close to the forefront of your mind is the likely proximity of a budget substitute which, if the food quality is poor, acts as your benchmark. This is a reasonable test, as the quality of London restaurants such as Lahore and Tayyabs set a high bar for quality, even if they offer plenty of scope for an improvement in service and location.

Off to Cinnamon Kitchen then, the pret a porter offering from the Cinnamon Club. First impressions were a little mixed. The reception area offered the opportunity to leave your coat on an unattended rack by the front door whilst being assaulted by decade old house music from the club, the entrance to which sits opposite that of the restaurant. The wine list with it's Ramseyesque markups drove us to beer and cider and the waiting staff were a little vague, though undoubtedly friendly.

The food however was good. Welsh lamb kebabs were a good proxy for Tayyabs' Seekh Kebabs, a venison patty was well spiced, the ox cheek was pronounced excellent, the Paneer stuffed chillis turned out to be peppers but proved an interesting side dish whilst the sea bass was served with a plain cup of rice and a fruity curry sauce that was entirely inauthentic but perfectly well cooked.

This is a restaurant which tries too hard to soften the description and impact of its cuisine and seems to assume that an increase in price requires that the dishes be described and presented in a way that is unchallenging to diners or in some way international in outlook. Londoners do not need to be protected from a menu, the origin of which the country has adopted as it's national cuisine and the cost is entirely in keeping with the location in the heart of the city. Cinnamon club changes nothing about its food, but adds layers of service, it;'s sibling should try an informal version of the same approach.

Vinoteca

Vinoteca is amongst the plethora of faithful copies of modern French Wine Bars that serve an eclectic range by the glass and a thoughtful one by the bottle along with well cooked bistro food. Amongst them you'll find 28-50 (an offshoot of Texture) and Terroirs (which has since spawned Brawn). This establishment though was the first of it kind, opening in 2005 and offering a selection that veers closer to the new World than either of it's competitors. Terroirs specialises in "natural" wines supplied by Cave du Preneees and so their best selections are francophile whilst the attraction of 28-50 is the list of more than fairly priced mature wines by the bottle. All offer similarly excellent simple food. Vinoteca also boasts two establishments, one in Farringdon and a second in Marble Arch.

Add to this both the Nicolas Canary Wharf Shop and the wine departments of Fortnum and Masons, Selfridges and Waitrose Canary Wharf who have all installed a wine bar in which to crack open a bottle of recently purchased wine and we have on our hands, a veritable wine bar scene.

Trebles all round I say!

Michelin Meandering

January is that time of the year when Chefs across the finer restaurants in the country hold their collective breaths in the hope that their hard work and wallet is rewarded by the gift of a Michelin Star. Yes, the stars were announced today and whilst they maintained some level of tension by managing not to accidentally leak the details as happened last year, the result was ultimately lacking any heavyweight changes. Whilst pundits had highlighted Marcus Wareing and Le Gavroche for a possible third and both Anima and Koffman for a single star, there were no new three star establishments. New one star additions included Kitchen W8, Petersham Nurseries Café, Viajante, Galvin La Chapelle, Petrus, Seven Park Place and Gauthier in London. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and Restaurant Nathan Outlaw both received a second star.

So perhaps we will have more to look forward in 2012 which, who knows, may include Heston Blumenthal’s new Bistro (Now only days away from opening) and Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social amongst them.

And if you are in search of a silver lining for this culinary deflated souffle of an award event, with so few changes, you won’t need to replace your 2010 editions.

A full List of starred establishments is below.

ENGLAND

The Samling
Michael Wignall at The Latymer (at Pennyhill Park Hotel)
Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
The Park (at Lucknam Park Hotel)
The Terrace (at Montagu Arms Hotel)
The Pipe and Glass Inn
West House
Fraiche
Purnell’s
Simpsons
Turners
Northcote
Morston Hall
Curlew
Burlington (at Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel)
Lords of the Manor
Royal Oak
Casamia
Manor House H. and Golf Club
Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor
Pony & Trap
Apicius
Ockenden Manor
Sienna
36 on the Quay
Read’s
L’Enclume
The Neptune
Box Tree
Atlantic
Bohemia (at The Club Hotel and Spa)
The Stagg Inn
La Bécasse
Mr Underhill’s at Dinham Weir
Harrow at Little Bedwyn
Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House
The Hand and Flowers
The Nut Tree
Restaurant Sat Bains
Hambleton Hall
Yorke Arms
JSW
L’Ortolan
Drakes
Mallory Court
Old Vicarage
The Masons Arms
The Olive Branch and Beech House
Room in the Elephant
Sharrow Bay Country House
Auberge du Lac
The Sportsman
Hambrough
5 North St
The Black Rat
Holbeck Ghyll
Paris House

SCOTLAND

Braidwoods
Number One (at Balmoral Hotel)
21212
Kitchin
Martin Wishart
Plumed Horse
Sangster’s
Inverlochy Castle
Champany Inn
Albannach
Boath House
Peat Inn
Knockinaam Lodge
Kinloch Lodge
The Walnut Tree
Tyddyn Llan
Ynyshir Hall
Crown at Whitebrook
House (at Cliff House Hotel)
Chapter One
L’Ecrivain
Thornton’s (at The Fitzwilliam Hotel)
Bon Appétit

LONDON
Chapter One
Hakkasan
Club Gascon
Rhodes Twenty Four
Harwood Arms
River Café
La Trompette
St John
Rasoi
Tom Aikens
Kitchen W8
The Glasshouse
Bingham Restaurant (at Bingham Hotel)
Petersham Nurseries Café
Viajante
Galvin La Chapelle
Chez Bruce
Amaya
Apsleys (at Lanesborough Hotel)
Pétrus
Zafferano
Benares
Galvin at Windows (at London Hilton Hotel)
Greenhouse
Kai
Maze
Murano
Nobu (at The Metropolitan Hotel)
Nobu Berkeley St
Semplice
Sketch (The Lecture Room & Library)
Tamarind
Umu
Wild Honey
L’Autre Pied
Locanda Locatelli
Rhodes W1(Restaurant)
Texture
Seven Park Place (at St James's Hotel and Club)
Arbutus
Gauthier-Soho
Yauatcha
Quilon

2 STAR

Midsummer House
Gidleigh Park
Le Champignon Sauvage
Whatley Manor
Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

SCOTLAND
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Patrick Guilbaud

LONDON
Pied à Terre
The Ledbury
Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
Le Gavroche
Hibiscus
Square
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

3 STAR

ENGLAND
Fat Duck
Waterside Inn

LONDON
Gordon Ramsay
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester