Eating Experiences in London

RATM

Hoping some foodies can help me out here. I'm heading London way in the summer and for years I have always wanted to try the tasting menu in Heston Blummenthal's Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire outside London. However when I last checked his website out 4 or 5 years back the tasting menu was £120 for 8 courses, not a cheap night out but I would have been willing to splash out. Nowadays the guy has 3 MIchelin stars and the price has shot up to £195 per person which is probably a bit too steep for my liking. Total cost per person with the 12.5% service charge would be around £225, or around €260- a lot of money to pay for a meal !

So I am wondering what other restaurants are in London or the London area that offer the same kind of experience that Blummenthal's restaurants do, i.e the idea of multi-sensory cooking and the science of food.

Also hoping to hear alternative techniques to what Blummenthal does, I guess what we are looking for is a dining experience that is somewhat out of the ordinary. It doesn't necessarily have to be any celebrity chef, or in a 5 star hotel, or even by a chef with Michelin stars. But it has to be different from anything we've tried before

the beer revolu

Maybe not molecular enough but one of the best meals I've had was in Corrigan's, Mayfair. Very good value and stunning food. Somewhere between country house and Michelin star in style.

ASJ112

Dinner would probably be good if you can get a reservation

http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/

YumCha

Try Viajante in Bethnal Green: http://www.viajante.co.uk/

Haven't been, but sounds amazing!

Seaneh

the beer revolu wrote: »

Maybe not molecular enough but one if the best meals I've had was in Corrigan's, Mayfair. Very good value and stunning food. Somewhere between country house and Michelin star in style.

I'll second Corrigan's, the best meal I've ever had in London was in Lyndsey House in Soho about 3-4 months before it closed a few years back, was bloody epic.

RATM

Thanks for the replies. Will defintely check out Corrigans.

Also Yumcha- about Viajante- their website is a bit ambiguous, doesn't even have a menu on it and they speak of "telling stories through the gastromonic experiences that we ooffer our guests". But without a menu on the website it is all a bit unclear- have you heard what kind of food they do ?

Also I should mention for anyone following this thread that Heston Blumenthal has a pub next door to his Fat Duck restaurant which serves traditional British dishes and is a good bit less expensive than the Fat Duck itself.

catho_monster

I have eaten in the Fat Duck, the pub the Hinds Head and Dinner, and all I can say is that the Fat Duck is worth going to. if what you're looking for is THAT experience, then nothing is going to compare.
Dinner is expensive too, given then choice between there and the FD I'd wait, save the difference, and go to the FD.
The hinds head is lovely food, but it's a country pub, cosy and all but not the "experience".
Basically what I'm saying is that it's false economy. You'll chase a similar experience, won't find it and will probably end up going to the Fat Duck in the end anyway.

Krusty_Clown

catho_monster wrote: »

I have eaten in the Fat Duck, the pub the Hinds Head and Dinner, and all I can say is that the Fat Duck is worth going to. if what you're looking for is THAT experience, then nothing is going to compare.
Dinner is expensive too, given then choice between there and the FD I'd wait, save the difference, and go to the FD.
The hinds head is lovely food, but it's a country pub, cosy and all but not the "experience".
Basically what I'm saying is that it's false economy. You'll chase a similar experience, won't find it and will probably end up going to the Fat Duck in the end anyway.

I have booked a table in 'Dinner by Heston'. Would love to go to the Fat Duck, but as they're closed on Sundays and Mondays, and 45 miles outside of London, it's just not going to happen (this time). Anyone think that it would be worthwhile going to 'Dinner', or because its not the same gastronomic experience as the Fat Duck, might be better off visiting some other fine dining/Michelin star restaurant? It looks like 'Dinner' would set me back around £100 + service per head, which puts in in the same price range as Benares, etc.

Iolar Iontach

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I have booked a table in 'Dinner by Heston'. Would love to go to the Fat Duck, but as they're closed on Sundays and Mondays, and 45 miles outside of London, it's just not going to happen (this time). Anyone think that it would be worthwhile going to 'Dinner', or because its not the same gastronomic experience as the Fat Duck, might be better off visiting some other fine dining/Michelin star restaurant? It looks like 'Dinner' would set me back around £100 + service per head, which puts in in the same price range as Benares, etc.

I'd recommend Sketch or The Ledbury. The latter is my favourite restaurant in London. I have eaten in quite a few of the Michelin starred restaurants in London. There is an awful lot of mediocrity. The Indian restaurants with stars are invariably rubbish.

Viajante is worthwhile. It's modern Spanish.

Krusty_Clown

Iolar Iontach wrote: »

The Indian restaurants with stars are invariably rubbish.

Thanks. I really enjoy fine Indian fare (of the Atul Kochhar/Ananda style), hence the mention of Benares. Will check out your suggestions. Thanks!

Marcusm

I think it comes down in part into how much you are looking for the gimmicky experience/aspect or the food, per se. (You can probably guess which side I come down on.). There are many excellent restaurants in London none of which would have an Irish equivalent. For example, Roka/Zuma for modernish takes on Japanese food. Philip Howard at The Square produces modern French food of a standard which could only be a dream for Patrick Guilbaud. For Italian food, Locanda Locatelli or Theo Randall consistently exceed expectations (the latter not having dragged the celebrity attraction and clientele of the River Cafe hut certainly a better continuation of their food).

Others such as Wild Honey, Arbutus etc keep/lead current trends on foraging.

Bateman

Have eaten at Locanda Locatelli twice and enjoyed it both times. Obviously not molecular but definitely that little extra in quality that's worth paying for

Krusty_Clown

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I have booked a table in 'Dinner by Heston'. Would love to go to the Fat Duck, but as they're closed on Sundays and Mondays, and 45 miles outside of London, it's just not going to happen (this time). Anyone think that it would be worthwhile going to 'Dinner', or because its not the same gastronomic experience as the Fat Duck, might be better off visiting some other fine dining/Michelin star restaurant? It looks like 'Dinner' would set me back around £100 + service per head, which puts in in the same price range as Benares, etc.

I've been to Dinner by Heston and I thought it was just OK. Was expecting better for the price, tbh. We did get a crappy table though, out on our own, so there wasn't much atmosphere. The starters and mains were very nice. I was a bit underwhelmed by the famous brown bread ice-cream. I did enjoy it (especially as I wasn't paying ) but I probably wouldn't go back.

I was going to recommend Roka or Zuma, but I see that Marcusm already has! I much prefer either of those - less expensive (well, you get more for your money if you order well), beautifully presented food and nice, chilled out atmosphere. Not really what you're looking for, though.

toffeeshel

RATM wrote: »

Also Yumcha- about Viajante- their website is a bit ambiguous, doesn't even have a menu on it and they speak of "telling stories through the gastromonic experiences that we ooffer our guests". But without a menu on the website it is all a bit unclear- have you heard what kind of food they do

There is a sample menu on their website

Sergeant

This place got absolutely rave reviews in some of the restaurant critic reviews over the weekend:

http://thequalitychophouse.com/

St John's is a great spot if you like the whole 'nose to tail' style of eating. Lots of game and offal on the menu.

catho_monster

Sergeant wrote: »

This place got absolutely rave reviews in some of the restaurant critic reviews over the weekend:

http://thequalitychophouse.com/

St John's is a great spot if you like the whole 'nose to tail' style of eating. Lots of game and offal on the menu.

I was actually quite disappointed with St Johns, maybe because the nose to tail thing isn't so much a novelty for me. It was so utterly hipster pretentious. I mean, if I lived nearby, I would call in for the quality of the food, bread especially, but no way would I waste a London eating out experience there again when I don't get them often.

I'm off to the Sketch tomorrow, will report back...

tSubh Dearg

When I was in London in the summer, we had the most amazing dinner in Pied a Terre. Would highly recommend it, plus it's on a street with lots of other interesting little restaurants.