Recently we have had the pleasure of dinning at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges Hotel in London.
There were 4 of us dining, Laura, my parents and I.
We started the evening in Claridges off with a cocktail or 2 in the lobby/lounge. Now being Claridges you expect it to be posh, but by having this expectation it was just as I envisaged… it was posh, but in a subtle and relaxed way. The cocktails are very nice… and considering the venue I think reasonably priced – I enjoyed my pre-meal Singapore Sling and the others had a simple G&T. The nibbles provided were a good indication of things to come… they were simple but elegant and one (the toasted cheese) unusual but turned into my favorite very quickly!
We moved through into the dining room and it was again tastefully decorated, and not oppressive as it can be in some other similar establishments. The general atmosphere was calming and the lighting was subtle but still enough to see the plates!
Before our starters arrived we were given a plate of canapés – which were delicious, there was a selection of bite-sized spring rolls, fish cakes and breads. We were then given a tomato and cucmber soup drizzled with olive oil – very refreshing and cleansing before our meal.
For our starters 3 of us had the Fois Gras, one was a Mosaic of foie gras and Goosnargh duck with Red Pippin apple and walnut salad, toasted brioche and the other was more traditional – Roasted duck foie gras with macerated cherries, pickled ginger, cauliflower and almond cream (I had this, but there were nicer things on the menu which I would have enjoyed more, but it was still very very nice!), and Laura’s starter was Ravioli of Dorset blue lobster and salmon poached in a lemongrass bisque, basil vinaigrette.
For mains, Laura had the Pan-fried Mediterranean stonebass with Cromer crab and celeriac cannelloni, summer vegetable blanquette, lemon thyme velouté which was delicious, my Mum had a steak (not very adventurous, but it was a very nice piece of meat!) while my Dad and I both had the Roasted John Dory and sautéed langoustines with violet artichokes, pink fir potatoes, carrot purée and a light fennel cream. I was very happy with my main – however I am probably being greedy and think there could have been another bit of fish and one more langoustine. Laura was delighted with her meal and portion wise was ample. My Mum & Dad both also enjoyed their respective meals.
After this we were given a peach soup with rasperry sorbet mouse then it was onto desert, Laura and I both had the passion fruit creme brule – it was divine, my mum had a hot chocolate sponge while my dad opted for the huge selection of cheese from their trolley – the wedged returned to him were ample too!
The wine list was like vast and ranged from £23 per bottle to over £2,000!!!
In summary, the food was very well presented, portions good (but on the edge of small) but it was quality not quantaty. Will we return? Probably! But it would generally be for a special occasion, and we’d also plunge for a room at £300+ for the night too – you might as well go the whole hog! The staff were second to none, very friendly, happy to talk and treat you with class…
My Rating (each out of 10):
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8 | Overall 9