The best meal I have ever had……………
Gordon Ramsay’s original restaurant on Royal Hospital Road.
As soon as we sat down it sort of hit me that this was not going to be your standard night out for a nice dinner. The dining room was awesome. Quite small but it didn’t feel congested at all. Dimly lit, however not so much that you would strain to read the menu or see your food, in fact the lighting was such to make sure there was ample light.
There are 14 tables in the room seating a maximum of 44 guests, it felt like there was about half that even though every seat was filled.
We started off by having a glass of 1992 Bollinger Grande Annee, and soon after that was poured we had the first glimpse of food. We were brought a cornet each(a la French laundry) with crème fraiche, smoked salmon and caviar…and two paper thin(and translucent) potato slices sandwiching the most amazing foie gras mouse, outstanding.
Soon after the manager came to our table and asked if we’d dined there before. He sort of gave us a run down of how it worked. A very friendly guy, who, when he found out was out first time there brought an extra course for us(and later took us into the kitchen!) My dad and I both optioned for the 7 course “prestige menu” and were immediately visited by one of two of their sommeliers. A very competent and young(he was probably 25-28) sommelier. We ordered a half bottle of the 2000 Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Boudriotte, Domain Ramonet, and a bottle of CdP Chateau la Nerthe ‘cuvee des cadettes’ 1999(wotn). Both of these wines were suggestions made to me by VC forumites and I really appreciate everyone who contributed!
Once the wine ordering was taking care of the manager brought us an extra course….a tomato and basil gazpacho with a quenelle of “guacamole.” To call this dish just a soup is insulting, it was maybe four spoonfuls of the most intensely flavoured perfectly ripe tomatoes and basil that have ever graced my taste buds….YUM
For our next course another of the sommeliers came by just prior to its arrival to suggest a glass of the 2001 Diedesheimer Hohenmogen, Riesling Auslese, Basserman-Jordan. The course was “Mosaique of foie gras with confit and smoked goose.” This is one of the most visually stunning things I have ever eaten, not to mention ridiculously delicious. It was basically a terrine of the most luscious foie I have ever had, with the segments divided my paper thin layers of goose confit, unreal. The riesling was a perfect match.
The next was a “ Ravioli of lobster and langoustine with a tomato chutney and lobster vinaigrette.” The ravioli, was lightly poached in a lobster bisque to cook it, it was superlative. Beautiful, simple, delicious. By this time we are into the Chassagne Montrachet ( I forgot to mention that all the glassware is riedel sommelier series…I think that’s what it’s called). The wine was great, not too minerally, good fruit, good complexity, nothing to confuse my buzzing taste buds too much.
The next course may have been the most perfect thing I’ve ever eaten, quite a claim I know. “Roasted baby turbot with asparagus and a smoked haddock veloute.” The colours, textures and tastes were all in perfect harmony with one another. And I do mean perfect. My head was starting to spin from the kitchen’s wizardry(and maybe the wine too!)
They had been decanting our CdP for us at their wine station so when it arrived it was really starting to show nicely. Man I love those big Riedels! My meat course was “Fillet of Scottish beef with onion Lyonnaise, fried quail egg and Hermitage sauce.” My dad had the other option “Roasted cannon of Cornish lamb with confit shoulder, Provencal vegetables and thyme jus.” He loved it but I think I made the right choice, especially as a match for the wine. The wine was amazing, def. the wotn tons of peppery fruit and subtle complexities. Parker gave this wine a 91 and I would be tempted to go higher.
The next was a choice between French cheeses and “Rum pannacotta with red fruits.” We both opted for the cheeses…. The cart came around carrying 5 different categories…goat, hard, soft, blue and strong. In each category there were 6 or 7 different choices to be made, the trolley master(for lack a better term) was incredibly knowledgeable and we both settled on our choices, I had a goat, hard, blue and a strong cheese. The best of the bunch was the super stinky and strong Epoisses from burgundy, a cows milk cheese washed with Marc of Burgundy.
With dessert we decided to both have a glass of the 1990 Chateau Suduiraut, 1er cru classe Sauternes. The first dessert was “caramelised pineapple with natural yoghurt.” It was a shotglass with the beautifully sweet and velvety yoghurt with a paper thing slice of pineapple over top. The pineapple was pressed and dried and so sweet! It was as if you were taking a huge bite of fresh ripe pineapple…..Amazing. The Sauterne was delicious with this.
The next dessert was a “Chocolate parfait with milk ice cream and raspberry sauce.” Probably my most favourite dessert of all time. Incredible. We finished with coffee and house made truffles. By this time we were giddy like children, laughing stupidly, and trying to let what transpired in front of us sink in.
The service was impeccable. There must have been one staff for every two guests in the restaurant. Not a fork was missing not a glass out of place the entire meal and they managed to do that without us feeling suffocated. On our way out the manager asked us if we’d like to see the kitchen. We ended up talking to Ramsay’s right hand man for 15 minutes or so. A couple of things struck me, it was spotless, it was as though no cooking had been going on in there, it looked new. And the age of the cooks. For the most part they looked like they were all in their early twenty’s, with few exceptions.
And that was my trip to Gordon Ramsay’s…I will post a few more notes on this later but this is all I can bare to write now, and you to read I’m sure.
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