As a twist on the standard one-man review I’ve been posting many of recently, especially since the fact that for the first time in months the three of us made it out to the same meal, three reviews in one are coming up.
Tom’s review:
I arrived at Theo Randall with suitably high expectations, with it consistently gathering plaudits and awards (Jay Rayner loves it, GQ voted it their Italian restaurant of the year last year), and to an extent it lived up to its billing.
The evening started with a drink at the bar in The Intercontinental; an experience not to be recommended. (Too many suits, too much arrogance, a lack of Guinness and a ridiculous price: two bottles of Meantime + compulsory 12.5% = £11.65.) At the restaurant, we were greeted by a friendly front of house, which is something you can't say as often as you should be able to. We all opted for the set menu which came with a glass of Prosecco (lovely). We then later added an additional desert, true to form.
I opted for the Crab as my antipasti, which came with foccacia and both English and French Mustards. The flavour was excellent, with the crab tasting quite sweet and with an incredible lightness. At this point, we really must mention the quality of the bread throughout, both prior to and with my starter - served nicely warm, it was delicious. From here I moved on to the seafood risotto, which looked plain due to its presentation, but had a lovely warm and complex flavour to it. For the main, I picked the Pollo di Faraona (stuffed chicken breast served with chard and lentils), which tasted as good as it sounds. The portion was too big though, two surprisingly large fillets being served, which contrasted with everyone else’s portion being slightly under-size.
The desert of choice was a panna cotta with grappa-soaked raspberries. The texture was exceptionally smooth, and the again the excellent quality of the garnish stood out - with the Raspberries looking and tasting fabulous.
Theo's was excellent. I would recommend a trip to anyone, and it must be one of the most laid back restaurants in any of London's big hotels. However, for me it kind of missed the point of going to an Italian restaurant with friends - the food and the surroundings it’s served in should be fairly simple, but full of heart and character, the atmosphere lively and bustling. Although the atmosphere improved as the evening went on, it lacked the kind of feel you can find at either Ciao Bella or Amalfi where we've all eaten together before, which in a way was inevitable.
Mike’s review:
I have had my reservations about Hotel Restaurants ever since an underwhelming experience at Galvin at Windows a few months ago. I am also a staunch detractor of “Set Menus” (It seems rather like going to the opera and taking the seat with the obstructed view). With this in mind I approached a long overdue “catch-up” meal with Jonnie and Tom with a fair amount of caution.
Like the gluttons we are, we chose to go for 4 courses; antipasti, primi, secondi and dolce (as our Italian cousins like to call them). Among the dishes we sampled were a rather interesting smoked eel with beetroot, a fairly routine bresaola with parmesan and rocket salad, a tasty but poorly presented risotto (rather resembling a plate of gruel), a disappointing ravioli with sheep’s cheese, a tender and well flavoured piece of beef unfortunately served on a bed of borlotti beans, a nicely cooked but under-supported piece of salmon with capers and a perhaps over portioned stuffed chicken. The star course for my money was dessert, which included a very solid chocolate cake with mascarpone and a delightful take on a traditional cheese cake made with ricotta and served with marinated pears.
In summary, Theo Randall went some way towards restoring my faith in hotel restaurants with some friendly but not over attentive service and a warm and fairly lively atmosphere (particularly later in the evening). However the food, while generally well cooked and well flavoured, lacked the excitement I had hoped to find at an establishment of this stature. An enjoyable meal but I won’t be rushing back. At least not for the set menu!
Jonnie’s review:
Ever since the Taste London Festival, I have wanted to eat at Theo Randall’s restaurant. Having watched him prepare a stuffed guinea fowl breast and sampled his restaurant’s delectable chocolate cake, I’ve been – to put it bluntly – gagging to try the restaurant proper. Using a set menu deal, the three of us embarked on a journey into Mayfair with our stomachs waiting to be impressed.
Tom ventured the great idea of using the three courses we were entitled to under our set meal deal to make up antipasti, primi and secondi, then go for a dessert menu from the main menu. Four courses on a Wednesday..? Naturally!
I started with the Anguilla (chilled smoked eel) which came with dandelion hearts, beetroot and leaves. Somewhat predictably, this was tip-top: light, delicate, smooth… It was perfect fare for the wonderful summery September we’ve had in London, invoking memories of bright sunshine and plush lawns. Certainly the best Anguilla I’ve eaten (probably because it’s the first time I’ve tried Anguilla, but it was great.)
My pasta course was just about everything I personally desire in a primi: minimalist, simple, meaty and saucy. Steak in Chianti (tomato sauce) with pappardelle pasta is about as tailor-made a dish for me since I ate steak stuffed with foie gras on tagliatele in Prague. And yes, it was quite lovely.
The main course wasn’t a great one. And this is where set menus become arduous. Steak? Yes please. Medium rare? Well, alright; although I’d prefer rare. With leaves? Sure, why not? And beans? Oh dear… And pesto? Oh, lord… The meat was well-cooked but each side in turn felt like a bit of a let-down. I enjoyed sampling Mike’s salmon (exquisitely cooked) and Tom’s chicken (exquisitely stuffed), though we all found some reason to moan about the main courses.
On to desserts, which prompts a sort of “fasten your seatbelts” approach from the three of us usually, and this was no let-down. You’ve heard about Mike’s brilliant cheesecake and Tom’s excellent panna cotta, and… you’ve actually heard about the chocolate cake I ordered already here. Let me just say it was brilliant still. Somewhere between cake, mousse and brownie, ludicrously rich and sickly sweet, a healthy dollop of mascarpone cream… I could go on about this, but I have a feeling I’d give you diabetes if I did.
I did enjoy our meal at The Intercontinental. The place itself is lovely, but does feel a bit cavernous if there aren’t many patrons there. I did come to something of an epiphany throughout the meal though. For months now I’ve been caught between deciding my favourite food: Italian or French. After this meal I can tell you it’s French. The realisation I’ve come to is that, whilst I could probably eat Italian food every day of my life, French food is often spectacular. And it’s really hard to make Italian food spectacular.
In fact, how about a compromise..? French food at restaurants, Italian food at home.
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