Review of London British restaurant The Ritz by Andy Hayler in August 2013

This evening we had a tasting menu, which was priced at £95, though three courses can be had for £47. The Ritz wine list has very high mark-ups, so this is not the place to indulge your wine fantasies; even the water was an indefensible £6 a bottle. Fortunately this is just about the only issue here, as the food and service are excellent, so order some modest wine and enjoy the cooking.

Our meal began with a scallop marinated with lime and ginger, served with apple puree and hazelnuts. This was a lovely dish, the scallop’s natural sweetness balanced by the lime, the hazelnut adding a textural contrast (16/20). Lobster, heirloom tomatoes, caviar and basil puree arrived in a dish with raw baby courgette with its flower, over which a chilled tomato consommé was poured. The tomato flavour was deep, the balance of the elements of the dish precise (16/20).

Carrot puree with pickled mushrooms, sautéed carrots, goat cheese and black olives was very pleasant, though not quite to the level of the other dishes (15/20). Pan-fried duck liver was of very high quality, the texture of the liver silky, its flavour rich. This came with leek, broccoli puree, broad beans and raviolo stuffed with Pecorino cheese with a sauce of butter and lobster. The earthy taste of the vegetables balanced the richness of the liver nicely (17/20).

Langoustines with shellfish foam were served with courgette flower stuffed with ratatouille. Again the ingredient quality came through here, the langoustines sweet and accurately cooked (16/20). Turbot with truffle Bearnaise came with cauliflower puree, asparagus and crayfish, with black truffle sauce. The turbot was accurately cooked, the truffle flavour coming through well to lift the dish, the cauliflower giving an earthy flavour balance (16/20).

I now had grouse, which is a dish that I rarely order. I usually find the flavour ultra-gamey, and the texture can be rubbery, which is why this dish was a bit of a revelation. The grouse here has just four days of age and its flavour was not too strong but instead pleasingly aromatic, and the texture was superb, the meat very tender. It was served with lovely Alsace bacon and celeriac puree, which was an excellent foil to the richness of the bird, with girolles on the side. This is the best grouse I have eaten (18/20).

A pre-dessert was silky-smooth lemon sorbet with excellent raspberries and breadcrumbs (16/20). Then came a red peach dessert with custard parfait, strawberry, poached peach and peach jel, which was very refreshing (16/20). This was followed by a superb semifreddo dessert with several layers: salted caramel, gianduja (sweet chocolate with hazelnut paste) mousse, a sheet of waffle and vanilla ice cream wrapped in Italian chocolate. This was a lovely dessert (easily 17/20).

The bill, including drink, came to £134 a head, which seemed to me fair given the quality of food that was delivered. If you had the set menu at £47 and were careful about what you drank you could comfortably get away with about £85 a head all in. Service this evening was like a well oiled machine, the elaborate hierarchy of waiters all knowing exactly what to do, clearly the product of careful staff training. This was another very fine meal at The Ritz, which uses high quality ingredients and where the cooking technique is hard to fault. Its lack of Michelin star is a mystery to me.

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roman
18/09/2013 00:31
Grouse is a strong game bird but mainly in smell, not so much in taste. Sometimes it is stronger than normal; this is because of it being shot and the blood leaking into the body, which makes it smell and taste very strong! Please try them they're great!!

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roman