review of French restaurant The Ritz in Piccadilly by Andy Hayler in September 2022

The Ritz with its glorious 1906 dining room has become a regular haunt of mine. See earlier reviews for analysis of the wine list and for the background of the executive and head chefs. The longest tasting menu, which we went for today, was £170 per person. However there are plenty of other options, including a la carte and a three course lunch menu at £70.

This meal began with a pair of tried and trusted canapes. Ragstone goat cheese from Herefordshire was made into a mousse with wood-roast pepper and a garnish of basil, and was silky smooth. Duck liver parfait with sour cherry and yoghurt was excellent, the acidity of the fruit cutting through the richness of the liver (18/20). These were followed by two newer canapes. A tartlet of beef tartare was topped with oscietra caviar, a pretty dish whose pastry base was delicate, the salinity of the caviar acting as a natural seasoning to the good quality beef. A Colchester oyster dressed with sorrel and champagne was harmless enough, but ultimately was just an oyster with some dressing, so hard to get very excited about (just about 17/20 for the average of these).

Better was raw, marinated Isle of Mull scallop with a citrus dressing that included finger lime, soy and bergamot lemon. The shellfish had lovely natural sweetness and the dressing was finely judged, not too sharp but just enough to balance the flavour of the scallop. This was a deceptively simple dish, but one with superb balance (18/20).

Ballotine of duck liver is a tried and tested dish here, the Landes foie gras being of top quality. The liver is marinated in port, Armagnac and Sauternes for 24 hours before being rolled out with a port and spice reduction, then wrapped in spiced port jelly. This is served with preserved damson gel, pistachio yoghurt and a little pistachio Bakewell tart, the pistachios being from Bronte in Sicily. The final touch is a slice of high class toasted brioche. The ballotine had silky smooth texture and deep flavour, the acidity from the fruit providing some balance, the high-quality pistachios elevating the dish further. This is a top notch dish, something that just about any three star kitchen would be happy to serve (19/20).

A signature dish here is langoustine a la nage, featuring large langoustine tails from Scotland that are poached in butter, served on a bed of cauliflower puree, fresh fennel, baby Cornish vegetables and edible flowers. The creamy nage sauce with herbs could be too rich, but the little tender vegetables create just the right balance for the dish and complement the superb flavour of the gorgeous langoustines (19/20). Fillet of Cornish turbot was prepared on “Veronique“ style. The fish itself was a very large 8kg specimen having lovely flavour, the fillets being seared in a pan until golden then turned over and cooked with butter, lemon, rosemary and bay. They were served with grapes that had been peeled and then dressed in verjus, herb emulsion and a vermouth sauce, fished at the table with a little herb oil. Turbot is arguably the king of fish and this was a fine specimen, the acidity of the grapes nicely cutting through the richness of the butter that the fish was cooked in (18/20).

Veal sweetbread was sourced from The Netherlands and was cooked in a steamer until tender and then roasted in butter, thyme, garlic and rosemary before being glazed in a truffle sauce. The latter was made using black Perigord truffles that were chopped, cooked in butter and deglazed with Madeira. A second sauce was then poured at the table, this being a Parmesan sauce using 36 month aged Parmesan, using the cheese to infuse milk with bay leaf and Parmesan rind. The overall effect was pretty, but the glory of the dish is in the superbly cooked sweetbreads, light and subtle in flavour, enhanced by the complementary richer sauces. Maybe something green could be added to provide a little balance, but this is a fabulous dish for all its richness (19/20).

Yorkshire grouse was hung for six days in its feathers and served with a duck liver parfait dipped in a cranberry glaze and seasoned with juniper powder, cassis puree, celeriac puree and finishes with a jus roti sauce. The meat was garnished with blackberries, girolles, excellent caramelised walnuts and wood sorrel. On the side was a little puff pastry wafer filled with caramelise onions that was cooked in a waffle iron. A final garnish was shallot pure with thyme leaves and onion flowers. The grouse was carefully cooked and was not overly gamey, the fruit providing useful acidity and the earthy celeriac flavour with the mushrooms balancing out the richness of the bird. I am not a big grouse fan, personally preferring just about every other game bird such as woodcock, snipe, pheasant and mallard. Nonetheless this was a carefully made dish, the meat tender and the garnishes balancing the dish well (17/20).

We indulged in the recently reinstated cheese trolley, a selection of mostly British cheeses, all in excellent condition. A pre dessert used in-season Cox apple that was caramelised and combined with a Sauternes puree, along with compressed fresh apple, caramelised almonds, green apple sorbet all topped with green apple foam. This was a fine pre-dessert, refreshing and seasonal, the sorbet smooth as silk, the almonds providing a contrasting firm texture and the combination of elements being lovely (18/20).

This paved the way for a new dessert, a modern take on Black Forest gateau. This comprised a chocolate brownie base with a layer of tempered chocolate and Mascarpone Chantilly. Inside this were cherries soaked in kirsch and a cocoa nib tuile. Accompanying this was a “cherry” that was actually constructed from cherry mousse, cherry gel, kirsch and kirsch ice cream. The combination of chocolate and cherry is a well proven one, and this was a superbly executed take on the classic dessert. The chocolate had just enough fruit to avoid the overall flavour being too rich, the mix of textures being pleasing and the dish itself being pretty as a picture. This is top notch work from a high-class pastry section (easily 19/20).

Service was very slick and the bill came to £349 per person including wine. This was another fine meal, showing a kitchen operating at the top of its game. There are plenty of three Michelin star restaurants that are inferior to this.

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