Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London S.W.3

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is one of meccas of gastronomy in London and the  flagship restaurant of this very active and renowned chef.   It has three Michelin stars – the summum – but comparing the lunch I had there a few weeks ago with a memorable meal  I enjoyed there about seven  years ago, I don’t think the expansion of his “empire” has been entirely beneficial. Immediately noticeable is the fact that Gordon Ramsay himself no longer cooks there – on my first visit he was the chef and came to every table to discuss the menu. – now one of his disciples is manning  (or in this case womanning) the stove.

The dining room is elegant and luxurious  and  the French Maitre D. is particularly welcoming and solicitous.  We had the £45 three course set lunch – which perhaps was the reason I was a little disappointed – as the a la carte menu did indeed  look more tempting , but at less tempting prices!

There were three choices for each course and we started with the hen’s egg ravioli with crushed fresh peas and a broad bean and leek veloute, which was absolutely delicious and the sort of dish I expected from this level of restaurant.   For the main courses two of the guests chose shin of Angus beef braised in red wine and served en croute, and the third had slow cooked Dingley Dell pork belly with choucroute , roasted apple and black pudding – and both dishes were enjoyable, but not outstanding.  The desserts were disappointing: banana parfait or orange tart with meringue.  The wine list was of course outstanding and very comprehensive but definitely at the very upper end of the price range. Fortunately, however, my two guests didn’t drink alcohol, so I settled for a  couple of glasses of Cotes du Rhone!

I have eaten in several of the Gordon Ramsay restaurants in London , Maze and Petrus for example, and in fact  enjoyed the  “lesser” ones as much as or more than this one . When Angela Hartnell was cooking at the Connaught Grill a couple of  years ago it was an outstanding dining experience but sadly it is no longer one of Gordon’s restaurants.   In fact to tell the truth if I had the choice of returning to  Restaurant Gordon Ramsay’s or Roganic, also reviewed in this edition, I would definitely choose the latter…