Marcus (visit 2)

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It has been five or so years since I last came for a visit here at Marcus so I was intrigued to see how much had changed. When I last visited they had one star, then went to two, lost it, and now are back to one again. I was sat in the very same seat as before, and when I mentioned that, it was noted and done purposefully, a nice familiar touch.

I was careful not to fill up on sweet pastry goodness at Cédric Grolet’s first knowing I would opt for the tasting menu here. Both residing inside the ever gorgeous opulence that is The Berkeley Hotel. I stayed here last time I visited too, and still dream about their rooftop pool. I digress, the food was good, best dishes were the first two, and then the pudding. Sadly for me, everything in between was just good- one star good. I loved the Maldon Oyster tempura with cucumber relish, oyster mayonnaise and dill oil, and a good dollop of my favourite, Imperial Caviar. I squealed in delight knowing it was Imperial so they brought a tin out to me on ice and invited me to tuck in. Quality ingredients and exceptional caviars are essential, and too many places are compromising on this with lesser grade caviars. I was truly impressed that Marcus has remained loyal to Imperial and recognises this importance. That got a tick from me for multiple reasons.

Baked potato tart, honeycomb and bee pollen, watercress, potato mousses, lots of black truffle to top. This was really excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed its earthiness matched with the honey and potato, and it was balanced perfectly. Sadly I can’t say the same for the duck dish that came next, it was SO sickly sweet, just further enhanced with the rich duck liver parfait, crystalised leaves and more sugar, and then an uber sweet sauce. Just totally overpowered the flavour of the Sladesdown Duck which was a great shame. A sweet parkin to go with it all, just took it to a duck pud and just missed sharpness which the rhubarb should have brought and more balance and respect for the duck. The rest was all good, and the chocolate dessert was excellent.

All in all, it was good, but lacked any real passion. Paint by numbers cooking, sorry, just very safe. The service was really good and needs its own mention because it was perfect.

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