Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (visit 3)

Experience more of this visit through our video highlights here

So here we are. My first visit of 2023 and this one is mega special. This year it will be celebrating a whopping twenty five years since opening. I adore Gordon and am still yet to interview him, but that day will come…. he and Matt are such good eggs, staunch professionals, and incredible chefs, who have been setting an example for everyone else for a very long time. 

The dining room is elegant and intimate with a front of house welcome that was warm and friendly. I haven’t been here for two years and have been so keen to get back, I am delighted to be here. 

I had the perfect guest being Giorgia, from Marc Fosh, a wonderful Michelin star restaurant over in Mallorca, who I had connected with Matt to come and do a sommelier stage here, this was Matt’s thank you to her, and also gave us a chance to spend time together too, which was a really thoughtful and kind gesture and really demonstrates how much heart is behind everything here, with really good people behind it. 

Carte Blanche menu. Matt’s menu is created to allow you to really let go and just enjoy every element of each dish and the flavours he has combined with such beautiful seasonal produce, that truly deliver and sing. 

A selection of Canapés to begin, starting with a warm gougére with a four year old gouda and black truffle, super light in your mouth with all the flavour. 

A buckwheat tartlet with beef tartare, dill pickle and mustard and Chicken liver parfait with madeira jelly, black truffle, both of which were stonkingly good.

The star of the show here was an English crumpet, smoked crème fraiche, caviar and maple syrup.. I gobbled this up and loved it.

A little amuse-bouche next of a Puy lentil and chestnut cappuccino, this was comforting and delicious. A hug in a little mug. 

Sweet, beautiful scallops from the Isle of Skye, with rhubarb, horseradish and elderflower. What a dish. I really loved this. Just super clean, fresh and the perfect start, allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves. 

Barbecued Native Lobster, carrot, citrus and yuzu was so beautiful. Barbecued baby carrot, a velouté of citrus and light chilli. 

The lobster was cooked perfectly and the flavours subtle and balanced, complementing the lobster.

Onion and rosemary bread brushed with blossom honey, and an incredible butter from Oxford. This bread rivals my only other favourite bread so far, being at Frantzén. It was so very good.

The pasta dish with all the truffle was the biggest hug in a bowl. Linguine, aged parmesan velouté with black truffle. 

Confit Cornish cod topped with parsley powder, Alsace bacon, celeriac, sauce Matelote- tons of wine goes into this sauce, it was incredible. Pickled wild garlic capers. Sauce made from smoked fish and red wine- made with a lot of red wine. 

Herdwick Hogget, lamb sausage, date and nigella puree, Tokyo turnips and ribbons, wowowowow… loved this so much. Lightly spiced lamb sauce, with the same flavours that were in the sausage, of cumin, fennel, nigella. The pistachio cream was an exceptional touch and took this dish to a new level.

Brie de Meaux, with caramelised walnuts, fresh sliced walnuts and malt loaf soaked in brown butter..the cheese finished off with black truffle honey too.. oh my word, this was dirty goodness and the only thing I couldn’t finish as I didn’t have my stretchy pants on.. but I wanted to, it was pure heaven. 

Rhubarb sorbet, lightly whipped custard with a vanilla and sarawak pepper, with a rhubarb tuille to top. Fresh, clean, and reset my palate nicely.

Gateau Opera. Almond praline, coffee, milk chocolate. An amaretto puree, and a chocolate and amaretto sauce.. this was really special and hit all the right notes. 

To finish, a beautiful selection of Petit Fours; THAT amazing chocolate…with salted caramel which is a three Michelin star version of a Daim bar.. it’s dangerously good, and I could eat a whole bag of the stuff. Blood orange jelly in juniper sugar and lemon meringue tarts. ( and some of these to go for my boys too, which are the perks they get to enjoy from my many visits )

Final thoughts. This has really set the bar for my year of visits ahead. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay ticks all the boxes. The service is exemplary, it’s truly a family here, and you really feel that. The team in the kitchen works like a well-oiled machine with both Matt and Kim at the helm, and every dish is executed perfectly. No stone is left unturned. Just the right balance of dishes and ingredients and flavours which meant I was not left crazy full, nor did I feel overwhelmed, as some establishments overdo the foie/caviar/truffle to the extreme and often feel ill after which isn’t what you want at the end of a meal. I left feeling the right level of full and I thoroughly enjoyed every single bite. Special nod to Freya too, the knowledge of each dish and the love and passion exudes from everyone on service, she was incredible, as was the whole team, and with Enrico back as manager here now, he has come full circle and is home where he truly belongs. The vibe is sheer elegance, but also not stuffy and pretentious. It’s relaxed and perfect for a date night, a special occasion or just to come with friends for lunch or even a business meeting. 

The wine here gets a special shout out too.  It was a really beautiful knowledgeable pairing, and one that perfectly complimented the dishes and didn’t throw anything off balance, nor was it too much for me. It may surprise some of you, that it’s the first pairing I have actually finished, as I usually leave a semi-circle of half-drunk glasses around me to dip back to, but also not end up too fuzzy headed to take photos properly and capture the whole experience. It was just right. 

This is the start of this year’s very carefully planned visits, I am very busy with all things MACA ( mymuybueno Academy of Culinary Arts ) launching later this year, so where my time goes matters. I loved it all and I shall not be waiting so long to return again in the future.

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