Don't Call Us (Seriously). Clare Smyth Joins the Navy. Critics & More.
Ellis goes to Paradise. Giles on a Voyage. Grace skeptical of robots. Charlotte falls for a Prince.
Welcome to March! You made it. Saturday was the start of meteorological spring, and after a foggy start, the sun shone most of the day. I’m writing this on the train to Scotland, and the view of the North Sea (now rebranded as the Gulf of Aberdeen following a vote by the City Council) at Berwick-upon-Tweed was particularly crisp and lovely, with the sheep arrayed in the foreground. I’ve got dinner at the Andrew Fairlie tonight — one of my all time favourites — and I will report back.
I suspect you noticed, but the world feels a bit crazy at the moment. So, I invite you to escape from the madness and spend a few minutes considering professional lunch. The world will still be there when you’re done. I promise.
Sound okay? Excellent. Let’s get to this week’s update. And we start with…
The End of Phone Lines in Restaurants?
After I published my review of Josephine Bouchon, in which I suggested my meal there was just about perfect, a commenter wondered if I’d checked out the Trip Advisor reviews before publishing. I hadn’t, and I almost never do, but on his urging, I had a look. And he was right: Josephine has a surprising number of one-star reviews. But virtually all of them are from people complaining that they could not phone the restaurant to alter bookings. Because the restaurant doesn’t list a phone number. At all. Not on their website or in Google Maps or anywhere that I could readily find.
Interestingly, neither does Row on 5, the new place in Saville Row from Chef Spencer Metzger. I had the pleasure of eating there on Friday — full review to come — and wanted to call the restaurant about something on the day before we visited. Nope. No number.
Now, this wasn’t remotely a problem. I e-mailed, and the reservations person came back to me 2 minutes later and all was fine.
I’m an e-mail and WhatsApp guy, so the lack of a phone number is actually my preference, so long as the response is timely.
But this feels like an interesting trend. “Don’t call us, and we won’t call you.” An interesting new take on hospitality. What do you think? Have you struggled to reach a restaurant lately? Share in the Comments.
Clare Smyth Eyes New Admiralty Arch Spot
A few years ago, the UK government sold off a parcel of famous Whitehall buildings. As a result, the Old War Office was developed into a Raffles Hotel, residences, and restaurants. The even-more-famous Admiralty Arch was similarly liquidated and is being redeveloped into a Waldorf Astoria. I have questions about how many £1,000 per night hotels London can support, but that’s a column for a different newsletter.
This week, the developers announced that Clare Smyth, who holds three Michelin stars at Core in Notting Hill, and Daniel Boulud, notable New York chef whose name is on the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, will headline the hotel’s two restaurants.
No real details were announced, but my understanding is that Boulud’s is intended to be an all-day dining option while Smyth’s will chase stars with premium fine-dining.
The hotel and restaurants are due to open in 2026, after the original launch was pushed back from 2022.
Critics Wrap-Up
✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.
✍🏻 Tim Hayward (FT) only has a couple of proper reviews to go, and he “won’t be reviewing The Yellow Bittern — but I’ve eaten there, and I hope to do so regularly.”
✍🏻 🍽️ Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) enjoys a professional lunch at the Prince Arthur in Belgravria, which is definitely not a pub. “The first thing you see on entry is a counter of fresh fish on ice. Pubs, let me be clear, do not display fish on ice. They do not have white table cloths and smartly dressed waiters. They do not — and I cannot stress this enough — offer six caviar options. In my experience, most pubs barely do two.”
William Sitwell (Telegraph) checks out Dove, the newly adapted spot from Jackson Boxer in Notting Hill, where he finds the “scales tip in favour of the cooking flaws, from flavour to conception.”
David Ellis (Standard) goes to Paradise — no, not that one — a Sri Lankan joint in Soho. “Much of it is so furiously spiced that it could cure colds.”
Giles Coren (Times) hated his Voyage with Adam Simmons in Kings Cross. “Instead of coffee, we were persuaded to try a hot water infusion of cocoa beans from Grenada (£4.50), ‘so you don’t get that creaminess you get with hot chocolate made from milk,’ said our waitress. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”
Grace Dent (Guardian) says that she would “go back to Yari Club [in Covent Garden] for a snack, but it’s not really worth travelling out of your way for. There are more impressive robots at the Asda self-checkout.”
Tanya Gold (Spectator) tries La Môme, the new spot in the Berkley Hotel in Knightsbridge which replaced the Marcus Wareing. She liked the tiramisu.
Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinner) also test drives La Môme, which “comes from Cannes and Monaco, to be precise, where it has already proven to be a hit.” … The rest of his review is pretty mixed.
Marina O’Loughlin (independent critic) gushes about Bar Valette, the new place from the team behind the Clove Club. “Clove Club is one for occasions, Bar Valette would tempt you into being a regular.”
✍🏻
(Braise) tries Dough Hands in Hackney, but doesn’t understand “why London has suddenly gone nuts for thin, crisp East Coast-style pizza.”Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) heads to Long Chim in Chinatown and finds “top-notch, innovative Thai cuisine that treads a careful and successful path between the authentic fiery dishes that you might expect in Bangkok and something more soothing for timorous Western palettes.”
Jules Pearson (LOTI) loves Cálong, a Korean spot in Stoke Newington. “Given the food is so punchy in flavours, the wines are all quite light, fresh, and good value.”
The Picky Glutton files a wonderfully detailed review of Josephine Bouchon, which I loved a couple of weeks ago. “This was one review that I never wanted to end.”
Chatting Food reviews Bar Duoro in London Bridge, a favourite of mine, and says it “is a lovely little bolthole, whether for an escape from the office for an hour or a more leisurely time with friends.”
Beyond London
✍🏻 Jay Rayner (Observer) travels to Nord in Liverpool. “The monkfish is pretty. The mushroom and chicken dish just elbows its way to the front of the crowd, waving and hollering. It’s dinner with a capital D.”
Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) is the latest to head to Juliet in Stroud. “Oeuf mayonnaise is as voluptuous as a Titian nude, with a fat anchovy draped on top. Bliss.”
✍🏻
(Bald Flavours) gives us another review from his Copenhagen trip. This time, from Tony’s. “Inspired by the Italian restaurant in Lady and the Tramp, Tony’s prides itself on a ‘family-style’ experience with a ‘feasting option’ featuring ten plates, picked at the kitchen’s discretion.”- (View from My Table) has a wonderful postcard from Porto, which also explores the impact on an upswing in tourism on the city — for good and ill.
Lily Subbotin (Independent) is in Derbyshire for Callow Hall. “I felt as though I’d fallen into a Jane Austen novel, except I had a glass of Pol Roger in hand and had angled the flat screen TV just right to be visible while submerged.”
Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) checks in from Marrakech, offering reviews of four places.
Nick Harman (Foodepedia) heads to the Bush Hotel in Farnham. “It’s a romantic spot any time of year, but when the fires are going it’s really heartwarming, and we sat as close up as we could.”
Thanks for reading this week’s update. I hope you’re enjoying Professional Lunch. I’d love to hear your suggestions of place to try in the Comments.