What the critics say: Bar Boulud, Chapter One...

7th June 2010, 10:41am

A round-up of the latest reviews

Roux at Parliament Square
Giles Coren, The Times

"Roux's front of house made the mistake of showing us immediately up to the bar, which was empty of people and fitted out with horrid black committee-room furniture which they said was the old stuff they were using till theirs arrived. So probably hang back on showing it off for a while then, eh, chaps? The barman made us a couple of drinks and apologised for not having anything crispier to snack on than olives, but said the crunchy snacks would be arriving next week (in the same truck as the new chairs, perhaps)."

"The menu is concise to the point of macho: six starters, six mains, six desserts, each given a curt, one-word name such as 'Veal', 'Quail' or 'Tomato', as became fashionable in the early part of the last decade; 6 x 6 x 6 is the dream menu matrix for me, the classical absolute. I yammer for it mostly in gastropubs and hardly dreamt of finding it in a big-name West End outfit charging £55 for a three-course meal."

Time & Space, The Royal Institution
Zoe Williams, The Telegraph, 7 June

"Time & Space is a very confusing restaurant – bang in the centre of Mayfair, with all the respectability of the Royal Institution, it nevertheless feels a bit cheap (the RIGB, by the way, is a charity designed to connect the public with the world of science).
"The menu looks cheap: scrappy paper and design-student font, with unnatural prominence given to the burger, so that you wonder for a second whether they even know how to cook sea bass. (No, is the answer. A great big no.) 

"The interior is a tinny mixture of fake/real library: shelves of books interspersed with fake-book wallpaper. Is that supposed to be witty? It must be; it can't be that they couldn't afford enough books (for pete's sake, they can have some of mine. I've got four copies of The Secret History). But if it's a joke I don't get it. An incredibly high ceiling is poorly camouflaged, rather than celebrated, with some big purple taffeta light shades. Everybody else there is a suit; they all look like they're waiting for their membership to come through from the In & Out Club."

Bistrot Bruno, London
Jasper Gerard, The Telegraph, 4 June

"The addition of squid ink adds saltiness and celeriac purée bitterness. My confit lamb shoulder with nicely chargrilled red pepper and a really powerful preserved lemon purée sounds like a conventional Mediterranean dish, but the crunchiness of white bean and the spice of harissa turn it into an international hit. So many flavours are dancing here it could all end in a crumpled heap but Loubet has choreographed this perfectly. Only gratin dauphinois potatoes standing stage left look disinterested. 

"Those poor City dwellers in their mis-shapen, rough-hewn clothes are having riotous fun. Maybe it's harvest time and they're celebrating bonuses they've reaped, but I suspect they are just happy to eat wonderful food in convivial surroundings. Indeed, judging by the giggles next door there is more loose talk here than in an audience with Sarah, Duchess of York. This is helped along by the wine list: each week a different quality wine is offered with virtually no mark up."

Bar Boulud, Knightsbridge
Amol Rajan, The Independent, 6 June 

"My companion and I excitedly order extra starters – both of which disappoint. The poulpe grillé (octopus, with a spoonful of baba ghanoush, over a tomato and chickpea panisse) does not taste fresh enough for its £9.50; but, much worse, the 'Chop-Chop' salad never becomes more than the sum of its parts, even after the unnecessary addition of half a lobster at £15. But from the fixed-price menu, the coarse pâté has just the right bite-ability, and the chilled pea soup benefits from a rosemary cream that gives it the sense of an emulsion. 

"On to the main course. Mr Boulud is famed for his burgers, and the 'Yankee' has a punchy flavour, albeit one diminished by a dry brioche bun and iceberg lettuce, a useless substance that is a threat to the case for intelligent design. The seafood linguini with taggiasca olives is suitably syrupy with the flavour of preserved lemon rind, and its decoration with pine nuts makes it the highlight of the meal."

Chapter One, Kent
John Walsh, The Independent, 5 June 

"There was a slight hiatus in delivering the four main courses – two sat before the lady guests, the other two remained in the kitchen, while the maître d's eyes flickered nervously. I took the opportunity of ordering more Argentinian Malbec (excellent at £25) from the splendid wine list, and all was well. The mains maintained the high standard. 

"Pan-fried wild halibut was sweet and moist, and the accompanying shredded celeriac danced along with tiny St George mushrooms; the only bum note was a superfluity of lobster foam. (Hasn't foam had its day now? Can we please go back to sauce?) Poached and roasted quail wrapped round melting-away foie gras was a rich choice, lifted by braised red cabbage. Sea bass, lightly cooked with cockles in butter sauce, inspired memories of East End pub-land circa 1959, and came with some lovely samphire of the edible, non-twiggy kind. I had three versions of veal, beautifully arrayed like a Viking longboat: the rump was pink and nondescript, sweetbreads were divinely crispy and veal cheek was a revelation – astonishingly brown and fibrous."

The Curlew, East Sussex
Jay Rayner, The Observer, 6 June

"The food here is evolved without being fetishised, each dish designed around a single ingredient that gets a role commensurate with its billing. So the duck egg has been cooked slowly until both white and yolk are a gel. Beneath are slices of just-warm smoked haddock, the whole dressed with brown shrimps, capers and impeccable hollandaise. It is nursery food for grown-ups, or grown-up food for kids. Another starter of cuttlefish, both tentacle and sliced body, comes with potatoes and cubes of deep-fried black pudding. Unfortunately it is served on a slate, a silly affectation, but my companion does wipe that slate clean."

Bar Boulud, London
Matthew Norman, The Guardian, 5 June 

"The menu is Franco-American meaty, but all the appeal is provided by brilliant service from friendly French staff in maroon shirts. 'Gentlemen,' said one on delivering a wooden board, 'may I introduce you to your charcuterie?' Keen not to appear snooty, we said it would be our honour. If it felt callous to eat them after such brief acquaintance, the guilt was assuaged when rosette de Lyon, ham, pork pâté with foie gras, another with chicken liver and a rabbit terrine all proved nice enough, if unmemorable. The portions were on the Hubble-telescope-to-table-nine side of measly, however, and the austerity years rationing of one small piece of toast each had me fantasising about a powdered egg omelette and spam rillette."

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