What the critics say: Beckford Arms, Polpo…

14th December 2009, 2:45pm

A round-up of the latest reviews

Aqua Nueva, London
AA Gill, The Sunday Times, 13 December

"The dining room is crammed into another long corridor, with a bar at one end. I will say this for those of you worrying about the simian effect: the lighting is very smart, and particularly unflattering. The air conditioning is arctic, and when the waiter, who smelt of nothing but fresh waiter, asked if he could take our coats, the Blonde inquired if she could be given another one. He didn't hover, but, seeing as there was barely anyone else in the place, he wasn't that attentive, either. Boredom, not busyness, begat bad buttling.

"The menu is a promise of fiddliness and front-teeth chewing. I started with an egg yolk in jelly; it was like a big wine gum of pus, only not that nice. It was cheek-puffingly foul. Roast foie gras with a mango confit, herb salad, melon and black-tea sauce was edible, but not pleasurable. The Iberico ham was good — it's always good. It's not always £18 a plate. Spanish ham sets a palatine bar that exposes the flat-footed pygmy grub of Iberia. These combined dishes had a weird taste of torture and fashion diets."

Beckford Arms, Wiltshire
Giles Coren, The Times, 12 December

"For my main, I had a duck confit which was exactly as you would expect it to be, no more, no less, with exceptional fondant potatoes and red cabbage. Katie had a lovely looking cheese soufflé, which might have been nice, but she was crouched over it like a pussycat over its Whiskas and didn't let anyone taste it.

"You had the rabbit, which you said looked like a squirrel, but you spent most of the time hoovering up everyone's carbs, which is what you always do when you're drunk. Then you disappeared for about an hour. We never quite got to the bottom of where you'd been."

Polpo, London
Zoe Williams, The Telegraph, 11 December

"The fritto misto (£6.60) was deep-fried squid, prawns and whitebait, all fresh and crispy, like a cross between a bar snack and a… no, in honesty, it tasted like a bar snack. But what a bar. Mussels and clams (£5.80) were fat, juicy and complicated in the flavour and the eating, but worth it. My mind wasn't truly blown till the pork belly on radicchio and hazelnuts (£5.70), and I don't even like radicchio. I can't fathom the brilliance of this meat; it had the melting softness of a slow-cooked joint, with the punchy crispiness of a quick cook. 

"The hazelnuts were a perfect soft, sweetish pairing with the bitter leaves; the whole thing worked so well. It's a very famous composition, I found out later. I even spotted a recipe in The Lady (so rustic! Who knew they were even aware that pigs had bellies?). When it came to the duck with olive and tomato (£6.10), I thought I knew what to expect, and indeed it was as I thought, only much, much better; don't ask me how."

Galvin La Chapelle, London
Tracey MacLeod, The Independent, 12 December

"We were back in heartland France for the desserts; I felt like the lady in the Cointreau ad when our French waiter murmured me through my prune and Armagnac parfait, served with prunes that 'ave been soaked in Armagnac for sree merrnts. It came cheffily adorned with an aerial-shaped brandy snap, leading to speculation from the men that we might be able to pick up Sky Sports on it. More simply presented, but no less terrific, were a buttery pear tarte tatin and rhum baba, served with crème Chantilly and anointed with rum at the table.

"Service is not quite flawless – we waited for too long to order our drinks, and there's a tendency to over-fill glasses, leading us to order more than we'd intended from a list full of interesting wines. Before wine and service, we paid around £45 a head, which won't deter the expense-accounted business diners who will make up the bulk of the clientele during the week. On a Saturday night, the crowd was much more mixed and fun than the City norm, and there's also the option of eating at the more casual (and cheaper) Café de Luxe which shares the building."

Capital Hotel, Knightsbridge
Fay Maschler, Evening Standard, 10 December

"Lunch is served in dainty portions, which is fine. Seared scallop, just the one but a fat one, served with a froufrou of leaves and sauce vierge, had that sweet edge that burnishing brings and the sauce, championed by Michel Guérard in his Cuisine Minceur, added the allure of raw sprightliness. Tiger prawns with tarbais beans and confit pork was also much appreciated.

"A special of the day was steak served with small cèpes and a swoop of spinach for which you might want to substitute the roasted rump of Finnebrogue venison, which appears on the newly launched lunch menu. Grilled halibut with Puy lentils and parsnip crisps has lived on from one menu to the next and so it should."

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