eatmytown.co.uk © 2007-2010. All rights reserved.
UK reviews
Other reviews
- » Belgium
- » France
- » Netherlands
- » Your country
Quick links
Your rating
...................................................................................................
...................................................................................................
Soho restaurants
eatmytown.co.uk © 2007-2010. All rights reserved.
Gauthier
Address:
21 Romilly Street
Soho
London
W1D 5AF
Tel: 020 7494 3111
Rating:
(Review date: June 2010) your comments (0)
It’s not often you have to ring a bell to gain admittance to a restaurant but head down to Gauthier in Soho and a locked black door is your first obstacle.
Once surmounted, the second impediment to a free-flowing dining experience are the hordes of staff battling to carry dishes up a narrow flight of stars while customers flatten themselves against the wall.
You can only relax once you have safely made it to your table and you have some protection against the sharp bends and milling waiters which dominate the somewhat diminutive dining rooms with walking accidents waiting to happen.
But thankfully none did on the day of our visit, and once seated and calm you begin to see the picture as a whole - the carefully choreographed dance of the employees emerges and this sits nicely with the odd touches of anti-symmetry scattered subtly and unpredictably throughout the dining experience.
For example, two trays of butter arrived at our table - one perfectly square, the other rough and rustic. The untraditional espresso cups which arrived at the end of our meal were completely different in pattern and colour, yet harmonious in the way opposites attract.
It was clear from the outset that chef and owner Alexis Gauthier has high standards and is clearly determined to imbue his attention to detail on every aspect of the Romilly Street business, having taken over the premises from its pervious incumbent Richard Corrigan.
But, to use football terminology as this review was written during the height of World Cup fever, our experience at Gauthier really was a game of two halves.
On the one hand you have the locked door, the highly-polished mass of staff, an uber professional sommelier and stark white minimalist décor which all teases you with a waft of something special.
Then you have the food - which is good in terms of the quality of its component parts but as a whole is uninspired, seen before, occasionally under par but mostly too far on the safe side to be anywhere near exciting. However, when it comes to offering value for money, Gauthier delivers admirably.
Our meal began with an amuse-bouche of artichoke chips and dip, with filled tomatoes halves on the side. This was fun, but we were left feeling it was a nibble you could knock up with minimal effort in your kitchen at home.
The starters were scallops and risotto with truffle. The scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned but the dish was so familiar and ‘standard’. The risotto was every so slightly undercooked and the portion size was far too large for a starter. The truffle shavings were so generously layered on top that they became almost cloying when combined with the rice.
The generous helping of risotto may have been because the main of pork belly was woefully undersized - it was two bites for the greedy, or three for the polite. And, in what was a fatal, catastrophic error of judgement in our opinion - it did not come with any crackling.
Another amuse-bouche was presented between the starter and the main course - a tiny piece of excellent quality salmon with three peas and a small bean drizzled with a somewhat bland reduction. It looked pretty and was a nice touch but it failed to deliver any real flavour other than, well, salmon.
And as we sipped at the last of our wine and drank coffee, a generous plate of petit fours was placed on the table. It was such a nice touch that we don’t want to criticise the actual execution of the sweets, but, well, they were a bit ordinary.
But now we move on from this last uncharitable denigration to the punch line. Our ‘two-course’ lunch was £26 a head including a half bottle of wine each (£18 a head without), which really is incredible value when you look at the meal as a whole, your surroundings and the location.
We would love to give the food at Gauthier a glowing review because there are so many other things to like about the place. But if you’re serious about experiencing creative and imaginative cooking then this probably isn’t the place for you.
Visit: www.gauthiersoho.co.uk
« Soho home
Address:
21 Romilly Street
Soho
London
W1D 5AF
Tel: 020 7494 3111
Rating:
(Review date: June 2010) your comments (0)
It’s not often you have to ring a bell to gain admittance to a restaurant but head down to Gauthier in Soho and a locked black door is your first obstacle.
Once surmounted, the second impediment to a free-flowing dining experience are the hordes of staff battling to carry dishes up a narrow flight of stars while customers flatten themselves against the wall.
You can only relax once you have safely made it to your table and you have some protection against the sharp bends and milling waiters which dominate the somewhat diminutive dining rooms with walking accidents waiting to happen.
But thankfully none did on the day of our visit, and once seated and calm you begin to see the picture as a whole - the carefully choreographed dance of the employees emerges and this sits nicely with the odd touches of anti-symmetry scattered subtly and unpredictably throughout the dining experience.
For example, two trays of butter arrived at our table - one perfectly square, the other rough and rustic. The untraditional espresso cups which arrived at the end of our meal were completely different in pattern and colour, yet harmonious in the way opposites attract.
It was clear from the outset that chef and owner Alexis Gauthier has high standards and is clearly determined to imbue his attention to detail on every aspect of the Romilly Street business, having taken over the premises from its pervious incumbent Richard Corrigan.
But, to use football terminology as this review was written during the height of World Cup fever, our experience at Gauthier really was a game of two halves.
On the one hand you have the locked door, the highly-polished mass of staff, an uber professional sommelier and stark white minimalist décor which all teases you with a waft of something special.
Then you have the food - which is good in terms of the quality of its component parts but as a whole is uninspired, seen before, occasionally under par but mostly too far on the safe side to be anywhere near exciting. However, when it comes to offering value for money, Gauthier delivers admirably.
Our meal began with an amuse-bouche of artichoke chips and dip, with filled tomatoes halves on the side. This was fun, but we were left feeling it was a nibble you could knock up with minimal effort in your kitchen at home.
The starters were scallops and risotto with truffle. The scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned but the dish was so familiar and ‘standard’. The risotto was every so slightly undercooked and the portion size was far too large for a starter. The truffle shavings were so generously layered on top that they became almost cloying when combined with the rice.
The generous helping of risotto may have been because the main of pork belly was woefully undersized - it was two bites for the greedy, or three for the polite. And, in what was a fatal, catastrophic error of judgement in our opinion - it did not come with any crackling.
Another amuse-bouche was presented between the starter and the main course - a tiny piece of excellent quality salmon with three peas and a small bean drizzled with a somewhat bland reduction. It looked pretty and was a nice touch but it failed to deliver any real flavour other than, well, salmon.
And as we sipped at the last of our wine and drank coffee, a generous plate of petit fours was placed on the table. It was such a nice touch that we don’t want to criticise the actual execution of the sweets, but, well, they were a bit ordinary.
But now we move on from this last uncharitable denigration to the punch line. Our ‘two-course’ lunch was £26 a head including a half bottle of wine each (£18 a head without), which really is incredible value when you look at the meal as a whole, your surroundings and the location.
We would love to give the food at Gauthier a glowing review because there are so many other things to like about the place. But if you’re serious about experiencing creative and imaginative cooking then this probably isn’t the place for you.
Visit: www.gauthiersoho.co.uk
« Soho home
Your comments (0 positive, 0 negative) › add comment
....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
