Italian

February 23, 2013 Italian

Hartnett Holder & Co, at Lime Wood

When I mention that I spend half my time in the New Forest, people push me for hotel and restaurant recommendations… And the problem with the Forest is that it is a destination – over ten million people pour into it to it every year to camp, trek, and cycle through the woods, and sail out of the beautiful harbours – consequently, a great proportion of the restaurants in the area cater for the tourist market.

At one end of the spectrum it’s not uncommon to be served a tin of beans alongside your enormous portion of sausage and mash (and no, I’m not joking). At the other end, we have several formal restaurants, usually based in hotels, and on the whole rather uninspiring, sterile spaces. There are of course a few exceptions, but I’ve all but given up eating out down here, and recommend very few places to chums.

Inevitably the conversation will turn to sister-hotels The Pig at Brockenhurst, and Lime Wood at Lyndhurst – both hotels feature in all those lovely magazines we Londoners seem to favour so much. The cognoscenti don their wellingtons and Barbours, and head for the woods, in an urbanite return to nature. I’m actually very fond of Lime Wood – I’ve even stayed there, though I live less than ten miles away (excellent beds, low lighting that activates when you pop to the bathroom at night, and excellent breakfast in the Scullery, since you ask).

But did I enjoy the restaurant enough to recommend it? To be honest – no. Though the food was good, it had a very incongruous Disney’esque wooden framing and was completely devoid of any personality. Everyone I’ve asked down here disliked it, as did a few of my London friends who’d visited. We were all abuzz then, with the news that not only was Angela Hartnett joining Luke Holder in an re-woking of the menu, but also the dining rooms were to be completely overhauled.

In place of the faux Disney, there are now stuffed leather chairs, and Missoni fabric. Much smarter than the dining room at The Pig, but much more relaxed and comfortable than it’s previous incarnation. Playing to Luke’s strengths, the menu has a very strong Italian influence, and reflects the year Luke spent working at the three Michelin starred Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence (excellent wine list, good food, insane water menu – yes – you read that correctly – a 30 page plus water menu…). And of course we all know that Angela’s an excellent pusher of Italian delights… Could this new incarnation live up to my expectations I wondered?

Well, hurrah for Holder and Hartnett! I’ll say it again – hurrah! Excellent Italian food, properly executed favourites, with friendly and observant staff. Ristottos were properly al dente, creamy, and the 11yo’s saffron risotto wasn’t too metallic, a common problem. Alongside that, delicious artichokes, excellent salad which tasted as though it had just been plucked, perfect zucchini fritti (joy of joys), and my favourite – espresso affogato.

So, go on – ask me… Would I recommend Holder and Hartnett to my London chums?

Absolutely!

Roasted artichokes, with grated duck egg, and bread crumbs

Risotto Milanese

Local meats cured in the Smokehouse at Lime Wood

Pumpkin risotto, with chestnuts and Nanny blue cheese

Flat-iron steak, with black pepper butter

Affogato

Lime Wood Hotel,
Beaulieu Road,
Lyndhurst,
Hampshire
SO43 7FZ

February 21, 2012 1 Michelin Star

The Lanesborough, Belgravia

Breakfast number two of the week and today the venue is the Lanesborough on Hyde Park Corner. An impressive 19th century building which is now a small, but luxurious hotel, in the heart of London. Originally built as a hospital (St. Georges) in the 18C, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1827 by William Wilkins. The hospital itself transferred to Tooting in 1980, and the building fell into disrepair until 1991 when it was refurbished and re-opened, and now is arguably the most expensive hotel in London.

I’ve been here many times before, though I’ve never stayed overnight, and I’ve certainly enjoyed the hospitality of the restaurants and bars – the library bar is a favourite of mine. On entering the hotel I’n directed to Apsleys, the restaurant. Taken over by Heinz Beck in 2009, it is his first restaurant outside of Italy and was awarded a Michelin star in 2010 (the fastest for a London restaurant at the time).

The last time I was here was for dinner before the refurbishment, then, it was a colonial style greenhouse with pastille coloured 80’s styling, with a very loud piano playing in the centre – we expected to find George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley hiding behind the palms with fake tans and shorts. Now it has the feeling of a light, open, Italian venue, with a Titian-esque artwork as a centrepiece. I assume this is to announce the ‘rebirth’ of the restaurant itself (although for some reason the artwork has go-faster stripes).

The menu is extensive and they even encourage you to be creative and go ‘off menu’. Given my recent disappointment, I know I’m going to go down the Eggs Benedict route again. The orange juice is already in the waiters’ hands, so I accept the invitation and give my order.

I assume the go-faster stripes on the centrepiece give the illusion that orders are being handled much more quickly than they are, and we wait what seems to be an age. All three of us have ordered eggs, so I assume only one egg chef is on, or they are out the back squeezing a couple from the chicken. Finally, the dishes arrive. Again the food looks great, though as I found to my cost yesterday, looks can be deceiving. I look more closely…

Two nicely formed poached eggs on top of an abundance of ham, and one half of a largish muffin. A decent, but not overwhelming amount of hollandaise with a pinch of paprika. My knife glides through the egg revealing a medium cooked egg with a yolk that flows down over the ham and muffin, but is not indiscreet enough to damage the texture of either. The ham is a honey roast ham, organically sourced, and full of flavour; and the muffin is nice and fluffy. The hollandaise, is creamy, but could do with just a touch more acidity – but I feel I’m splitting hairs now.

I enjoy the venue, the eggs Benedict were good. The service, other than waiting for too long, was fine and I leave in good humour – joking with the staff as I leave. One tells me his favourite egg joke:

How do Monsters like their eggs cooked – Terri-fried.

Update:

I had breakfast again this morning, and things have definitely deteriorated since my last visit. Eggs were undercooked, the staff kept trying to sell us pastries every five minutes and I had to ask for juice three times. A glass of grapefruit juice finally arrived, but had been watered down. I also had to ask for a cup of coffee twice, and finally got it at the end of the meal. The bill also had to be requested three times! 17/9/12

February 15, 2012 Italian

Quadrato, Canary Wharf

I may be apart from the majority of people when I say that I consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast puts a smile on my face, and helps prepare me for the onslaught of the day.

So, given that, it’s only natural that I eat breakfast out on a regular basis, and when I see ‘Breakfast Served at all Times‘ I can’t help myself emulating the comedian Steve Wright and ordering “French toast during the Renaissance”.

Today the venue is Quadrato at the Four Seasons in Canary Wharf. For well over a decade I’ve eaten in Quadrato and know it extremely well – it has always been a trusted source of a good meal, especially in truffle season. Walking into the restaurant is like walking into a friends house – the doorman welcomes me back, takes my coat and I’m seated immediately with efficiency and charm. The decor is clean, functional, hotel-esque, and hasn’t changed materially in 12 years. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but what was shiny and modern twelve years ago, is now just a little dull.

The waitress immediately asks if I’d like a juice – there are three on offer: orange; grapefruit; and cranberry. Usually Quadrato has a juice of the day, but either this has been dropped for the day, or forgotten about. I order a grapefruit juice and a cappuccino.

As you would expect in a Four Seasons Hotel, the breakfast menu is extensive. As I’m in the furthest enclave of the City, and folklore states that Mr Benedict was a Wall Street investment banker, I decide to honour him and order the Eggs Benedict. I have had it here many times, and it has historically been my favourite. I was surprised this time not to be asked how I’d like my eggs, as this has always been a nice feature of the restaurant. It demonstrates that they are making the dish for me, personally, and yes, they care how I prefer them.

My grapefruit juice and cappuccino arrive in good order, and my Eggs Benedict arrives a little too fast for comfort. Now, I don’t consider myself an expert, but over the years I’ve eaten this dish in many different restaurants and countries. Here the presentation looked great, the product looked appetising, and I was looking forward to the dish.

There was quite a lot of Hollandaise. I began to realise that this was hiding the lack of ham I’d expected between the egg and English muffin. What I did encounter was such a thin slice of ham that it deemed it pointless and tasteless. However there was a surprisingly and relatively large quantity of very wet and soggy spinach. Just to be sure, I ask the waitress if this is the correct order and she confirms that this is my Eggs Benedict and not the Florentine (typically with spinach). I plow on, determined to put my spinach phobia aside. As I pierce the egg an unreasonable quantity of water is ejected. Worse still, the egg itself is undercooked, just a small white bag of fluid, adding to my general depression and making the muffin even soggier than the spinach. I’m left reminiscing about all of my past Eggs Benedict, as if bereaving an absent friend.

Disappointed, I leave half the breakfast untouched, and I’m not asked why. I pay the bill, my coat and bag arrives with speed and I leave…

In my view a perfect Eggs Benedict should have a muffin which is crisp on top and fluffy throughout. The ham should be of sufficient quantity that you can discern which type of ham it is; and the egg should be fresh and firm. The egg yolk should have enough oozing viscosity to drip over the ham and muffin, but not to permeate the bread. It’s important to maintain the various textures of the food. The hollandaise should be creamy and exhibit a level of acidity which pokes your palate and gets your juices flowing. And nowhere, other than possibly somewhere in the kitchen drawer, or back in Florence, should there be spinach.

On my way to my next meeting I grab a croissant, and needless to say, I have a bad day.

Update: We were contacted by Four Seasons almost as soon as this piece went onto Urbanspoon, keen to find out where they went wrong.

Quadrato
Four Seasons Hotel

46 Westferry Circus
London

E14 8RS