Pretentious Menu

Reminds me of The Emperor's New Clothes'!

Everyone worrying about saying 'well this is an absolute rip-off' for fear of being thought of as a pleb

It's not so much the food as the daft little touches that got me. A furry stool for my handbag. Extra little things like an amuse bouche served in a hollowed out onion etc. It's coming back to me - I nearly burst out laughing at the 'main' course: 6 dots of Venison with a smear of turnip and something else. I couldn't believe I'd held back on the bread in case it filled me up!
I suppose like anything else it's an extreme rather than everyday food. Perhaps you'll enjoy it GG. I assume the men will be paying? Hope so!

A couple of years ago a friend of DD went to The Fat Duck at Bray, Heston Blumenthal's gaff.

The party he was in had the tasting menu. It cost a small fortune. Their next stop was the local fish and chip shop because they were still so hungry

We live within reach of Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. Most people we know have been there for lunch to celebrate special events. We have yet to go. From everything we have heard, the food is as pretentious as the rest of the offering there.

We prefer to go to the really good gastro pub in our next village that serves beautifully prepared food in reasonable portions in comfortable surroundings.

paddyann I think that is what "the men" are favouring at the moment.

tasting menu
DD and SIL ordered that one evening and SIL had to go for a hamburger about 2 hours later!

As for deconstructed risotto, I would never have imagined a risotto could be deconstructed.
Although my friend looked in horror at her risotto when we were out and it just seemed to be rice, a couple of 'herbes' and some Welsh cheese.

I hear his tasting menu at £125 a head is exceptionally good."£125 a head isn't a lot ,I've paid more in non michelin starred places over the years .Food like everything else is a personal taste thing .His restaurant is busy and that usually means its good ,people dont recommend bad food

Jane10 We are going for dinner!

Mr.Gravy and "his pal" have been looking at the menu, but I shall wait till we get there, although I eat some meat I predominantly eat fish and he is known for his fish cookery.

I do adore rhubarb though ?

GrannyGravy best save up! I gather that the lunch menu is more reasonable. He also has a 'bistro' style place called the 'Scran and Scallie' with rather silly menu wording but the food is good and the staff are nice. Less OTT pricing but still not exactly a bargain.

Prawn cocktail, scampi and chips and a slice of Black Forest Gateau was my idea of heaven back in the 70s.
My idea of heaven in the 70s too, Minniemoo. Mind you, anything I didn't have to cook myself was a treat.
My DSs, then sub-teens, were so hooked on Black Forest Gateau that, well into their teens, they insisted on my making my version of it for their birthdays.
Maybe a retro menu like that would be an attraction for an enterprising restaurateur, though where would they find a chef that would agree to produce it?

Just to say that if you go to one of the old fashioned jump racecourses in winter, you tend to get better food! Or you can always take a tailgate picnic!

Jane10 Oh no we are going to Tom Kitchins restaurant in Edinburgh at beginning of October.

( I have never been to Scotland, we are going with our dear friends for 5 days and I am so looking forward to it)

I no longer watch any food being prepared by chefs or anybody on TV because of the constant touching of the food and using hands to rearrange it on the plate. Yuk.

We stayed at a hotel where the dinner offered a ‘tasting menu’. That’s exactly what it was! Each tiny little plate was brought out with a flourish and a long explanation as to what it was. And each time we had eaten it before the waiter even got back into the kitchen and there was a long wait for the next dish. The food was lovely, just not enough of it and b****y expensive ☹️

We stopped using one restaurant when I was served a 'deconstructed' mushroom risotto:
Along thin plate with a couple of spoonsful of cooked rice one end, a spoonful of mushrooms at the other and a handful of salad leaves in the middle, for a price I am too embarrassed to admit to.

As DH is fond of saying " little bit of nothing on a big white plate"
Or as Minimoo says on a roof slate/chunk of drift wood

I suppose its our fault for paying for all this nonsense. I used to love fancy restaurants but the chefs have really gone nuts now. This type of menu just puts me off and I really like nice food but the descriptions and some of the torture the food is put through is silly and as for the drinks prices....

No it didn't - would probably come in a cunningly carved brussels sprout if it did!!

rhubarb seven ways

I bet it didn't come with custard either!

The daftest meal we ever had was at Tom Kitchen's Michelin starred restaurant. I wrote a thread about it at the time. All I can remember right now is that the pudding was rhubarb seven ways and that the bill for 2 (with one glass of wine each) was £250! Lucky we weren't paying as it was a treat from a business partner.

I prefer Toby Carvery myself. Huge portions of wholesome, good basic food at a reasonable price (we are often sent money off vouchers too). BTW, I think horse racing is cruel!

Lansdown baked beans

I can guess which racecourse, dahling!

I have had deconstructed prawn cocktail and deconstructed Black Forest Gateau in the past year or so.
Not as good as the real thing with steak, chips and trimmings in between, which was standard fare at a 1960s Berni Inn.

Agree 100% SalsaQueen and MinnieMoo ... and no Rennies required as we definitely had not over-indulged.

You're lucky to get plates in some places. Scraps of driftwood, marble worktops, mini shopping trolleys and whatever else they come up with. My daughter was somewhere where the puddings were served in plant pots.

Prawn cocktail, scampi and chips and a slice of Black Forest Gateau was my idea of heaven back in the 70s.

They'd probably throw me out if I asked for that now

Along with all the pretentiousness and tiny portions, I notice on these chef programmes that the food is often put on the plate by hand, not using utensils. Are their hands really clean? Have they touched something that might have allergens? What happened to the food safety training I had to have for our village hall? Does it not apply to fancy restaurants? Perhaps the Michelin stars kill all the germs.

What a lot of poncey twaddle. I prefer proper food, with proper portions and simple wording for it all.