Giles Coren of The Times visits Wahaca, a Mexican restaurant in London’s Chandos Place, soon to be rolled out as a nationwide chain. It manages to avoid serving the “stomping funnels of death gunge” he associates with Brit-Mex food. Its ingredients are sustainably produced although the menu seems designed to appeal to “12th birthday parties, drunk students and Australians”. He awards it 7.25 out of 10.
Jerry Andrews of the Financial Times visits Camino, a new tapas bar in London’s “up-and-coming” King’s Cross. The restaurant is “modern but characterful” and the Galician octopus starter is “authentically smoky and rustic”. The Charolais steak is “meltingly tender” and the crema catalana dessert is “one of the most delectable I have tasted”.
Mark Palmer of The Daily Telegraph visits The Norfolk Riddle in the town of Little Walsingham. Despite being haunted by a ghostly monk in the street outside, he and his companion enjoy their meal. The batter around his cod goujons is “gloriously light, crispy and juicy” and the rib-eye steak tastes “pure” although the partridge is a little overcooked. Desserts are “first class”. He awards the restaurant 8 out of 10.
Tracey MacLeod of The Independent visits Print, a new boutique hotel and restaurant/bar converted from an old printworks in Liverpool’s Stanley Street. The place is empty when she arrives and the menu is “just a notch above gastropub”. The food arrives “with unsettling promptness” and the starters are “just about palatable”. However, the main courses are “awful”, resembling school dinners and “things took a turn for the worse with the puddings”.
Matthew Norman of The Guardian visits The Elephant in Torquay. He finds the menu “verbose” but is impressed by the “technical adroitness” of the food, although the scallop starter is “a mess, a paltry trio of emaciated mollusc” served with “baby food” and “cat sick”. The fish dishes, however, are “stunners”.
Financial Times 20/10/07 page 44 (Magazine)
The Daily Telegraph 20/10/07 page W20 (Weekend)
The Times 20/10/07 page 89 (Magazine)
The Independent 20/10/07 page 83 (Magazine)
The Guardian 20/10/07 page 96 (Weekend)
