Does a regular diner reach the same conclusion about a restaurant as a food pro, who may get special treatment if recognised?* Laura Rowe and Olive reader Chris Attoe compare notes on this fine-dining experience on offer in Notting Hill
Core by Clare Smyth
After gaining a starry reputation (as chef patron at three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and receiving an MBE for services to the hospitality industry), Clare Smyth has opened her first restaurant. The 54-cover venue in Notting Hill gives fine dining a contemporary edge, with huge windows letting in plenty of natural light and not a single white tablecloth in sight.
Clare grew up on a farm in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, and she continues to work with farmers to champion sustainable UK produce. It’s hard to get a reservation, but if you do, choose between the tasting menu (£95 per person), the five-course menu (£80 at lunch, £85 at dinner) or the three-course menu (£65 at lunch, £75 at dinner). Clare and her team work behind a glass wall to prepare dishes such as Isle of Mull scallop cooked over wood, lamb with braised carrot and sheep’s milk yogurt, and pain perdu with peaches and cream. corebyclaresmyth.com
Our pro says…
The tablecloths might be missing at Clare Smyth’s debut but the tone is undeniably formal. Don’t let that be confused with stuffy, though – Britain’s most lauded female chef has made her first solo mark thoroughly modern. *I got a wave from Clare but don’t think I was recognised.
Décor is stripped back and contemporary – via a small bar (where you can eat, too), you’re led to a dramatic chef’s table in front of the glass-fronted kitchen, and through to the bright dining room.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2017 من Olive.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2017 من Olive.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
kitchen therapy with Rosie Birkett
Give salad the Jersey Royal treatment with Rosie's rustic new potato platter
PUB MENU The Barley Mow
Put aside some quality time at the weekend to recreate this relaxed Anglo-French pub menu from a newly restored Mayfair landmark
BOLTHOLE Fort Road Hotel, Margate
Kentish ingredients, local artists and extra touches of hospitality give this distinctive seafront hotel the perfect combination of contemporary style and seaside nostalgia
COOK LIKE A LOCAL South Korea
Su Scott introduces the deep, complex flavours of this East Asian country
READY? SET MENU? GO!
Delegate decision making to the experts - say feed me, thrill me. Rather than poring over menus, opting for a great-value set menu or a blow-out tasting experience allows you to kick back and relax, confident that incredible food will follow
Speedboat Bar SIGNATURE DISH
Whip up a spicy chillispiked dish and zingy ginger cocktail from Thai canteen Speedboat Bar in London's Chinatown
Coronation chicken cups
Give this gorgeously creamy filling the canapé treatment - perfect for easy entertaining
3 WAYS WITH Pickles
Whether it's cornichons, onions, beetroots or dill pickles, you can do so much more than you might think with these vinegary beauties
Keep it sweet
Show-off desserts to end your meal with a flourish, from food writer Claire Saffitz
Cook with the season
That sweet spot between spring and summer brings with it some of the very best produce
