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Park Delight

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Although all establishments of a certain calibre boast the accoutrements one would expect of a luxury destination, it does take a certain something which cannot be bought to create the sense of peace found at Gidleigh Park. Built in 1928 and converted into a hotel in 1977, Gidleigh’s old world calm belies its relative youth.The sensitive recent restoration which marries the old manor house style and aesthetic with an underlying modern efficiency and excellence as regards heating, plumbing and electricity.

The two main reasons to come to Gidleigh are its Dartmoor setting and its Michelin starred cuisine. Set in 107 acres of lush green forest with a sweeping lawn and a river whose babble can be discerned from an open bedroom window, Gidleigh is within vigourous walking distance of local landmarks Kes Tour, Batworthy Corner and Scorhill Stone Circle. If you are not driving, be sure to pick up the number of a reliable taxi firm in advance, as public transport does not venture within practical distance of this secluded retreat – which is all part of the place’s considerable charm. Another distinguishing touch is the eminently practical presence of an elegant pantry offering tea, coffee, fruit and water, as well as champagne, fresh from Gidleigh’s own spring, offering guests an additional option beyond the 24 hour room service.

Many of Gidleigh’s guests are gastronomic pilgrims looking to sample the offerings of one of the finest restaurants in the country, and it’s hard to imagine they must leave in a state of anything other than total satisfaction. Head chef Michael Caines has justly held two Michelin stars since 1999 and has been at Gidleigh since 1994. Particular highlights on the tasting menu included the poached Cornish Sea Bass, perfectly paired with a rich but crisp 2008 Gruner Veltliner from Frank Hirtzberger, Aixpont, and the Wild Dartmoor beef with a highly drinkable Douro 2007 Alves de Sousa, Caidas. We would also insist that you try this establishment’s British cheeses – who could refuse a slice of Little Wallop?

Accommodation ranges from well-appointed classic rooms to enormous spa suites and everything in between. The spa suite is spectacular – Lapis Lazuli marbling sets off the huge spa bath and fixtures – while the Loft Suite includes two single beds and a double, representing the ideal choice for a family. Gidleigh can be praised for its restaurant, accommodation, setting and that certain something which means that you leave feeling 100% renewed.

Gidleigh, nr Chagford, Devon. www.gidleigh.com

Tags: Dartmoor, hotel, Michael Caines, Michelin star, spa
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Holy Trinity

Monday, March 8th, 2010

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Dining in South London has (unfairly) often been categorised as somewhat lacking in comparison to the delights that can be found elsewhere. This ignores such perennial favourites as Wandsworth’s Chez Bruce and, increasingly, Adam Byatt’s Trinity, situated in the Old Town area of Clapham. Having won awards since its opening as varied as Time Out’s best local restaurant and the AA London Restaurant of the Year, there can be little doubt that Trinity has established itself as one of the city’s leading destinations. The fact that it’s full every night has to be testament to this success.

Byatt, who combines high technical ability with easy and personable charm (a combination more unusual than it might sound in a restaurateur) is rightly proud of the way in which his restaurant offers something for everyone, whether it’s a simple and straightforward prix fixe menu or a more elaborate five-course tasting menu, the latter of which showcases such delights as roast fillet of Cornish sea bass with clams and blood orange and a daringly innovative venison Wellington.

The staff do a sterling job of coping with a busy, buzzy dining room, managing to keep friendly and, above all, welcoming at all times, and recommending some breathtakingly bold and clever drink pairings, such as ‘pear champagne’ with English cheese. The number of couples having a romantic evening here is testament to the success of this splendid operation.

All Quintessentially members dining through April will receive a complimentary seasonal Bellini, as well as a chance to purchase a signed copy Adam’s first book, How To Eat In, at £18, which is being published on April 15th.

4 The Polygon, Clapham, SW3 www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk

Tags: Adam Byatt, awards, London, Quintessentially, restaurant
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Things That Go Bump In The Night…

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

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Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson are probably best known for their award-winning collaborations with Derren Brown and membership of the League of Gentlemen, respectively. They’re also both avowed aficionados of the classic English ghost story, which depends as much on atmosphere and pacing for its impact as it does for the inevitable reveals and shocks, and Ghost Stories, their first play together, seeks to capture the delicious power of being properly scared.

This Lyric Hammersmith production of their collaboration has been recommended for ages sixteen and over ‘due to extreme shock and tension’, and those of a nervous disposition are invited to stay away. If you’re brave enough to overcome your fears, then the first indication that things are going awry comes when you enter the theatre, which has mysterious numbers chalked on the walls and eerily flickering house lights. The play begins with a staid-seeming professor, Philip Goodman (as played by Nyman), who is delivering a lecture on the supernatural, which he illustrates with three stories of the paranormal that he has encountered in his career. Gradually, the connection between all three becomes chillingly clear.

Dyson and Nyman are fully aware of the potential for hokiness and camp in the material, and so the mixture of ‘boo!’ scares and, later on, genuinely disturbing revelations are balanced by a good number of laughs. Extremely well acted by a capable cast that also includes Nicholas ‘Nathan Barley’ Burns, this is a highly entertaining night out at the theatre that shows that it’s not just the cinema that has a monopoly on successfully creepy horror stories.

Until 3rd April. www.lyric.co.uk

Tags: Andy Nyman, Derren Brown, ghosts, Jeremy Dyson, London, Theatre
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Get Into The Kitchen

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

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11 Abingdon Road in Kensington has seen several restaurants come and go, but there can be little doubt that Kitchen W8 is here to stay. It’s the brainchild of Philip Howard, the genius behind the two Michelin-starred The Square, and Rebecca Mascarenhas, who set up perennial neighbourhood favourite Sonny’s in Barnes. The Square connection continues with the appointment of Mark Kempson as Head Chef, a former alumnus of Howard’s restaurant.

Opening to a blaze of publicity and acclaim last year, the restaurant has quickly established itself both as a successful neighbourhood institution and a destination venue in its own right. It isn’t at all hard to see why. The menu offers superb cooking – a starter of delicate, buttery crab ravioli was a highlight, as was a main course of red bream with chorizo – which is sensibly and unpretentiously presented and priced, meaning that visitors will be able to enjoy Michelin-quality cuisine at a fraction of the price that they might be paying in the West End.

The wine list offers lots of sensibly priced wines by the glass and small 250ml carafe – the latter’s a particularly good way of trying a couple of different kinds over the course of a meal without going overboard. The service is, as you’d expect in an operation of this calibre, both classy and friendly, without the overbearing quality that some restaurants can have. This excellent place deserves to prosper and succeed, and there’s no doubt it’s doing everything right.

11 Abingdon Road, W8. www.kitchenw8.com

Tags: Kensington, London, Philip Howard, Rebecca Mascarenhas, restaurant
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Through A Glass Darkly

Friday, February 26th, 2010

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Philip Glass has attained popular acclaim for scoring many successful films, including The Hours, The Truman Show and Notes From A Scandal. More recently, his music was used to striking effect within 2009’s film of Watchmen. Yet he has been a true Renaissance man throughout his career, writing symphonies (including two adapted from the ‘Berlin’ albums of David Bowie and Brian Eno), concertos and operas. Satyagraha was first performed in 1980, but was staged for the first time by the ENO in 2007, to enormous acclaim. With this, its first revival, it isn’t at all hard to see why it is regarded as one of the greatest modern operas.

Over the course of three acts, Glass explores the early life of Gandhi (powerfully sung by Alan Oke) in South Africa where he formed ’satyagraha’, which literally means the use of resistance by non-violent means. This would of course become crucial to his later philosophy, but is here presented as the powerful awakening of a spiritual conscience, something that Glass and his co-librettist Constance de Jong present via an adaptation of the Bhagavad-Gita.

If it sounds somewhat obscure, this ignores the two key strengths of this production. The first is the spectacular staging by director Phelim McDermott and the Improbable group. The vastness of the Colisseum stage is complemented by audacious effects such as gigantic puppets with misshapen heads towering over city skyscrapes and Gandhi, or apparently endless newspapers appearing across the stage to suggest international opinion of Gandhi’s actions. And the second, unsurprisingly, is Glass’ music. With steady, constant rhythms of string arpeggios punctuated by blasts of woodwind, organ and full choral explosions, it clearly foreshadows his famous work over the next three decades. For anyone seriously interested in modern classical or opera music, or for admirers of Glass, this is an unmissable experience.

Until 26 March. www.eno.org

Image by Alistair Muir/ENO.

Tags: ENO, Gandhi, Improbable, opera, Phelim McDermott, Philip Glass
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Inn With A Chance

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

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Clerkenwell has slowly but surely established itself as one of London’s most exciting dining destinations, with restaurants of the calibre of St John, The Modern Pantry and Moro drawing in the discerning crowds of gourmands, who seem attracted by the combination of the hip locale and quality of the top chefs in the area, including Fergus Henderson, Anna Hansen and, now, Bjorn van der Horst.

Bjorn, who runs the Eastside Inn with his wife Justine, is a former chef of Mayfair’s Greenhouse restaurant, as well as chef-patron of the Michelin-starred La Noisette, which was part of the Gordon Ramsay empire. Setting up on his own in Clerkenwell, the van der Horsts opened a restaurant which is half fine dining emporium, half French bistro.

The fine dining side of the operation is heavily based around local market produce, and allowing diners a degree of leeway in how their food is cooked, whereas the bistro is a more traditional operation. The set-piece dish here is a cote de boeuf that is shared between two people, which allows classically excellent cooking to dominate over a superb piece of beautifully prepared meat, served up with delicious bearnaise sauce and delicately spiced chips. But then everything on the menu is intelligently prepared and served, whether it’s an hors d’oeuvre of duck rillette, crab cakes with paprika mayonnaise or a wickedly decadent Grand Marnier souffle as a dessert. All this is accompanied by a well-chosen and comprehensive wine list, offering everything from good, carefully selected wines by the glass to some flamboyant vintages at the higher end of the list.

It’s too early to say whether Michelin will choose to recognise Bjorn’s cooking in the same way that it did at La Noisette or The Greenhouse, but there can be no doubt, from a visit to the bistro, that it is doing an excellent job at presenting a clear, unpretentious menu well, but with real flair and passion in its execution. It’s hard to think what else you could wish for somewhere like this.

40 St John St, London EC1 www.esilondon.com

Tags: Bjorn van der Horst, Clerkenwell, Fergus Henderson, Gordon Ramsay
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