I'd been to the main restaurant before and had the tasting menu which was fantastic. After tonight's experience, I can barely believe just how the quality of food can vary from one end of a restaurant to the other!
We received the usual high standards of service, I've come to expect from a D&D establishment, but the food was atrocious.
As a starter we both had the soup of the day which was Jerusalem artichoke. Now, the last time I had this soup was at Eight at The Thatch (the original winners of Raymond Blanc's The Restaurant, but now just The Thatch) and it was phenomenal: a delicious and luxurious rich bowl of earthy soup. What I had tonight bore no resemblance to the soup I was expecting in any way what so ever, except maybe the colour. The soup was bland and immediately forgettable. And whoever thought adding shavings of raw (maybe they were blanched) artichoke as a garnish needs to think that through. There's nothing I love more than a mouthful of soup and having to crunch through a slice of raw Jerusalem artichoke.
On to the mains and I had the Denham Estate venison burger, admittedly it was cooked perfectly as a rare burger and tasted wonderful. However, my fries were not cooked all the way through, my second case of raw tuber. Also the burger was served with cranberry sauce. I can see the merit in the idea, but the sauce they gave me was sweet enough to serve with a dessert; it had no place as a garnish for a wonderful burger.
My fellow diner had the Billingsgate fish pie. When it arrived it looked promising: a deep bowl of steaming comfort food. However, once she got through the mash topping and through the dense layer of salmon the remainder of the pie was filled with an overcooked fish pap: woeful.
All in all a terrible meal, and only just deserving of the £10 I paid (as well as another £3 for a glass of lemonade!). However, the evening was saved by the front of house and the delicious bread selection: slices of warm doughy carbohydrate heaven flavoured with rosemary or raisins: yummy!
Two of us were there on the London Evening Standard Reader Offer:
We're delighted to announce the return of our exclusive offer from D&D London.
Readers can have a set-price lunch or dinner at a great selection of top restaurants for £10, £15, £20, £25 or £30 per person. Some of the menus also include a glass of wine or Piper-Heidsieck Champagne.
You can dine as often as you like until Friday 12 February 2010.
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