Theo Randall

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Theo Randall, since I ordinarily am disappointed by Italian restaurants (I typically think the dishes are too simple for the prices). We had the set menu, which was £27 for 3 courses + a glass of prosecco. I really liked the prosecco and got it's name but, annoyingly, it's not available to retail in the UK. The hotel is probably less glamorous than the others in the area, and the restaurant is in the basement, which doesn't help, but it was an excellent experience.

The food was very good, and best of all, very unpretentious. I was later than the others arriving and they brought fresh bruschetta and foccacia for me so that I could have warm bread. When this was eaten, they kept bringing more. It was very unexpected since it wasn't charged. The menu offered a surprising amount of choice - choice of, I think, 5 starters, 3 primi, 5 mains, 5 desserts. They were tough choices as well. Believe we ended up with Bresaola, risotto, steak, salmon and guinea fowl. We all ended up swapping plates through the mains because everything was delicious and we couldn't work out who had made the best choice. There were nice touches to each - the steak and guinea fowl in particular. The steak seemed to be marinated in salsa verde and I think is the embodiment of what Gaucho Grill attempts with it's spiral cuts. The guinea fowl was tender (!) and had a crisp skin while still being moist. Wines were well priced, I think we averaged about £35 a bottle. The Moscato by the glass was delicious.

The thing that really shone though was the service. Again, the staff are as amicable or formal as you like. When I mentioned that I had a friend who was upset they couldn't make it, they gave me some chocolates to take away for them. When I mentioned that I liked the prosecco and asked it's name, they threw in another glass. Bread incident mentioned above.

This has been a good week! Lets see how Orrery holds up!