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Adios Ochos

Was sorry to see that Ochos in Ranelagh appears to have closed down. They did nice tapas there and will be missed. When a second tapas bar opened in the area, I never thought that Ochos would be the loser.

Food Report: Restaurant d'Aumale, Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, Rouen

We were recently in the fair city of Rouen in Normandy. On our meanderings through the town doing touristy things, we also kept an eye out for nice places for dinner. We came across the fantastic-looking five-star Hotel de Bourgtheroulde on Place de la Pucelle, thought the restaurant looked promising and booked dinner for later that evening.

We arrived at 8pm and were shown to a table for four that had been trimmed to two as all the proper tables for two had apparently already been booked. The table was also near the service area, which was not great but did offer some insights to subsequent events.

We were repeatedly asked whether we were ready to order when it was very clear that we were not. It would have been more appropriate to ask if we needed any help translating the menu, since French is not our mother tongue. Normally, closing the menus is a sign that one is ready to order. Service from the head waiter was brusque and unfriendly. After ordering the food and the wine, an amuse-bouche arrived. As we were seated near the service area I could see that our starters arrived before we had even finished our amuse-bouche. This was not so critical as both starters were cold dishes.

We were beginning to worry that dinner would be over much too quickly. To our horror, this was confirmed when we saw that our main courses arrived from the kitchen before we were finished eating our starters. Both main courses were hot dishes, which had cooled down by the time they were served and hence were not in peak condition.

There was absolutely no break between amuse-bouche, starter and main course. This would be bad at a cheap restaurant but it is unforgiveable at an expensive one.

We did not want dessert but rather were looking forward to the cheese course. I requested the wine list so that we could order a glass of red wine to accompany the cheese. The head waiter bluntly informed me that only bottles of red wine were available: no half bottles or glasses. I find this very strange. It is not acceptable that I should buy a complete bottle of wine when all I require is a glass with my cheese. Even if this is the case, the rude and unprofessional manner of the waiter was unacceptable. I would have expected some flexibility from a five star establishment: maybe a glass of wine could have been sourced from the brasserie or the bar. It is little things like this that make great restaurants.

When we declined to buy a whole bottle of red wine, the waiter seemed to go on "autopilot" and asked us whether we wanted cheese, dessert and coffee. It was like he was reading from a script. We declined all three and just asked for the bill. We left the restaurant one hour after we entered. That may be fine at lunchtime but it is just not good enough in the evening. We mentioned our dissatisfaction at the reception desk. While I could see their concern, all they offered was a business card with an e-mail address. This suggests a lack of training in dealing with complaints, which will occur from time to time even in the best-run business.

So to summarise, we unfortunately had a most negative experience in this restaurant. We felt rushed and unwelcome. The attitude of the head waiter was extremely rude and unprofessional. We have never been treated in such a manner anywhere before. Unfortnately I could not recommend this restaurant further, in fact I would have to advise that staying away would be the best course of action.

PS: Most of the text in this post was sent to the e-mail address supplied by reception. Surprise, surprise - absolutely no reaction.

Gortnanain Vegetarian Guesthouse and Organic Farm, Co. Cork

Some very good friends kindly gave us a voucher for Gortnanain Vegetarian Guesthouse and Organic Farm, which we used last weekend. This guesthouse is situated in the rolling countryside just outside Kinsale in Co. Cork and consists of the small guesthouse itself and around 9 acres of land given over to growing a staggering array of vegetables and to a lesser, but increasing, extent fruit. The bulk of this produce is used to supply a handful of restaurants in Cork city, including one of the world's great vegetarian restaurants - Dennis Cotter's Cafe Paradiso.

Not only do Lucy and Ultan tend the crops, they also do a great job as hosts and chefs for dinner and breakfast. After arriving, we were given a nice cup of tea and had a great chat. We also got to meet the house's other permanent residents, Snapple and Bramble - head rabbit catchers on the farm. There was one other couple staying that night: Michael and Lorna from NYC. Everyone - guests and hosts alike - sits around the big kitchen table for dinner.

The dinner menu is fixed, but Lucy did ask when we booked, whether we had any preferences or allergies; and they work out the menu based on that information and whatever is available in the garden. Gortnanain has no wine licence but provides a glass or two on the house and you can, of course, bring your own. Dinner was excellent, especially the tomato salad, which completely changed my views on the merits of beefsteak tomatoes. These were ripe to perfection and bursting with flavour. The conversation was great and continued after we retired to the lounge for tea and coffee. Lucy and Ultan's take on organic was very refreshing. They are committed to local organic food because being near, it's in peak condition, and organic farming is so much better for the environment. They made no claims that it's necessarily better for you: for that they'd rather wait for conclusive scientific evidence. Mind you, I think it's obvious that they believe it.

Next day, after a delicious breakfast, Ultan gave a tour of the farm. It was quite astonishing, what could be produced from a small plot. As we wandered up and and down drills of various vegetables in glorious sunshine, with Ultan weeding as we went, it was quite obvious the amount of work that goes into producing such great vegetables. You must need huge commitment to be doing this on the many rainy days we have.

I can't recommend Gortnanain highly enough and would urge you to spend a night or two if you're ever in the area. I know we're looking forward to our next visit.

Food Report: Düsseldorf

I have spent quite a lot of time in Düsseldorf over the couple of years. Since I was hotel-based during this time, I have got to try a good number of the restaurants that this pleasant city has to offer. For the most part I have listed restaurants outside the Altstadt, mainly in the Flingern, Pempelfort, Tußmannstraße and Zoo areas just to the north-east of the centre area. While, the Altstadt is fully of places to eat, many of these are aimed at tourists. The restaurants, with the exception of two, are in the above areas, and all are frequented by locals.

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Food Report: Pierre Gagnaire à Seoul

During a recent trip to Korea, I had the pleasure of eating at the relatively new Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul restaurant. This stunning restaurant and attached bars occupy the entire top floor of the new wing of the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul. The three-star Gagnaire has recently gone down the route of expanding his culinary empire, but less so that some of his colleagues such as Alain Ducasse or Gordon Ramsay.

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