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Gidleigh Park: a simply awful lunch

25/5/2011

57 Comments

 
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There are two things we like about Gidleigh Park, but sadly, only two things. The first is that after navigating the mile long single track road that is Gidleigh's driveway you are greeted by a most stunning old style manor house in the most beautiful of surroundings. It is, from the bottom of the road, simply breathtaking in its beauty.

The second thing that we like is the wine list which, if we hadn't been driving, we could have spent more than a happy day with. At the very top end, by way of admittedly relative bargains, a Lafite Rothschild 1981 is listed at £550 while on wine-searcher.com, retailers are pricing the same bottle north of £700! Like we say, relative bargains.

Having dispensed with what we like, now let's talk about what we don't like: everything else. It is generally our preference to try the tasting menu at multi starred restaurants as we really want to get a taste of the kitchen's offerings. We've noted in the past though that at some top restaurants tasting menus can be repetitive and in one of our recent posts we stated that 'there is something of a tasting menu formula: foie gras, hand dived Scottish sea scallop, venison for winter, lamb for spring'. 

We were therefore dismayed to find that in Gidleigh Park's 'Signature Menu' of eight courses, the first course is scallops, the second course is Terrine of foie gras and the main is Lamb. Yawn. The first dessert after cheese is described as Exotic fruit salad which promises a passion fruit sorbet while the second dessert is listed as Plate of apricot. This all sounds so terribly dull. And in the age of globalisation, is passion fruit really that exotic? If they really think that, this could be even more depressing than the menu has already hinted it will be. We decide to opt for the a la carte unable to face such a me too tasting menu.
Our booking is for drinks at 1:00 on the terrace to be seated in the restaurant at 1:30. We're given the menus while seated on the terrace at 1:10 and the food order is finally taken at 1:25. We take our seats at the table at the scheduled time of 1:30 but at 2:05, we have yet to be served our first course. On the terrace we were served an amuse of a bite of turbot and a spoon of provencal vegetables, while at the table we had a pre starter of duck and its consomme, but after 35 mins of being seated, almost 45 minutes after ordering and an hour and five minutes after arriving, there's no sign of our starter and we're bored and hungry. We ask a waiter if the starter was likely to be forthcoming.

A senior waitress appeared shortly after and said there had been a problem in the kitchen with our dish, the chef wasn't happy and and it was being re-plated. At 2:15, the starter finally arrived. We're just really bored by now and already thinking that the food will have to be spectacular to save the day: way too much to hope for. The starters we've ordered are: Loch Duart salmon, Oscietra caviar, salmon jelly and cucmber, honey, soy and wasabi and Greek yoghurt vinaigrettes, and the second starter is Devon quail, quail raviolo, herb puree, truffled egg yolk and quail jus.

First impression? We are astounded how the plates look: heavy handed and amateur quite frankly. Where's the light touch, where's the finesse? The quail raviolo is stuffed with both a quail mousse and chunks of quail breast rendering odd textures without additional reward. The quail eggs are cold and offer no excitement. The dish feels clumsy to us, like something a fledgling restaurant might serve chasing (unsuccessfully) its first star.

As for the Loch Duart salmon, it's a massive 'so-what'. Since arriving, we've waited over an hour for this and it's no more than salmon on a plate.The salmon nearly went for a last swim in a river of my tears. At one starred Galvin at Windows they serve a starter of Cured Loch Duart salmon, Cornish crab, avocado cream and caviar which was equally as good, better in fact. We also think back to the brilliant Lasagne of organic salmon, tiger prawn and Oscietra caviar, watercress mousse and Champagne beurre blanc at the no Michelin starred London fish restaurant One-O-One and quiver at the thought of how much better their dish was, how much cheaper and how much more caviar came with it.

Where's the magic here, again, where's the finesse? The only light touch evident seems to be with the caviar: as the third picture below shows, the salmon came with just eight beads on each piece, the caviar hardly seems worth mentioning it's so sparsely there. The plate is again over decorated as if filling up the plate with stuff will make up for the lack of a single identifiable brilliance that could otherwise carry a whole table.  
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Devon quail, quail raviolo, herb puree, truffled egg yolk and quail jus
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Loch Duart salmon, Oscietra caviar, salmon jelly and cucmber, honey, soy and wasabi and Greek yoghurt vinaigrettes
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Just eight caviar eggs sit on top of each salmon piece.
It's now the turn of the mains: Cornish salt cod, Beesands crab, chorizo, samphire, tarragon and a lemon puree, also served, Brixham turbot and scallops, leeks, wild mushrooms and chive butter sauce.

We're even more surprised by the plating here. The cod looks like something Princess Beatrice might wear on her head for a royal wedding. There is simply nothing enticing about how this plate looks, it's simply piled high and covered with puree. In fact, it's off-putting. When we consider the plating finesse that went into Simon Rogan's dishes at L'enclume and Simon Hulstone's dishes at The Elephant, we find it utterly remarkable that this is the main course on a £100 a la carte menu. On tasting, the chorizo and lemon swamped any taste of cod you were hoping for providing for the same judgement on the balance of flavours as we gave for visual presentation.

The turbot dish was little better. It could hardly look more thrown onto the plate though if you tried. There has then, in two starters and two mains from the full price a la carte menu, been almost no aesthetic value to the food that's been presented to us. The turbot itself tasted good at least, though supporting ingredients including the scallops were totally underwhelming seemingly lacking a point in being there.
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Cornish salt cod, Beesands crab, chorizo, samphire, tarragon and a lemon puree
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Brixham turbot and scallops, leeks, wild mushrooms and chive butter sauce
With just a plate of cheese to come and a dessert, there's insufficient opportunity now for them to redeem the meal but can they at least claw back a few points? No. A cheese trolley is brought to the table and the four cheeses selected are plated, it's nothing to set the pulse racing however. The dessert is a Trio of chocolate: hazlenut and milk chocolate parfait, dark chocolate mousse on a chocolate sable biscuit and white chocolate ice cream. The dessert is okay but quite inexact. The chocolate casing of the parfait is heavy rather than impressively delicate and I struggle to break it with my spoon: considerable force is in fact needed. The crystalline candy top meanwhile is spread unevenly over the surface, absent into the corner but clumped elsewhere; while not a big deal at a standard restaurant and even forgiveable (but still comment worthy) for a single starred restaurant, for one of only half a dozen two star restaurants outside London, it seems lazy and uncaring for the standard.
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a selection of cheeses plated
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Trio of chocolate
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meeting the exacting standards of 2 stars?
Service was unsmiling and not even really efficient. When I said I wasn't drinking wine with the meal because I was driving, I was not offered a soft drink. It took for us to complain about the wait for the starter to get an explanation that the kitchen had mucked it up (though when we finally did see what they delivered, we wonder what the hell it could have looked liked first time around) and half the time we had to perform our own 'magic touch'. There's more but we'll stop there on service, we're sure you have better things to do.

£100 for three courses (okay, £99 to be exact). 2 Michelin stars. This is a meal that barely (if at all) reached the level of one star in our opinion. On this leg of our tour of Britain, we got to try one Michelin star eateries Sienna and The Elephant as well as top restaurant pub The Jack in the Green. All three served us a better meal. All three presented dishes to us that we considered to be more attractively presented, offered better cleaner flavours, and delivered a simply better overall food and service experience.

Against two star rivals, in our opinion, Gidleigh Park pales in comparison to The Ledbury or Hibiscus (with their brilliant cep tart for example). Outside of London in the UK both Le Manoir and Le Champignon Sauvage were vastly better and compared to 2 star Osteria Francescana in Italy it is, forgive the cliché, night and day.

It breaks our hearts that brilliant one star restaurants in the UK like L'enclume and Apsleys are denied their second star if this, what was delivered to us today, is held in such regard by Michelin, but here of course, we're just banging our heads against the tyre wall.

So disappointing: in our view, poor service, uninspired menus, little plating skills, lazy execution; we should stop there.


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Gidleigh Park on Urbanspoon
57 Comments
Kietan smith @chefkez
25/5/2011 04:44:59 pm

They should b embarrased! Half eaten cheese, and busy plates that dont show technique and no paticular good flavour by sound of it!

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alison thomas
16/6/2012 02:51:38 pm

How sad you sound. Did you go there looking for faults? I have been licky enough to eat several times at Gidleigh Park and I never ceased to be amazed by the beauty and taste of the food. The service has always been excellent, but then I always go with a positive attitude and enjoy talking to the very interesting staff that work there.view

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thecriticalcouple
16/6/2012 05:49:48 pm

Alison,

we are pleased that you have had good meals there and clearly Gidleigh has its fans. But as it says in the post, on this particular occasion it was a full one and a quarter hours after we arrived at the restaurant before our starter was served. Do we go looking for faults? No, please see for example our recent post on Helene Darroze at the Connaught which is a comparable restaurant.

But waiting an hour and a quarter, in a two star restaurant. We had to ask if they had forgotten us. I'm sure you always do go to a restaurant with a positive attitude (as you suggest in your comment), but what you say implies that if you had to wait an hour and a quarter for your starter, you wouldn't consider that poor service. How long then would you have to wait for your food to be served before you you thought service was poor? An hour and a half, two hours?

For whatever reason, that day, at our table, Gidleigh failed to deliver. That was our experience, and when you are paying over £100 a head for the experience, it is simply not good enough.

alison thomas
16/6/2012 02:53:07 pm

please replace licky with lucky in my previous reply!

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hungry in cardiff
25/5/2011 04:45:49 pm

i've spent the evening reading over your reviews and checking the pics on all your posts tonight in anticipation of what i knew was to be a bad review. i don't mean badly written, but a bad meal.

i really do love your blog, primarily because you eat at, and offer honest reviews of so many fantastic places.

the one thing i take away from it though, is just how irrelevant michelin actually is. It's time people stopped using michelin even as a guide to fine dining, let alone the be all and end all it's so often considered.

This is a new age far removed from the heyday of the guide, and it's high time restaurants stopped charging and running their business according to the number of their stars, but just running a fucking restaurant that they take pride in day after day. we need more places like sat baines, le enclume, champingon sauvage, where the chef wants to be behind the stove, not on uktv food.

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chefholland
25/5/2011 04:48:07 pm

Not the best review in the world for suppossed to be one off the best restaurants in the world .well thats what 2 star meens doesnt it?food seems to be a bit predictable to me

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Mark Smith
25/5/2011 06:01:33 pm

Wow...what sort of food do you like??? L'enclume & Sat Bains to me isn't food & two stars,never!!! Michelin knows this.

I went to Gidleigh in November last year & had a great meal, in fact I remember each dish this how great is was!!! I had the salmon dish which I loved, all the flavors worked well!!!

As for the Cod dish, one of the best fish dishes I've EVER eaten!!! I've noticed there isn't any review on the petit fours??? Why is this, again some of the best petit fours, watch out guys for the "Passion Fruit & Mango Jaffa Cake" or the "Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta & Blackcurrant Jelly" which is from the kitchen garden!!!

One of the best two stars I've eaten at in the UK!!!! Please Gidleigh don't take any notice of this review....

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Alan Spedding link
25/5/2011 11:36:17 pm

Another great review CC , some nice pics too, what a shame the meal and service were naff....its not on my list , there again it`s never been on.
I also echo the comments about Michelin in the UK ,its rapidly losing face with the nations food lovers especially after januarys disaster when we all expected that Lenclume and sat bains were finally going to get what they deserve.Surely its time for change.
In the meantime , ill look forward to the next write up as always.
Keep on doing what you do folks.
cheers
Alan

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TC_Miles
25/5/2011 11:47:14 pm


Interesting review. As you mention, with around fine dining, restaurants have to do more to really stand-out and earn their place, or risk being another me-too.

My experience has led me to believe that there are three really distinct type of restaurant experiences where value for money and enjoyment can be found:

1. Experimental (El Bulli)
2. Honest/Authentic(St.John etc.)
3. Luxury/Genorosity (many Paris 3stars etc.)

Gidleigh Park like others seems to fall short in all of these categories and therefore does not providing a memorable dining experience.

This hypothesis might need some refining..

(very much enjoy the blog by the way)

@tc_miles

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Robert Atkins
26/5/2011 04:33:34 am

Very interesting review here. Yet very questionable. Gidleigh park never fails to exceed my expectation on many levels. As a regular customer I speak through experience when I say michaels food is amongst the best in the country, although your opinion is valid and entitled its obviously spoken with a sense on animosity.

In my opinion the food is pure bliss and pretension would only ruin it's elegance.

Gidleigh is without doubt 2 star michelin if not more. As ''Mark smith'' commented; do t take any notice Gidleigh.

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Steve Ashworth
26/5/2011 06:58:27 am

Well it takes a lot to make me gobsmacked, but this review certainly has. An honest review is all well and good, but I do wonder if there is occasionally an attempt in the 'review blog world' to try and go for a newspaper headline in the bid to 'sell newspapers'.

This is not the Gidleigh that I know and love. This is not the Gidleigh where time and time again I receive impecable service. This is not the Gidleigh where I have eaten the best and most delicious food. Is this Gidleigh, well it is not my Gidleigh.

Okay, lets just say they had an off day and not everything was as perfect as Michael Caines would want. I struggle to beleive this as I write it. So, they had an off day and you quite rightly have a cause to complain! Did you bring this to their attention at the time, when you waited and got bored (obviously you need to question your own communication skills and relationship, if you were so bored), did you talk to the Maitre D on the way out when you paid the bill or did you just leave as quickly as you could to get this review out.

Give Gidleigh the chance to address your issues on a one to one basis before you go to 'print'! You were only there yesterday.

I'm also surprised you were in so much of a rush. Gidleigh is an experience, it is there to be enjoyed and you relax. If you were on the terrace it must have been a nice day, take in the view, chill, what's the rush?

Do I speak from experience, yes I do. 10+ meals at Gidleigh, not just lunch! All perfect! Every member of staff passing the time of day, engaging, personable, adding to the experience. Chatting, because I took the time to chat to them.

Do I know what I'm talking about. Ok I'm not a blogger and this will be full of typos. I'm not always good with words. But I am passionate about food and I know bad food, good food and excellent food. I eat at no stars, one star, two and three stars, in the UK and overseas - so I do know what I am talking about and what I enjoy!

If you are reading this blog and comments, go to Gidleigh and experience it yourselves and do not use this blog as a typical representation. Hopefully the bloggers will contact Gidleigh and discuss their issues fully and if lessons need to be learned they will allow this (on both sides!).

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NorthernSnippet link
26/5/2011 07:45:50 am

Hmmmm.Just wondering if its truly fair to call this an awful lunch?
I'm forever reading of the irrelevance of Michelin yet their benchmark stars continue to influence expectations/perceptions of meals and therefore subsequent reviews.

I enjoy looking at your food photos,this looks like a nice meal to me.But then again I'm no expert :)

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Alan spedding ( Cumbriafoodie ) link
26/5/2011 07:48:02 am

Simply one look at the food tells me that its certainly not 2 star , perhaps it wasn`t a good day in the kitchen.

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Gordon Rambo
26/5/2011 10:53:07 am

From start to finish this meal looks badly executed and poorly conceived, for to say 'maybe it was an off day'is rediculous, its a 2 star restaurant!!
I ate there ten years ago and it was by far one the best meals I had eaten at the time, the dishes then were delicate and well thought out with the sense of the 'chef' stood behind the stove!
Maybe Mr Caines should spend a little more time in his kitchen.

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Grazing Kate link
27/5/2011 01:19:20 am

Visited Gidleigh in Feb and had a memorable and beautiful meal. I'm with Northern Snippet - I don't think the dishes look too bad, but I guess you have a lot of experience of eating at high-end establishments, so have more of an eye for detail than me.

I've had the Gidleigh salmon dish twice this year and LOVED it - it looked exactly how yours did, but I found the flavours and textures sublime.

Funnily enough I have just read your Elephant (Torquay restaurant) review and having eaten at both, I much prefer Gidleigh to the Elephant. Each to their own!

In comparison to your experience, the service we have received at Gidleigh has always been exemplary - really friendly, knowledgeable and prompt.

PS the wine list at Gidleigh scared me to death (ie the prices)!

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Curious Squirrel
28/5/2011 03:19:46 am

What always surprises me about this type of blog, is how anyone thinks it might be either entertaining or constructive. It doesn't help things to change or improve, it is by nature very one-sided and it generates a negative feeling about an enterprise that people (the staff of such establishments) invest a huge amount of themselves in.

Gidleigh is set on Dartmoor not in Tokyo or Central London or New York. My knowledge of it is that it champions local, seasonal produce and seeks to present it in an honest, clean way. It needs to be seen to attract those looking to be wowed by 'exoticism' but it's base revenue probably comes from those seeking - simply - very well cooked food. You cannot run a sustainable business if it is purely based on a 'surprise' factor. Not everyone will be surprised - and thrilled - by the same things.

A chef who thinks this is "embarrassing" - (and lets bare in mind these photos cannot be proof of anything much) -might well be able to give Gidleigh a run for their money for a few months if they have the right training. But I'd like to see them try keeping it up for a sustained period - and especially with clients like these.

Waiting staff are not slaves to a client's mood. They are there to provide one half of a dialogue, one half of an encounter (with food, with people, with wine) and one half of an experience. You are not there to be 'served' in a Victorian sense - this is 2011. If service in an establishment is as you say it is slow, unsmiling, inefficient - then how about you look at what you were putting into the dialogue, into the experience. Or were you just waiting for the staff to brighten your day? They are not your au pair. They are there as dedicated professional people with a passion. When someone contributes nothing to a restaurant experience and even worse, takes pride in pulling that apart do you think that inspires them as fine dining staff, to keep schtum and continue their 75 hour weeks? How about looking at what might inspire someone to want to engage with you - as a client or just as another human being. I think if you start to realise that you are 50% of the dining experience you will take responsibility for your half. Then if there is genuine a problem with standards your newly honed communication skills will serve you well when you address yourself - like a man or woman - to the management team and have a stab at making a coherent, articulate point. You might even develop a rapport that is 2-sided and you might get something out of it.

Thinking to yourself (as you seem to have been for the entirety of the experience) "this had better be good" "they'd better make up for such and such..." well you were setting yourself up for disappointment really weren't you.

So how about learning to speak your mind and not relying on a rather gutless blog?

And then how about you get a proper job and learn that you are very lucky to eat in such a place at all

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thecriticalcouple
28/5/2011 05:09:03 am

Curious Squirrel

thank you for injecting some humour into what was becoming a quite dry and serious comment thread.

We didn't realise that we had to take responsibility for 50% of the dining experience, guess that's because the restaurant rarely picks up 50% of the bills we run up.

Talking of bills, I must now go and get that 'proper job' you suggest, my unemployment benefit is becoming quite stretched eating at all these Michelin starred restaurants, it hardly buys a foie gras starter these days.

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Mark Smith
28/5/2011 05:10:11 pm

Great comments Curious Squirrel!!!! 100% behind you.

"Critical Couple" isn't looking good for you these days, hahaha

P.s looking forward to your next comment, this is keeping me entertained!!!

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Rory link
29/5/2011 02:01:48 am

I'm loathed to wade into this "debate", but it's becoming quite absurd.

One of the internet's many charms is that there is nobody putting a gun to your head, forcing you to digest each word of any given site. If you find the views of a particular author troubling, stop reading them.

In the sphere of food blogging a number of people are taking the time, for whatever motivation, to share their thoughts and experiences with you. For no charge - none of them owe you anything.

Over time, rational adults tend to realise which bloggers' tastes and preferences are close to their own, so can use their reviews as a helpful guide when planning meals and trips to areas they may not be familiar with. Given the diversity of humanity and the sheer number of people blogging about food, there will be many voicing opinions which diiffer from your own.

Everybody's life will be enriched if you do the decent thing and simply ignore those whose views diverge so, apparently, violently with those you hold dear.

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Nicky
29/6/2013 02:33:23 am

"If you find the views of a particular author troubling, stop reading them"

Problem this blog is like watching the Jeremy Kyle show. It is entertaining and leaves you with a sense of superiority. .

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Alan spedding ( cumbriafoodie ) link
31/5/2011 12:52:45 am

Jeez.....wow this is getting serious folks , Only one answer im afraid

"Handbags at Dawn on Dartmoor"

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dave celer
1/6/2011 03:46:55 pm

gidleigh park to get 3 stars this yr well over due the depth in the knowledge of the chef clearly comesthrough in the flavour of his dishes

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Ute@hungryinlondon link
6/6/2011 11:14:21 pm

Interesting and very well written review and very interesting comments... as a blogger myself I of course agree that if you have a bad meal you should say so. No one is forced to read it :)


I just ate at the sister restaurant (Bath Priory) in Bath with Michael Caines as executive chef (the ravioli looked very similar by the way, but mine was with lobster). No Michelin star there but I was really happy with the food. So happy in fact that I was wondering if I should try Gidleigh Park. After reading your review - maybe not.

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R.e.Russell
3/5/2013 10:33:59 am

I have eaten at both Bath Priory and Gidleigh Park on several occasions, and have always enjoyed food and service of the highest standard. Dont be put off, by other persons comments visit Gidleigh, and make your own mind up. I doubt if you will be dissappointed.

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KD
8/6/2011 11:40:39 am

Not too sure if Gidleigh has maintained pace of the last few years.....

First time is great, second time nice and then ..................

Not always great value for money compared to others, although that could be down to location, having been the only 2 star in the area for many years!

Guess their not happy with Nathan?

Food can be over seasoned and the main ingrediant of the main course can sometimes be a little tight!!

Appreciate the lovely location / building which no doubt comes with massive overheads, but 16 in the kitchen is excessive and others do it with less and at better value!

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the hanging pigion
9/6/2011 05:42:14 pm

ate here aswell recently and 3 times before the recent time was the best shame to see this are u ever going to go back i see you did with marcus

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thecriticalcouple
17/7/2011 03:39:18 am

some people seem to be hung up on a couple of Tweets that we made after this meal. One Tweet said 'you couldn't pay us to go back' but when Michael Caines contacted us on Twitter to apologise and invite us back we said 'we'd be very happy to return'.

some wannabe journalists felt that they had achieved a journalistic coup by highlighting this contradiction and therefore our own lack of integrity. it was for the most part passed over by more intelligent commentators but it seems like it needs an explanation for the former.

When someone says 'you could have blown me down with a feather' they don't literally mean that a feather waved in front of them would fell them to the ground. 'I would forget my head if it weren't screwed on'; would you really? 'The silence was deafening' doesn't mean that you actually went deaf.

When we said 'you couldn't pay us to return', we didn't literally mean that if someone offered us £5,000 to eat there we would say no; it was only a commonplace expression used in passing on Twitter and not a literal statement of actual intent.

When Michael Caines then contacted us, he was most courteous. In turn, it was appropriate to be courteous back. He extended an olive branch, we accepted it rather than escalate the dispute. It was we think the responsible thing to do.

If this apparent contradiction between a commonplace Tweet and an adult reconciliation is found news worthy by some, they are perhaps lacking a few skills of their own.

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Debbie Burgess
17/7/2011 03:57:40 am

Only someone 'clutching at straws' would have picked up on such a comment & tried to make an issue out of it! Has common sense died?

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Man link
17/7/2011 04:18:23 am

Oh CC why did you reply to such comments? An Olympian detachment, floating above the baser discussions of probably envious commentators, would have befitted your style far better, I think :)

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Nicky Richmond link
17/7/2011 06:49:11 am

In my view, the comments were spot on. I stayed there for three nights so we can't blame an "off day". The hotel is great (assuming you get a good room - I didn't) but the restaurant is sus-standard for a Michelin 2 star.

I'm also interested to see how little the menu has changed since May- seemingly not at all. This is a formula restaurant and the formula needs a change. It's tired and needs to raise its game. It probably needs a local competitor. It may also be that a lot of the Bufton Tuftons who go there (and there are many) don't know or care.

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the hanging pigion
20/7/2011 06:38:13 pm

i cant believe the comments here have u been back yet so the comments can change to something a little more up beat as this is a cracking restauraunt whitch i believe may have a chance at 3 stars one day

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Chris Kay link
19/9/2011 05:26:30 am

As others have commented this is not the Gidleigh we know. We had a sublime lunch there the other day and the taste presentation and service were all exemplary. Funnily enough the only thing I don’t like about the place is the only thing you do like about the place and that is the building. Always looks to me like a boy’s boarding school and inside I find all that wood panelling most oppressive but I guess it is listed and they can’t change it. Le Manoir has a lovely atmosphere but I would put Gidleigh marginally ahead on food based on the ultimate package we had at Raymond's place recently. Anyway we keep our eyes on our plates and have never been disappointed once we negotiated the winding lanes.

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PAUL
29/10/2011 02:50:02 am

DONT GO BACK ITS A CRAP PLACE THAT SHOULD HAVE ITS SO CALLED CHEF IN THE KITCHEN NOT UP DATING TWEETS ALL THE TIME SHOULD BE 1 STAR,NOT EVEN THAT ,THERE A FAR MORE PLACES OUT THERE THAT DESERVE MORE THEN HERE

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William
29/10/2011 04:46:47 pm

Ok, I have never eaten at Gidleigh Park, therefore I can't really cast my judgement on their food. Regardless of that, I have for the last 6 months been to places including Eleven Madison Park, Noma, Geranium, Dragsholm slot, Relæ, St. Johns, Hibiscus (which I didn't like) and The Ledbury to name a few. Comparing Gidleigh just by the pictures shown here to the standards of plating and the complete aesthetics of those places...

This looks like complete unprofessional, uninspired, overpriced waist of time. This seriously looks like cooking school territory! I would be ashamed to send this food and if anybody has the cheek to blame it on an "off day" then that person has never worked in a kitchen. "off days" aren't really an option, especially when you proudly boast that and I quote, "celebrity master chef", "two michelin stars" on your establishments web page.

But then again I haven't eaten there. Not that I'm planning too, ever...

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Quintopus
2/2/2012 12:57:37 am

You people must lead an awfully sad life that you feel the need to go to all this trouble to tear a chef to shreds. And if anyone (obviously other than Michelin now) believes Sat Baines is a 2 star chef they haven't eaten there. Why not include the Hand and Flowers and go the proverbial whole hog?

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Bess42
19/5/2012 03:02:46 pm

Looks like the hand of a jealous rival to me. Have eaten three meals at Gidleigh, each of which was sensational. Had a very good meal at Sat Bains, followed by a good meal then finally a very average meal there, not worthy of two stars in my view and I won't be going back. Gidleigh Park is also a wonderful place to stay with amazing service.

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Mr Greedy
8/1/2013 08:02:02 am

On reading this "review" I honestly thought it was a spoof, as it was so full of cliches and namedropping.Are the critical couple just an old has been alternative comic trying to revive his or her career?
Cant stop laughing!

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thecriticalcouple
8/1/2013 11:09:13 am

indeed, hands up, you've nailed us and the whole article with that failing comic metaphor.

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Debbie
12/2/2013 03:27:35 pm

We had an absolutely delightful lunch today at Gidleigh. Celeriac soup and beetroot mousse for canapes which were seasoned beautifully and really got the taste buds going. We then had amuse bouche ( thinks that's right) of salmon mousse and pickled cucumber which was elegant and simple. I think my favourite course was the wild mushroom risotto with Quail and truffle shavings. The quail was cooked to perfection pink and moist and the little confit leg was super tasty. I really enjoyed this starter. Next for my main course i had cornish pollock which again was cooked beautifully and had a langoustine on top which was super tender and sweet. The dish had a delicate touch to it and everything had been placed with precision. My only niggle was i did not like the potato on the plate it tasted pungent and a little bitter and a bit firm, but the pollack really was amazing. My pudding was chocolate fondant and pistacio ice cream which was very good. Petit-fours were very nice milk jely was my favourite. Creme brulee lovely and a salt caramel fondant which tasted nice. Would of liked something citrus or fruity as all quite sweet but presented nicely. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch and would like to go for dinner there.

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jules
18/6/2013 04:10:04 pm

One thing you don't seem to understand is that your comparing stand alone restaurants like l'enclume, ever said a bad word about any course from this restaurant?, to country house hotels who have to cater for a wider audiences and worry about breakfast, afternoon tea's light lunches, lunch and dinner service and a wider range of customers , also its obvious you have your favourite chefs and styles your not objective in your reviews and quite frankly you come across as a couple of pedantic know it alls,ever thought of opening your own place? your bound to get 3 stars in your first year, god knows what you do for a living but i wouldnt like to critique you on a subject I presumably know nothing about because, your obviously not chefs or work in the industry, your food groupies, who don't understand how hard people work in these kitchens to put there heart and soul on a plate only for a couple of amateurs to tear it to pieces, really strange how you either like a place or hate it no middle ground with you two.

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TCC
21/6/2013 06:50:35 pm

not sure that 'groupies' was the word that you were, in reality, reaching for there.

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jules
22/6/2013 07:43:29 am

It was exactly the word I was looking for.

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TCC
22/6/2013 09:15:51 am

Really? Couldn't properly understand your comment. A groupie is defined in this context surely as an 'uncritical follower' whereas you're accusing us of being overly critical? Which and what do you mean then?

Equally, by saying that we 'don't understand how hard people work in these kitchens' are you arguing that bad reviews should never be given to restaurants because people work hard in restaurants?

And since we are at it, when you say the 'one thing you don't seem to understand is your [sic] comparing stand alone restaurants like l'enclume... to country house hotels who have to cater for a wider audience and worry about breakfast, afternoon tea's [sic]...'. Does Michelin have a different set of criteria for restaurants that serve breakfast also? Is that what we have not understood, or that there is a price discount available because they serve breakfast also? (of course there is not). Or that we should expect an inferior lunch because they serve breakfast also? And ps, L’enclume serve breakfast also, it’s a restaurant with rooms.

And when you say "your [sic] not objective in your reviews" do you think other critics are, like newspapers that would describe it as 'fayne dayning'? No critic is objective. We wanted to enjoy it, we were willing to pay hundreds of pounds for a good meal, we didn't get it. We were forgotten and neglected. If you have to ask the wait staff 'have you forgotten us', you think that's good service? Two star service? It is subjective to the extent that you are happy to wait an hour for your first course.

Are we 'pedantic know it alls' or people who 'presumably know nothing' per your next sentence?

'your [sic] not chefs or work in the industry'. Your evidence for that statement is...?

'You either like a place or hate it, no middle ground with you two'. We have a view certainly, and for a two star restaurant charging £100+ a head if we have a middle ground view of 'that was just okay', that itself is damning. Are you happy to pay £100 for food and settle for middle ground?

If we were groupies, we would kiss the ass of every chef and every restaurant on the blog, we don't, we write up our experience. We do however understand the hard work that goes into making a restaurant work despite what you say. You clearly are industry, possibly country house hotel in Cumbria. I don't know why you use the term groupie in a derogatory way, for groupies are what you clearly want, an ass kissing from all which you believe you should get for all your hard work, not believing that 'a couple of amateurs' have the right to complain about a meal even if it is bad because it is your 'heart and soul on a plate'. I think we may justifiably question how objective your comment is.

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Red Dog
27/6/2013 01:24:58 pm

Has 'Jules' hit a nerve... I think so.

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TCC
27/6/2013 04:01:07 pm

Red Dog, or should I call you Andrew, manager of Holbeck Ghyll. Either way, the answer is no, just responding. Thanks for the comment though.

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Matt
29/6/2013 03:27:53 am

If you write that "Gidleigh Park is good and I know what I'm talking about because my wife & I have eaten in some very expensive restaurants before", you're a tool. It merely proves that you have money and are good at making reservations. When Mikael Jonsson of Hedone got his glowing AA Gill review, his restaurant filled up with "box tickers" ordering their beef very well done. I'm sure these exact same people go round the internet saying "my opinion is right because I eat in the very best places". Vomit.

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Debbie
1/7/2013 08:22:51 am

Just wondered if you have made that return visit yet to give it a second chance?

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Debbie link
1/7/2013 08:24:12 am

Have you made a return visit yet and given it a second chance?

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TCC
1/7/2013 11:12:22 am

No. It's a 5 hour drive from where we are to go there specifically and rarely on route to anywhere else we are going. I think the moment has passed.

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kep
23/3/2014 02:58:44 pm

just had lunch there recently - very disappointing - had the beef and had to send it back - couldnt get the knife through it!! wouldnt go there again !

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Charles Landworth
12/5/2014 11:58:21 am

Last week me and the family traveled down to Gidleigh Park. After arriving we were somewhat disappointed to not be greeted at the car park (as we were at the Fat Duck, also 2 Michelin stars). I have to admit the reception was lovely, and walking down the oak hallway did make us feel rather royal. We were lead into a rather busy lounge and then forced to order asap. Which was not pleasing. After we ordered we were given a orange foie gras and pea soup. The canapes were delightful. Swiftly after we were walked down the grand hallway to our table. The room lacked atmosphere for two Michelin stars. The weather was gorgeous however they didn't seem to take full advantaged, and thus leaving the window closed. After a 20 minute wait we were presently greeted by 7 (slightly unnecessary for a party of 5) waiters. Our table had order a 3 course meal and we didn't plan on having petit fours. The cuisine was next to none, simply outstanding. What I expected from 2 Michelin stars? Possibly. Overall, our experience was 7/10. A great place to take children who want their first Michelin star experience.

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R.Russell
1/7/2014 06:49:04 am

The critical couples comments in respect of Gidleigh Park or indeed any other restaurant they care to grace their presence with in the great scheme of things count for absolutely nothing. They are after all only expressing there personal likes and preferences.Any one who likes to sample what is generally called fine dining would i am pretty sure not be gullable enough to take any notice of others persons comments but would visit and make their own mind up. I have been fortunate enough to break bread at a number of multi rosetted, michelin star awarded establishments and in my opinion thy have all been pretty good, i have also dined at restaurants with absolutely no awards where the food, again in my opinion has been worthy of a standing ovation. So i say to any one reading the critcal couples comments who are likely to be put off, just take them with a pinch or salt, visit and make your own mind up,

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Rob Pethick
29/9/2014 07:14:23 am

My wife and I had a great celebratory lunch at Gidleigh. Would I have been hacked off if my meal was a long time coming - yes, I believe I would. I do know that the ever courteous Michael Caines and any of his very courteous team, would have put matters right, there and then, should I have spoken up at the time.

I will be going back shortly and I can recommend any reader to enjoy the Gidleigh experience. If you are unlucky enough to have even the slightest cause for complaint, make your views known, politely and quietly and I am confident that matters will be put right straight away.

Gidleigh is one of the jewels of the west country.

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Jon
27/2/2016 08:25:21 am

My wife and I dined there yesterday, they now have a new chef (who started last month and still with 2 stars). Food and service were both excellent and my wife (who is the food critic for a well known newspaper) was actually very impressed. I personally still prefer the Elephant overall but I'm not the food critic. I suggest you pay GP another visit on your next visit to the West Country, you might be surprised!

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Andrew Robinson
4/3/2022 10:40:28 am

Being as this review is dated 25/05/2011, it confuses me. By this time Gidleigh Park was not a 2 star restaurant, and had not been for a long time (it had none at the time of this review). The comparison to Hibiscus is also confusing, since Claude had since moved on to Bibendum a long time ago and Hibiscus very much closed. And then, the "2 star Osteria Francescana"! 2 stars? There are more inaccuracies but I will leave it there.

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TCC
4/3/2022 01:44:22 pm

Andrew, I think you have misread the date. The year of the review as you correctly note in your comment is 2011, but I suggest that you might have misread this as 2021.

Claude for example closed Hibiscus in 2016, five years after this blog post was written.

Osteria Francescana got its third star in 2012, a year after this article was written.

Michael Caines quit Gidleigh Park in 2016, also five years after this article was written. And GP was very much a two star restaurant in 2011.

Think 2011 not 2021 and it will make a lot more sense.

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Andrew Robinson
4/3/2022 01:58:17 pm

Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!

Please feel free to delete my comment! I searched for a review as we are there on Saturday and of course now this bears no relevance!

That all makes sense now #embarrassing!

Thank you

Andrew




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