First of all thanks to both of you for your comments. I have made a note about Sonnora - interestingly though they do actually charge more for their tasting menu than Gordon does. Looks beautiful though.
So, was the hassle with booking procedure worth it? It was. Simple as that. In fact, food, wine, service and atmosphere were so good that in some ways they drew even more attention to how bad the booking procedure is in relation. Still, absolutely fantastic.
First things first though. I really love the atmosphere in the dining room. Light, airy, very friendly and not at all over the top posh. People were talking in a normal voice, there was laughter and almost informal chat with the staff, even a family with a child and staff taking pictures of guests who had obviously brought their cameras for a special occasion. In terms of atmosphere one of the best fine dining experiences ever.
Wine, obviously an important topic for a Wine Rambler. We asked the sommelier to match our seven course dinner with wines by the glass, and he did an excellent job. You have to love a flight of wines that starts with a 2003 Haag Auslese from the Mosel! The sommelier clearly loved his job, was visibly pleased when we said we were happy to go with whatever wine he felt suited the food best, no matter how unusual, and he also presented the wines very well. One of the highlights was when he served a Château Pontet-Canet - this was the first really outstanding red wine that Julian and I shared a few years ago, so a happy moment.
And then there was the food. Perfectly executed, not the tiniest flaw. Obviously, at that level you expect nothing else - but it still has to be mentioned. Very well presented, great textures and just lovely. Against my usual preferences I went for pigeon instead of lamb and was not disappointed:
The smoked pork belly added the right kind of punch to the food to make this a flavour highlight. On the fish side, Dot's sea bass beat my turbot fillet with its amazingly crisp skin. For quality of the presentation just look at this dessert
Leaving the food aside though, it was mostly the relaxed atmosphere that got me excited. All of that makes you wonder even more why they just don't have a proper online booking system...
So was it worth it?
First of all thanks to both of you for your comments. I have made a note about Sonnora - interestingly though they do actually charge more for their tasting menu than Gordon does. Looks beautiful though.
So, was the hassle with booking procedure worth it? It was. Simple as that. In fact, food, wine, service and atmosphere were so good that in some ways they drew even more attention to how bad the booking procedure is in relation. Still, absolutely fantastic.
First things first though. I really love the atmosphere in the dining room. Light, airy, very friendly and not at all over the top posh. People were talking in a normal voice, there was laughter and almost informal chat with the staff, even a family with a child and staff taking pictures of guests who had obviously brought their cameras for a special occasion. In terms of atmosphere one of the best fine dining experiences ever.
Wine, obviously an important topic for a Wine Rambler. We asked the sommelier to match our seven course dinner with wines by the glass, and he did an excellent job. You have to love a flight of wines that starts with a 2003 Haag Auslese from the Mosel! The sommelier clearly loved his job, was visibly pleased when we said we were happy to go with whatever wine he felt suited the food best, no matter how unusual, and he also presented the wines very well. One of the highlights was when he served a Château Pontet-Canet - this was the first really outstanding red wine that Julian and I shared a few years ago, so a happy moment.
And then there was the food. Perfectly executed, not the tiniest flaw. Obviously, at that level you expect nothing else - but it still has to be mentioned. Very well presented, great textures and just lovely. Against my usual preferences I went for pigeon instead of lamb and was not disappointed:
The smoked pork belly added the right kind of punch to the food to make this a flavour highlight. On the fish side, Dot's sea bass beat my turbot fillet with its amazingly crisp skin. For quality of the presentation just look at this dessert
Leaving the food aside though, it was mostly the relaxed atmosphere that got me excited. All of that makes you wonder even more why they just don't have a proper online booking system...