Water House

Press Reviews (8)

• Jasper Gerard (26th March 2008)
  4/10
  
  Somewhat à la Gill, but not quite as self-centredly, the Telegraph’s new man seems to have decided to kick of his reviews with witty musings. His subject today is restaurant critics, and, as one such, he thinks he should feel guilty about giving a pasting to the “world’s first carbon-neutral restaurant”. At least one dish, however, is “not so much pedestrian as stationary”.
• Jay Rayner (26th March 2008)
  
  “What makes Waterhouse so impressive - I would even say important - is that all the other virtuous stuff underpinning this chocolate tart, the saving-the-planet stuff, is allowed to sit quietly in the background behind the quality of the food. Nobody should ever go to Waterhouse because they want to feel good about themselves. They should go because they want something to eat. Feeling good about yourself is a by-product.” The Observer’s man’s conclusion on this Shoredtich eco-restaurant is pretty much the reverse of Jasper Gerrard’s (and, it would have to be said, that of pretty much all other critics to date).
• Marina O'Loughlin (20th March 2008)
  3/5 stars
  
  The “lengthy” press release on this Shoreditch eco-venture “tells us far more about the principal characters than the food”, notes the critic disapprovingly, and she fears that, “given the unprecedented slew of media coverage generated by their initiatives”, “the pair risk getting mildly carried away with their own importance”. The food, however, she finds “quite nice”, with puddings “a real strength”.
• AA Gill (10th March 2008)
  1/5 stars
  
  Mr Gill’s épater-la-(eco-)bourgeoise starting point this week is that you don’t actually ever consume water: “[i]f you leave the tap running, it doesn’t vanish for ever”. This less-than-shattering aperçu segues into a tirade against the “stupid, lazy, T-shirt-slogan morality” of being anti-bottled water (which is, “ethically, intellectually and environmentally indistinguishable from bottled anything else”), and in due course – and “in a bad-tempered sort of way” – to this new eco-restaurant, which occupies a ‘weepingly depressing street” in Hoxton. And so the tirade goes on…
• Nick Lander (10th March 2008)
  
  Can Mr Gill have been to the same restaurant as the FT’s man? The latter found “good” food, “friendly” service and “excellent value for money”. In Mr Lander’s usual style, you get a lot of interesting business background too – something Gill’s piece could certainly not be accused of. It perhaps helps that Lander has sympathy for Water House’s aims: “the principles … constitute… a set of obvious, practical facts of working life that all restaurateurs and their customers have to face up to”, he concludes.
• Guy Dimond (27th February 2008)
  3/6 stars
  
  A rare – and welcome – piece from TO’s top critic, who uses his review as a platform for some rare off-piste commentary. We’re not talking Gill-style navel-gazing, though: it’s eco-musings which dominate the piece. Quite rightly, he notes that “most of London’s restaurateurs have done very little to address sustainability, animal welfare or food waste”.
• John Walsh (25th February 2008)
  2/5 for food
  
  “The path to hell is paved with good intentions”, begings the review, so you know it ain’t going to be especially positive. It turns out that this Shoreditch eco-newcomer is “a welcoming room” (albeit with “a dispiriting view across the Regent's Canal”), but the culinary experience on offer is very up-and-down.
• Fay Maschler (20th February 2008)
  
  The critic finds the food “good but unexpectedly profligate with food miles” at this new Shoreditch eco-restaurant.