“London’s culinary No. 1!”; Brett Graham’s “unusually independent” culinary style creates “inspired” dishes (“enchantingly presented”) at this “calm and confident” Notting Hill superstar – a supremely “classy” operation, but one that’s “not too formal”.
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In Notting HIll, the critic visits the only London restaurant recently promoted to two Michelin stars (and which Harden’s says offers the third-best French cooking in town, which is broadly consistent indication of quality). He proclaims a hugely impressive showcase of “modern Australian cooking by… an emerging Aussie celebrity chef”.
Matthew Norman (28th April 2008)
9.25/10
The Guardian’s man picks up on the obvious theme of the moment: “there are few substrata of the business world for whom such an economic downturn is scarier than for the owners of fancy restaurants”. “In whatever time remains before reports of big-name closures become a news page staple”, therefore, “nervous nellies in the catering world may care to study the lunchtime work of that outstanding restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin”, of which this Notting Hill restaurant turns out to be a splendid example. “What sets Platts-Martin apart from the Michelin pack is that his restaurants replicate the intricacy and lavishness of the à la carte stuff in set menus at a fraction of the cost.”