When we booked our stay at the
Intercontinental Park Lane for October 2015 we also decided to reserve a table
at Theo Randall, having passed it a few times while previously staying at the
hotel and having heard many good things.
We were greeted warmly when entering the
restaurant for dinner. The center piece is a desk with Theo Randall cook books
and the earned AA Rosettes clearly displayed. We were asked if we wanted to
have a drink at the bar first, before having dinner. We declined, since we had
an early start, catching our train from London Euston Station to Birmingham New
Street Station. The Maître d’ seemed, at least in our opinion displeased with
our decision, but brought us to our table.
It was a relative private space and only a
table seating four other diners was in the same area.
Unfortunately the group of business men and
a woman was fairly loud.
The restaurant was full and the atmosphere
was lively and didn’t match the fine food. Sometimes it was so loud we couldn’t
hear what the waitress or the significant other was saying.
We started with a large bottle of still
water and an Apple Martini for him. He enjoyed the Martini very much. It was
soon followed by a greeting from the chef, bruschetta with tomato and cheese.
This was really excellent and enjoyable.
We had already sent an e-mail with our food
intolerances/allergies and dietary requirements, so I was a bit surprised when
we were asked for them again by our waitress.
We ordered the insalata di pomodori
(tomatoes, cheese and thin bread), as main course the large portion of ravioli
filled with Delica pumpkin and Ricotta and as dessert originally cheese cake
and black berry sorbet.
We liked the salad. It was refreshing and
the bread added nice crunch. The ravioli were one of the best, but we made a
mistake by ordering the large portion, which was slightly too much. It would
have been better to take the appetizer sized dish.
The desserts and his drink, an Amaresso
with espresso, Amaretto and cream, arrived at the same time.
To our dismay we realized the cheesecake
contained raisins. It hadn’t been mentioned at all on the menu, so it was a
total surprise. It wasn’t possible to pick the raisins out, because there were
so many and they were incorporated in the dough. Since he is allergic against them
we couldn’t accept the dessert. It was also overlooked by the staff, who had
been advised months before and when ordering.
Of course mistakes can happen and when we
told a member of staff, we received a few very sincere apologies, the cake was
taken away and replaced with a Panna Cotta with raspberries soaked in Grappa
without any quibble. It arrived fast and I was still eating my sorbet – I
couldn’t wait, since it was melting away -, so we could at least enjoy part of
the third course together. We don’t know if the Panna Cotta is normally
presented the way it was, but it was delicious and made him happy.
We suggested that some dishes should be
described in greater detail in terms of which ingredients are used.
My sorbet was full flavored and tasty. He
liked the Amaresso. It was very generous, rich and bitter-sweet.
The bill came in at 129.38 GBP (ca. 166.10
Euro or 185.10 USD).
We will return, because the cuisine was
excellent, the staff was friendly and the recovery quick and satisfactory.
Hopefully next time we arrive at a slightly quieter time too.
©2016
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