Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road

Hugh Joel (10 August 2007)

What a wonderful experience! Gordon wasn't there but when I entered the kitchen uninvited asking for Gordon (slightly tipsy) I was told he wasn't there and to leave quickly.

Michael (5 March 2006)

We have been to Ramsay’s twice now and all I can say is that it is the closest thing to the ‘perfect dining experience’ that I have been fortunate to enjoy. The first time we went we tried the taster menu, ordering from the a la carte menu the second.

From the first time we set foot inside we were treated brilliantly. It is not the largest space but the tables are well spaced and the waiting staff manoeuvre perfectly with military precision and the next table could be a million miles away. My other half was delighted when we were asked who would be hosting the table (although she would always expect me to take that responsibility) showing a very modern non sexist approach.

The menus were wonderful and described with a passion and knowledge that takes years to learn and we left the choice of wine to our sommelier, accepting that he had probably forgotten more about wine than we would ever know and again he did the restaurant proud, choosing individual glasses for each course (something I would always recommend doing). When we ordered the taster menu we were not given the same dish for every course, allowing us to sample even more and adding another wonderful touch.

The only issue that we found was that the taster menu consisted of too much, served in large portions. This would never normally be a problem but we found that it meant we could not fully enjoy the later dishes (believe me we did our best). Admittedly having too much fine food is not something I regularly moan about but when everything else was so perfect, not being able to find room for more than a very small mouthful of a beautiful desert does grate a little.

Unfortunately we are only ‘foodies’ and therefore can not really afford to visit on a regular basis but it is worth saving your pennies for. Spectacular.