bar boulud [London]

[howler]

just had dinner here tonight. wow.

loved everything - green and white asparagus with soft boiled egg, smoked sausage with lentils, medium cooked burger with fries - all exact and cooked with soul.

i thought it well priced - say 50 quid a head before the wine. lets hope they keep the standard up - vibrant, even exciting. and for all you chef followers, jun tanaka was on the table to my right looking very happy with his meal.

[limster]

Yep thumbs up for the burger too (I got the Frenchie, which honestly was largely good juicy flavourful beef in a good fresh cushiony bun, with vague flavours from mustard and an illusory morbier). Shames the hawkmoor burger, which while less well put together, feels overpriced (20-30% more costly) compared to their rendition. Thicker crust on the shoestring chips than the light crispy ones at Koffman's down the street. But still good. And nice to have a well balanced juicy and very slightly musky/woodsy malbec to go with that.

A very good grand marnier souffle, very light, and with too much (in a good way) creme anglaise (which could have been slightly better if it was a touch less "starchy" in texture). Nothing wrong with their souffle, but I'd probably still spring for the one at Koffman's or the Ledbury.

[limster]

P.S. Apparently they serve a truffle and foie gras burger on weekends. Anyone tried? (I'll probably wait a few more months.)

[marcus james]

is that the same burger he used to serve in cafe boulud in ny? it was $100 when it first went on and landed him the guiness book of records for the most expensive burger ever. if memory serves selfridges sampled this as a publicity stunt when they launched the brass rail.

when i went to cafe boulud the $100 patty wasn't on, but a veal / braised forerib was, which was exceptional.

i'd be interested to know how much the fg / truffle burger is on for at the mandarin if anyone knows. very tempting, though a full bottle of gaviscon will need to be on stand-by for afters!

[limster]

I'm guessing no, since it sounded like it was just their regular burger with foie gras and truffles. But I'm hoping to hear first hand reports.

[Ibrahim.Salha]

I went a few weeks back. Massively impressed with the starters, desserts and charcuterie, but both mine and my dining partner's burger patties were horribly overcooked - asked for rare but it came well done and dry. The fries kind of made up for it, as did the rest of the meal, but I was quite surprised that the kitchen got a simple bit of grilled meat so wrong...

I thought the service and price was very good. I'll be going back soon but I don't think I'll go for another burger, the rest of the menu looks too good.

[howler]

interesting - my burger was perfectly cooked, as were the others i saw being eaten around me (i was sitting at the charcuterie bar). i'd say give them another chance.

if i had to complain, it'll be about the wine list. very few wines in the mid 20 pound range, but i suppose that at this level of service and the relative inexpensiveness of the menu they have to make their margins somewhere.

[zuriga1]

From what I remember, a certain brother wrote about this a short while back and wasn't as happy with his meal as you. But it was early days, so it could be they have stepped up their game a bit. If it's good enough for the other Jun, it's probably good enough for me. :-)