SEV-UHRN!!!
It would be rude of me (and how unusual would that be?) to include a separate article extolling the virtues of Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen' restaurant (so named because of the initial number of unemployed youngsters that Jamie "trained" to become chefs) without mentioning the other famous eating establishment 'Fifty-two' (so named because...of some other reason) where we enjoyed more fine fare.
It has to be said that in terms of the quality of food and wine, level of service, and value for money it surpassed 'Fifteen' on every count. Whilst only scoring “SEV-UHRN!!” on the LGPRS (Len Goodman Pukkaness Rating Scale) this seemed particularly harsh, and warranted at least a 9.
'Fifty-two' - which for some strange reason goes through an annual re-branding exercise (rumours in the industry have predicted that next year's new name will be...'Fifty-three') has managed to achieve that “...homely, cottagey, front room beside the fire” feel, where some guests almost feel as though clearing the table at the end of the meal and stacking the dishwasher is part of “...the experience” - however I personnally drew the line at this level of involvement.
In terms of areas for improvement - these are very difficult to identify - the on-line booking service seemed to be causing some problems (cries of “...this F*****g machine” were heard from the restaurant's IT Department on at least one occasion!); and whilst the night-time views from the restaurant compared favourably with those of 'Fifteen', (or anywhere else in the world in the dark for that matter) these were less impressive during the day; (although we were led to believe that this was to be addressed “...dreckly”, subject to suitable funding being achieved.) One final point of concern relates to the restaurant dog. Whilst I had plenty to eat, the dog just looked “stuffed”, and didn't appear able to move very far at all under its own steam (or maybe it wasn't steam-powered after all).
All in all however, a great restaurant and a great week-end.
