The restaurant is in the old library opposite the Corn Exchange, but there is nothing of the cloistral quiet of a library about it. As soon as you open the door, your ears feel as if you’d stepped into a very noisy swimming baths. Presumably because of the building’s status, all the wiring to wall lights is very visible, encased in metal tubing. Not attractive. The beautiful marble pillars have modern light fittings attached which is not a happy combination. The serving bar at one side of the room has a collection of hams and salamis hanging over it, which does not really blend in with the decor.
We arrived before our reservation time, but the table was ready for us. But then a napkin with a knife and fork on bare wood does not take much setting-up. We had our apéritif at the table – vastly overpriced, as was everything else. One should not have to pay the same for a glass of prosecco as one would pay for a bottle in a wine merchants. I know about mark ups, but … You wouldn’t pay that on the Riviera!
The starters were good; not too large a portion and served promptly. The selection of breads and olive oil for dipping was a nice touch – or would have been if we had not had to order and pay for it. BTW Jamie, good olive oil does not need soy sauce added. Still, the bread kept us from complaining about the length of time we had to wait for the main course. There were two parties of 12 nearby, but the kitchen should have been prepared for these bookings and not have kept other customers waiting so long. Our waitress – a nice little girl who came from near Cracow – got in a slight panic and had a struggle with the wine waiter as to which of them was going to put the glasses and wine on our table. The ice bucket came perilously close to husband’s head. Because I knew about the time limit, I did keep looking at my watch. An hour at table and no main course in sight. Apparently the booking system was introduced when the “walk-in” became the “turn up and queue”.
All the food was fresh and well cooked, but none of the dishes included vegetables of any sort. Having ordered side dishes, we were then overwhelmed by the size of the portions. Suggestion to Mr Oliver: cut the size of the meat/fish portion and include some vegetables or salad. Of course we are not starving students, but I doubt if many of them eat there regularly.
We definitely overstayed our one hour and a half, but no one attempted to eject us and I saw no other diners being summarily removed. Nevertheless the time limit does hang over one rather, slightly spoiling the experience. We left knowing that we would never go back of our own accord. (This, by the way, is a frequent occurence when we are invited out. We say thank you nicely, while vowing silently never to set foot in the place again.) I should be interested to try the new Carluccio’s which is only a few steps away.
It may be because English pub and restaurant food has improved so much over the last ten years or so that we found Jamie’s a bit “yuppie” yet behind the times. Or it may be that two months eating out in Germany, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia has accustomed us to excellent food at more reasonable prices.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Any chance of knowing the range of prices? Say starters, a main and a glass of wine if you can remember. So hard to judge not knowing where it is pitched.
I see that JO is now one of the world’s best-selling writers – of cookbooks, of course – so maybe he should stick to cooking and ditch the outlets.
For dinner I had Japanese-style breaded chicken breast with a semi-sweet, ginger infused sauce, caramelised onions, and asparagus tips with an Alpine cheese and Spanish chorizo sauce.
Now that’s what I call cosmopolitan cuisino!
chris, bet you were your own chef!
Prices at The Cave are very reasonable, you won’t have to wait for your fodder and you’ll get a salad.
OZ
Thanks for coming back with your impressions of Jamie’s restaurant. The reviews I read all complained about the noise level and some were less than happy about the time it took for the meals to turn up.
Odd you should mention the lack of vegetables. I’m not enamoured of cookery books – but my daughter loves them. I bought her a Jamie Oliver Cook-book for her birthday – and it’s the only cookery book I’ve felt tempted to buy – ever! The vegetable section was full of very simple dishes that sounded absolutely wonderful.
Like Christina, I’d be interested in the price range. I’ve found eating in the UK has become less costly and more interesting – unlike here which has become more costly and far less interesting!
Not sure how up-to-date this menu is, since a glass of prosecco was £7 as apéritif. I’ve also just realised that I didn’t get the crispy bread with my baked mushroom starter! We were warned off the lamb by the waitress. The price of the mains was of course increased by adding a couple of side dishes and then there was a lot of food left.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/food-menu
Not bad prices from what I remember from my trip to the UK in the spring (would not fly in rural MD however)
Soy on Olive oil? Somebody grabbed the wrong bottle, should be light balsamic vinegar or nothing.
I prefer the nothing, LW, and balsamic vinegar it wasn’t. Possibly easy to mistake bottles like that. While the prices were, as you say, “not bad, they were on the high side for what we got. No sense of occasion or anything special. In fact it was a bit like a student refectory really, given the noise and seating.
CO: yes, I cooked that myself. The chicken and the aspargus were not all thrown together, though.
My situation in St Cloud is the same as it was in Hilo — I’m still a better cook than those working in restaurants.
Sheona: you’re a woman after my own heart! A good olive oil has a good, balanced, and complex flavour. To put balsamic vinegar in it would overwhelm the taste. One dish for olive oil, one for the vingegar is better, but even that depends on one’s own taste.
Yes, thank you for this, Sheona.
The prices do not seem totally ridiculous, but then I never cease to be amazed the prices in this area. Even the pubs around here charge far more.
It’s good to hear they didn’t actually call time, but I don’t like the idea at all of putting a time limit on dining out.
Well then, those prices are double what one of our top top restaurants (Ginger) charge (you can view their menu here.) and at least 3 or even 4 times what I’d be prepared to pay at restaurants I currently frequent and I can stay as long as I want.
£17 for an 8oz (227g) sirloin, I laughed my head off when I saw that, at both the price and the miserable portion size 🙂
Hmm, yes, Soutie.
Around here, an 8oz fillet steak is about £28.00 and vegetables are extra!
Stop it Ara, 🙂 please stop it! 😉
That’s even funnier 🙂 🙂
Most restaurants used to provide ‘free’ bread in the past, but it takes the edge of one’s appetite, so I can see why they don’t do it any more in these difficult times. One of my favourite things was good bread and butter to accompany the wine, especially when the courses were spaced in a civilised fashion.
One of my pet hates is paying for vegetable sides. With the prices they charge, the meal should at least be complete.
Wouldn’t fly here either in the Pacific NW.! Prices way over the top and too bitty. Here bread is always on the table free in the price and the veg is included in the plate. The menu seemed to have a nice selection to suit most but the service sounds very poor. An hour wait between courses? Here they would be out of business in a month flat! People would just walk out, throw a $20 on the table and go elsewhere!
Chris, being one’s own chef! The only reason I ever bother to eat out is to get some other bugger to load the dishwasher!!!
Thursday evening , we had six friends for dinner. One the owner and head chef of one of the most successful restaurants in the County, the other a Colonel in the Airforce. All accept invitations here with alacrity.
Fresh tomato soup with fresh French stick. (toms, onions and garlic from the garden)
Moussaka and baby leaf salad with real blue cheese dressing (Aubergines, toms, salad from greenhouse)
Hazelnut pavlova stuffed with raspberries. (hazelnuts from a friend, raspberries from pick your own)
Total cost of bought ingredients under $18.00 RETAIL! (£12.00) 2 Quid per head! Guests bought the wine and left us in bottle credit! Just shows you what a rip off restaurants are!
PS, had I bought everything ingredientwise it would have cost me in the region of $40-$50.
I have seriously considered moving, Soutie, so I could afford to eat out. 😉
CO: the only reason I ever eat out is because I can’t always be bothered to cook.
There is a Thai restaurant I sometimes go to because they cook something that
I’m none too skilled in. The Japanese restaurants here are a joke, though.
I simply have everything shipped in from California and do it myself.
You are lucky to have found a good Thai. Here there are only execrable Far East cuisine restaurants, totally bloody disgusting. We could go up to Vancouver but it is such a pain in the butt to go over the border twice just for dinner that we very rarely bother! Plus Canada is VERY expensive, much more so than here. I suppose Seattle has good places but it is too far away for the evening, a good two and a half hours from here and too many police on the Interstate!!
Restaurant Chez Moi again!
For Soutie.
Here is a very fine restaurant which we used to frequent for birthdays, anniversaries and the like. I haven’t been for ages, except as a guest!
http://www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk/reading-restaurants/sample-menu/la-carte-friday-saturday/
CO: I’m not quite sure it’s “good”, but it’s decent and I’ve yet had to go to hospital for severe food poisoning. Still, the service is pleasant and they’re not too terribly expensive. There is more in Minneapolis, and I do plan on going there when I visit the library there. (The university library in St Cloud is not much if one studies Japan and Korea as I do) By “execrable Far East” I take it you mean Chinese? Yes, it often does leave something to be desired. Actually, I’ve found a good way to ensure honesty on their part — go with a friendly Chinese! There is one such restaurant about a mile from my parents’. It’s generally underwhelming and they serve large portions of low-quality fodder. My father went with one of my friends, a little Zhejianger with attitude. They did not even try to give him bad food. After he put them in their place by insisting that they speak either English or Mandarin, he does not speak Cantonese and cannot be boffered to hear it, they proved very competent. My father went alone after that and they gave him the same execrable fodder they usually do.
Chris that is like Birmingham UK. They have a good Chinese quarter with many Chinese customers early in the evening They only have a Chinese menu at that time by 8pm it is replaced by an English one with crap food. The boy and I used to go at 6pm and just point to someone else’s table and say we’ll have that! I don’t think they liked to send out crap when we had seen the good stuff and it was always significantly cheaper than if you ate later. So that rule seems to work on an International basis, funny! I don’t think they liked us doing it but there wasn’t much they could do. He always thanked them in Chinese, he was at school with several Chinese lads and had learnt a few phrases, very unusual in the UK. I can imagine that Bravo frightens them to death swapping from language to language.
CO: No, they really don’t like that. They have a strong “insider/outsider” mindset. With a Chinese friend, they know that you will have at least some familiarity with the culture and cuisine. They also do not like losing face or engaging in direct confrontations. They cannot argue the point when they serve others what you request. The explanation would be too difficult and the questions could easily lead to a scene.
It is different with the Japanese. They might check to make sure that you knew what you were ordering. Natto, for example, is something that people have to develop a taste for. Most people who aren’t used to it can’t eat it. The taste is repugnant at first and the texture even more so. In Japan they didn’t put raw egg on dishes they served me as they didn’t think I would be able to eat that. (Wrong, it’s a local speciality in my home town) Still, I am yet to meet people as decidedly pompous and difficult as the Chinese — though Koreans in some ways can be irritating.
Morning all
Ara thank you for your #22, love the price of a cup of coffee 🙂
Araminta #22 – Absolutely unbelievable. Do people actually pay those prices? Not, I suspect, for totally altruistic reasons the NSW bought me a very fine wok last Christmas and I am now commanded to rustle up all manner of Thai, Indian, Goan and Chinese dishes for her delectation. I do them for at least a tenth of those restaurant prices and I bet the views from the terrace are better too.
OZ
Thanks for that link to The French Horn, Araminta. We used to enjoy Bel & the Dragon in Cookham when it was run by that Swiss couple and we lived closer to it. It’s all changed now.
http://www.belandthedragon-cookham.co.uk/fooddrink.php
Whaaaat? £14 for a plate of Mediterranean roast veggies???? I’m in the wrong job!
OZ
Not in the wrong job, OZ, just in the right place.
😀
OZ
Soutie at #26. Astounding. I get full breakfasts for two and all the coffee we care to drink for less than that.
What a shame to hear the Bel and Dragon has changed. Used to go there a lot with #2 incumbent and his parents.
Strikes me there is more money than sense in Berks Bucks and Oxon these days!
Tina.
Regarding your last sentence, so what has changed? As far as I remember it’s always been a bit like that! The French Horn has always been pricey, but there is certainly a shortage of genuine good pub food which doesn’t cost a fortune around here. Not many actually make money though, they change hands yearly, but they don’t seem to learn.
We used to eat out weekly a few years ago, but I really do not think it’s worth it these days, and I suspect many think the same.
Might we have overlapped at Bel, Christina? Our frequenting was 1970 to 1979 roughly.
Sheona, yes!
Desperately trying to remember when I married that model, 73 I think. His father and mother lived in Cookham Dean, then Hurley and they had used the Bel since the Swiss people first took it. Name was Rex Osborne like his son and my son, all the same! We left for Memphis in 76. We used to go there at least once a month with them. The old man was big into Temple Golf Club. So I would have been there from the early 70s till 76. Small world department.
We used to use the Rembrandt on the corner of Bell and New St in Henley a lot too.
There used to be a lot of pubs doing good food , never cheap in that neck of the woods but not totally bloody silly prices.
The French Horn always was ridiculous, never like the place much, full of poseurs generally from what I could see, several members of Phyllis Court used it but they weren’t part of our group so we never went much there.
Did you live in that neck of the woods? We were living in Wargrave then, before I married I had a flat in Henley for some years and rented an office in New Street from the architect Peter Sutherland.
I have no idea how long ago you visited the French Horn, Tina. Yes, it was always expensive but then the setting is pleasant, the food is good, and the service impeccable. It’s now unaffordable, as far as I am concerned, it is an obscene amount of money to spend on an evening out, but I drive past quite often and the car park is always full.
Christina, we lived on the Cookham side of Maidenhead, an easy walk even with pram or pushchair. But husband introduced me to Cookham when we were courting and when we returned from Philadelphia it was one of the first places to be revisited. Do you remember The King’s Arms with its collection of Inebriated Santa cartoons, said to be original drawings by Walt Disney himself? The owners took them with them when they retired.
Kings Arms? Was that the pub a bit further up the High Street in Cookham on the same side of the road as the Bel.? There was a Kings Arms in Wargrave too. Never used to use it/them much. We rarely actually drank over there too far away from home. Our local watering hole was the pub in Aston. The flower Pot, an absolute dive but full of the most eclectic amusing customers ever.
A, it sounds as if the French Horn hasn’t changed a bit.!
No, Christina, on the opposite side of the High Street from Bel.
For my own amusement I looked at a menu for the French Horn. Am I the only one not to be shocked by the prices? But then, I spend £9.00 on a cup of coffee and don’t blink, so…
Sheon, we’re looking at Prag for my next ‘0’ birthday treat next February. Do you happen to have been there and have any recommendations?
Janus, we were in Prague a couple of years ago to support son running the marathon and provide company for his girl friend. We were there in May and stayed on the castle side of the Charles Bridge.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=appia+residences+prague&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
But it is quite a steep hill (just in case Denmark has made you unaccustomed to such things) and in February it might be better to use a hotel in the old town if there’s any risk of ice and snow. Son used the K&K hotel. Crossing the Charles Bridge is always a pleasure, though it’s reputed to be a favourite haunt of pickpockets. My cousin’s wife was the victim of an attempted robbery by two girls in a narrow street in the old Jewish quarter. My cousin, a Glaswegian like me, had one of them pinned up against a wall when he noticed the gang-master lurking at the end of the street. Although we walked everywhere, there is an underground network and trams. The balcony in Wenceslas Square from which Dubcek announced the Prague Spring and then Vaclav Havel the end of communism is quite small and unprepossessing. The view from the castle is enchanting, giving a panoramic view of the city. We enjoyed it very much, but in February I suspect you would need the thermals.