The Ritz Restaurant

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It seemed only sensible, in the light of The Park, to check out what is happening at THE RITZ. We restaurant writers bear these duties stoically. It turned out that The Ritz Lunch (£39 for three courses) had been hijacked by visiting Provencal chef Alain Carro, owner of the Michelin-starred Le Castellaras in Fayence. Since his five-day incumbency ended last Friday, we ate lunch à la carte, a seriously expensive undertaking.

Not just for financial reasons, but because we wanted to eat relatively lightly, we trod carefully, selecting as main courses a pasta dish and an omelette which others might consider just a mid-meal diversion. My omelette-loving companion said, quite truthfully, that few restaurants offer these days what Delia has now taught us to make. He was delighted by the omelette Marie Antoinette, sauce

Périgueux, which was perfectly constructed, its sunny interior baveuse and the whole thing lavishly flavoured by the black truffles of the sauce. My coral pasta layered with lobster and wild mushroom and served in a lobster and ginger nage (their word) was also delectable. With the omelette comes a salad tricked out with artichoke and tomato concasse. Because only grand hotels offer them, we also ordered a side dish of pommes soufflés, those aristocrats of chips.

Our first courses were less successful. My terrine of confit seasonal game with foie gras and compote of Agen prunes (aside from soups, one of the cheaper first courses at £16.50) fell rather flat, and the timbale of crab and langoustine fixed in a lobster jelly that had almost no wibble-wobble to it was described by its recipient as "as tasting as if it had been made by someone at midnight". Presumably this would not be "Maître Chef des Cuisines" Giles Thompson.

The elegance of The Ritz dining room would be much enhanced by having fewer tables crammed into it. You get the sense of being jostled by chairs if not people. And it would be more accessible if the wine mark-ups were not quite so ludicrous.

The Ritz Restaurant
Piccadilly, London, W1J 9BS