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Price alert: Gordon Ramsay

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Gordon Ramsay has launched a stinging attack on overpriced London restaurants, warning that soon only rich foreigners will be able to afford to eat out in the capital. The chef fears Londoners will be forced out of the best dining rooms by high-spending “international clientele”.

He urged more establishments to follow the lead of the award-winning Arbutus in Soho and Chez Bruce on Wandsworth Common, which serve fine food at affordable prices.

Ramsay's comments come despite the fact he runs some of the capital's most expensive restaurants. Of the 10 finest “gastronomic experiences” in London — according to the 2008 edition of Harden's restaurant guide — three of the four most expensive are from his own stable.

However, he also owns a growing chain of more affordable gastropubs, where main courses are typically £13.

He said: “We need more restaurants like Chez Bruce, more chefs like Anthony Demetre at Arbutus. If we're not careful, we're going to outprice ourselves, the place is going to be run by an international clientele and Londoners will be moving out.”

Ramsay also expressed frustration at the lack of opportunities for alfresco and late-night eating in London, blaming local authorities. “We should be eating out on the terraces, we should be pedestrianising and having fun, we should be opening up until midnight, we shouldn't have all these stupid restraints,” he told Time Out magazine.

He also attacks restaurant critics, especially François Simon, of Le Figaro, who slated Ramsay's new Versailles restaurant, Gordon Ramsay au Trianon.

Ramsay stormed: “He hasn't even tasted the food yet. Every critic wants to see you bust your b*****ks on the stove to make them feel better that you f***ing seasoned the vinaigrette.”

The full interview appears in this week's “Paris” issue of Time Out, out tomorrow

 

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