Scoring anything is a dubious business. Restaurants in particular. There is something so timeless and noble about the art of giving hospitality and indeed of receiving it that is being devalued by the business of posting ratings on Google, Tripadvisor, etc. If you have a crap time somewhere, tell the staff what the problem is / was, and if it’s not resolved, just don’t go there again.
So I’m not sure if it was with the same spirit, or just a sense of mischievousness that the owner of h.o.t restaurant Dorian, Chris D’Sylva said in a recent interview; “We operate a tiered system whereby we rank how much we like the customer and the value of the customer, or the destructiveness of the customer. It’s just like any sales business does.’
Either way, it sure generated some inches in the press, already circling the waters, excited by the Notting Hill bistro’s celebrity clientele.
The food was terrific, I’m told the sourcing of ingredients is without compromise. In particular some monkfish cheeks were incredible, managing the trick of being sort of chewy like meat, but tender and flavorful like the best fish.
The wine list is excellent, and long, the team were super friendly, and the whole thing was much more laid back, quieter and more relaxed then I could have hoped for.
We didn’t actually order from the list as my date generously offered a bottle of 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Clos St Jacques from Domaine Fourrier. There is something so hedonistic and joyful about these wines, even at the very top level. That comingling of intense cherry, vanilla and red fruit makes these such lovely wines all the time – almost the opposite of an estate like Henri Gouges, where you have to wait forever and even then, the wines rarely lose a certain sobriety and respectability. I’d give it 5*, but doesn’t that seem such a meagre way to show appreciation for such a jewel. So I won’t.