ARE YOU CRAZY ARE YOU HIGH
OR JUST AN ORDINARY GUY

Another visit for HS but a first for HP to Theo Randall @ The Intercontinental, this time with our Sister from El Norte (that's Yorkshire).

We started off in the bar area where I had a supersized dry martini. Unfortunately, the glass wasn't sufficiently chilled to start with and then the cocktail was left for several minutes while HS's cocktail was prepared. Result a not very chilled DM.
This is by far the biggest Dry Martini I've come across in London and while drinking that much gin gives you a good buzz it tends to screw up the taste buds somewhat. I'd also want it prepared somewhat better for £10.50.

Still, onwards and upwards to a very quiet dining room. Not something that bothers me unduly but one must wonder about a 120 cover place being so empty on a Friday evening. No matter - I like quiet dining rooms. HS and I started off with the Woodcock and Sister went for the Squid.

The Woodcock was nicely cooked but I found it underhung (and I'm not keen on high game). Quite good taste, however. Sister's squid was very good and was the most tender I've ever tried. For mains HS's lamb came as a large rack, perfectly cooked and full of flavour. My sister and I went for the seafood stew which was ok but I think the taste of some of the constituents didn't really come through. For me the food ranked high on the generosity front but was maybe lacking refinement such that clearing our plates was a bit of a chore given the portion size.

Before our desserts we were given a tour of the kitchen by Mr Randall who was a) actually cooking there and b) showed a real enthusiasm for what he was doing - so props to him.

We finished off with some decent puddings and an ordinary double espresso.

I wasn't as knocked out with this places as much as HS. The ingredients were ok, the cooking was good but there was a lack of refinement that I would have expected given the price. Mind you, it could have been the after effects of the DM. Odd as well that there was no Pork or beef on the menu - the seafood stew was very much a last choice for me because there was nothing else that appealed. Still, time will tell...