Diners give Ramsay a dose of his own medicine in new eating out guide

More used to being on the delivering end of restaurant savaging, Gordon Ramsay has had a good dose of his own medicine after acclaimed eating out guide Hardens slated just about every one of his establishments apart from Angela Hartnett’s Murano.

Particular criticism was leveled at his pub chain, including The Devonshire, as diners accused the celebrity chef of offering disappointing cooking, a dreary atmosphere and outrageous prices. Ramsay’s group restaurants were particularly well represented in nominations for Most Disappointing Cooking accounting for four of the top ten positions and Most Overpriced Restaurant accounting three out of the ten which also included Hammersmith’s River Café.

Other local restaurants faired much better. For the fifth consecutive year, Bruce Poole’s Wandsworth restaurant Chez Bruce was voted Londoners’ Favourite Restaurant closely followed by La Trompette. The two restaurants were also runners up in the Rémy Martin XO Award for Best All-Round Restaurant.

Chez Bruce also featured in the Rémy Martin Coeur de Cognac award for Best Dessert for their cheeseboard as well as in the categories for Best Meal of The Year and Best for Romance again alongside sister restaurant La Trompette.

Other local eateries featured include High Road Brasserie for their Breakfast / Brunch and the Anglesea Arms in the category of Best Bar / Pub Food.

The Harden’s nationwide survey is based on some 85,000 reports from over 8,000 ‘reporters’, and is conducted in association with Rémy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac. The out-of-town results for the Harden’s survey will be published on the launch of the new edition of Harden’s UK Restaurant Guide 2010, in association with Rémy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac, in October.

September 2, 2009