marcus

best meal ever. in nov of 2005 i had the opportunity to dine at petrus and i have never forgotten it, nor has any meal before or after equalled it's standards. in fact it's the only time i did something like request a copy of the menu to take home. i knew i would never see it's equal again. the meal was incinerated in my memory forever, amuse bouche of mushroom soup with horseradish foam in a shot glass, it made me wish i had a longer tongue. pan fried foie gras on pickled rhubarb and roasted hazelnuts was my first real introduction to the unctuosity that is foie gras. scallop on tomato chutney parsley oil and caviar. osetra caviar what else need be said. slow cooked pork belly with spice aubergine. divine and smooth without a whisper of grease on the mind. turbot and quail egg with truffle dressing, was my first taste of turbot and may it not be my last. barbary duck, swede gnocchi, buttered white cabbage left me delirious at this point, my eyes began to glaze, the memories of duck so tender so complete a meal unto its own right. and with a finale of caramel mousse coated in white chocolate with mango sorbet i imagined that i should need assistance getting home from my food nirvana. the finale a glass of 60 year old port that was sweet and with a caramelized finish that you'd swear had no alcohol in it. honestly i can't imagine a better meal ever topping this.

fairly lovely. but feels like a manufactured, perfectly engineered loveliness, doesn't quite warm my heart. food is excellent ofcourse - favourite dishes being the (fried) foie gras with blood oranges, and the stuffed chicken, i let myself down with dessert choices - too much rich, sweet milk chocolate for me. a big mistake when that pineapple pain perdu, or the lemon tart would've just hit the spot. expensive wine list. service is very friendly, and reasonably knowledgeable. the restaurant itself is quite polished, with little quirky touches all around. the unexpected kitchen tour at the end was very welcome, and exciting. the berkeley is a gorgeous hotel, and drinks at the blue room are a great way to end a decadent evening.  i don't know why this doesn't rate higher for me, it certainly ticked all the boxes.

i was pleasantly surprised by the generally wonderful food i ate during a recent lunch at marcus wareing's plush premises, which still retain the refrain of red bordeaux from their previous proprietor's rein. nearly every dish was unabashedly redolent with robust & clearly delineated flavors that sang on the palate, while service was professional & well-meaning. sure, the backdrop may be a bit dated & smack of economic excesses; and yes, the clientele seems to fit a particular stereotype, but...

the restaurant is beautiful and the food matches in appearance and taste. the service and cooking feels mature and knowledgable, like they’ve been doing this all their lives, yet it doesn’t feel tired. eat here and you will feel satisfied in every sense of the word.

amazing place in london. i love the food. can’t wait to come back here again. congratulations to the staff.

the set menu at marcus is top notch, you get 5 courses from 5 different chefs with each and every one was a delight! cannot recommend more highly

when i found out we had reservations at marcus wareing’s eponymous restaurant at the berkeley, i was rather tickled. my memories of the last time i’d been to the hotel were quite a fun one. a girlfriend and i went to have one of the tasting menus at the restaurant (it was still called marcus wareing then) and we ended up staying at the blue bar until quite late, making a few new friends as the night turned to dusk.

exquisite dining experience at the heart of london's luxury district. the moment i stepped in into the dining room, the posh and cozy vibe started to creep in. with the dimly lit lighting, it adds the romantic feeling into our table. the service was friendly and accommodating. we opted for 8 course tasting menu in january 2017. our favorite was the pumpkin agnolotti, as the pumpkin was tasty in a couple of different ways. the hazelnuts chocolate dessert was a punch of flavor at the end. fantastic dinner.

loved the starters and main, all beautifully cooked with great flavours. dessert was ok but not as good as the starter and main. service was attentive.

the very first michelin starred restaurant i went to was the two star marcus wareing at the berkeley in central london.  it was also my first trip to europe, and to say that i was excited was an understatement.  at the time, london was the epicentre of global cuisine and marcus wareing was in the top 100 restaurants in the world.  it was a lock - i was going to have the best meal of my life!

‘shall we do something for our birthdays together this year’ came that what’s app message from emma, blogger at adventures of a london kiwi. ‘yes!’ was my reply and within about twenty minutes a plan was formed and a hashtag was coined #kiwispoonbirthday…. formal invites were issued to our blogger besties and then all there was to do was to look forward to the big day. when it finally arrived everyone congregated at my flat for drinks before heading out to our chosen venue…

this was definitely one of the best restaurants i have been to in london. the food was faultless, every bite was amazing. the pigeon tartar was the shock for me but delicious. the service was also great. marcus i love you, thank you for such a treat!

the last time i wrote about marcus wareing’s flagship restaurant it was just after he had split from gordon ramsay holdings and the restaurant was renamed from petrus to marcus wareing at the berkeley. other than the name change, everything pretty much remained the same – the dining room keeping the exact same decor all the way to the bon-bon trolley at the end of the meal. while i have had a fair few meals here in the past, i have always felt that the cooking here too complicated for my liking.

as a wheelchair user i have to start with the access to both the berkeley and the restaurant. the staff are incredibly helpful and make things easier but there are stairs everywhere, and not just 2 or 3 stairs, loads of them: into the hotel, up to the restaurant, up to the toilet which i couldn't fit into. not really up to par for a top london hotel in terms of access.

the feeling in marcus lets you know he studied under gordon ramsay. it's slightly informal but incredibly classy. relaxed and upmarket. dark wood with slightly bonkers artwork which is reflected from the walls onto the menus.

the staff were impeccable. closer to 3* star staff. marcus wasn't cooking, he was filming master chef but because it was my birthday the staff managed to find me a pre signed menu to take home.

i have to agree somewhat with one of the reviewers on here in that 2* restaurants seem to sit in a kind of no mans land between the ambitious single star and almost untouchable 3* restaurants, however i would say marcus is leading the pack with only minimal things that normally wouldn't be called flaws, but are the things that are keeping him from attaining the third star. i do think he will get there eventually.

i generally find tasting menus at 2 and 3 star places to be more a good experience than an enjoyable meal if that makes sense.... i certainly enjoy an amazing food experience though.

the next biggie , in comparison, was actually desert. the salted caramel ice cream was so salty it was inedible again. we actually asked for some normal ice cream or cream to go with the rich chocolate but the kitchen didn't have any and so had to go to the hotel kitchen to find some. another shout out to the staff and their service for making it happen.

the gluten free and normal bread was delicious and home made which you would expect... it's always a let down at places like the savoy when they come out with toasted rice bread from the supermarket.

the lemon meringue was delicious and tart enough! not too sweet. they also gave me a birthday desert which was extremely kind and chocolate mousse deliciousness. we were sent home with custard creams in a box.

it is an expensive night out but the food is very good and a very enjoyable experience that i would definitely recommend. the staff are outstanding.

the meringue pie cocktail blew my mind. it takes like you are eating the pie and surprised me every mouthful.

the first anomalies in the food came with the palate cleanser. feta cheese with yuzu granita and a feta mousse on a cracker. the yuzu and liquid nitrogen actually went very well but here's where he misses the third star... slightly too much cheese as a ratio and too large lumps, which sadly made it not work. the cheese crisp on the side was bizarre. completely inedible both in consistency and taste. i truly have no idea how that made it onto the menu or out of the kitchen. very weird indeed. we both agreed on that.

man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. or rather, a chef is born free, and then they get a michelin star. this tends to be my feeling whenever i come out of a two star restaurant. with the exception of dinner by heston, i’m yet to have a 2 star meal that was truly memorable. fera, sketch and the square all blend into one memory. a memory of a certain type of cooking, one that was excellent at the time of eating, but forgettable soon afterwards. these restaurants sit in a purgatory. they lack that freshness and enthusiasm to push boundaries that many of the new 1 star restaurants do, but they aren’t the game changers at the top of their field like the 3 star restaurants. instead it sits uncomfortably between- it is cooking that has earned its stripes over the years and honed in a style of its own, and will always deliver a fantastic meal. but it seems that many of these chefs, in search of that elusive third star, have forgotten what got them their first. they are focused on maintaining and perfecting what they have, not thinking outside of the box. the box here being the dining room filled with a predominantly wealthy, middle aged clientele, who are not here to be challenged by a new dining experience, but instead just want that dish they’ve seen the (no doubt now celebrity) chef cook on tv. there’s also the contracts these chefs have with the prestigious 5 star hotels, which no doubt are like getting a 5 year contract at chelsea. what seems to happen is that those stand out performances that got them noticed in the first place stop, and instead they go into cruise control, producing the same high standard each time, without pushing on. they’re like a world class player earning their final big pay cheque. fully deserved, but you know that they can still do better if they really try.