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A la Colthard/ eating out update

Yesterday  my accountant invited me to lunch at La Brasseria Milanese an upmarket Italian restaurant in Marylebone High Street. As I was a guest it seems churlish to find fault but it epitomised the contemporary London experience.

On arrival at 12-45 the table was not ready (how can this be???). I was told to wait and no one offered to take my coat.

When ordering the wine the young waitress interrupted my host to suggest a white wine.

At this stage I admonished her as my host prefers red.

Wisely he settled on a Puglia Primitivo, the same grape and taste and texture of  the higher priced Zinfandel.

We both ordered pasta – a carbonara.

This had a citric tang which did not sit well with the cream and egg sauce.

Fortunately we had a quiet table so we could converse.

On Monday a lawyer friend invited me to lunch at his offices.

He arranged with the in-house chef a delicious three course meal of scallops, Persian lamb, trifle served with champagne and red and white wine in a meeting room.

It could have been soulless but he is an old friend and we had a most pleasant chat free of interruption.

I guess many firms are now arranging their hospitality “in house” – given the rising and in my view unacceptable cost of high-end restaurants – with the added benefit of greater discretion.

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About Daphne Colthard

After graduating at RADA but finding no roles Daphne went into magazine journalism with Good Housekeeping. Widely recognised as one of the country's leading restaurant and hotel reviewers, particularly by herself, Daphne is the author of "Bedded and Breakfasted", a light hearted chick novel and Grand Hotels DC: the Daffers Dictionary. Daphne lives in West London and is married to an investment banker Oliver. They have 2 boys Humphrey and Tarquin. More Posts