Cerise Restaurant at The Forbury
26 The Forbury, Reading, Berks (Tel: 0800-078 9789) Daily 12noon-3pm, 7pm-10pm (Fri/Sat 10.30pm)
I am bombarded by material from a new hotel and restaurant in Reading, which I am inclined to ignore. Usually the amount of bumf you receive is in inverse proportion to the quality of the gaff. Not so here in Reading - the nice bit, overlooking Forbury gardens, where Reading, Berks looks like Boston, Mass. Their Cerise restaurant, like the hotel, is designed up to the eyeballs, with vibrant fabrics, inlaid wood and stone, but it is also naturally light, comfortable and eater-friendly. To start, a creamy Chavignol sits like an island in a sea of soft lentils, carrot and sweet bacon. To follow, belly pork is fatty, fleshy, meltingly delicious, served with deep-flavoured, rich, red cabbage and boulangère potatoes. Plates are plain white, service is spot-on. London restaurants could learn a thing or two.
High point Garden for good-weather eating
Low point Wines by the glass are not poured at the table
Capacity 70
Price per head Express two course lunch £10.50; à la carte £45
Wine list £15 (house wines also available in 500cl carafes)
Vegetarian 8/10
Service 9/10
Music Ella Fitzgerald
Value for money 9/10
Style Let's hope it's the style to come
Refuel
The Soho Hotel, Richmond Mews, W1 (Tel: 020-7559 3007) Daily 12noon-3pm, 5pm-11pm (Sun 10.30pm)
Nineteen months after opening, the restaurant at Tim & Kit Kemp's boutique Soho hotel is hot. Service is informed, friendly and snap-to-it - rare in London. The bread is superb. Drinks come within two minutes of being ordered - no mean feat in a full restaurant. From the daily-changing set menu (in my book really good value at £19.95 for three courses) I was impressed with a diligently made foie gras parfait, rich and complex, with just the right amount of yield, followed by a gorgeous slab of smoked haddock, served with a punchy hollandaise. The long pewter bar is Soho's most upscale bar and a good place for a light lunch or supper.
High point Style and substance in equal measure
Low point No more lunchtime walk-ins, you need to book
Capacity 70
Price per head Set three-course lunch £19.95
Wine list £16
Vegetarian 8/10
Service 10/10
Music None
Value for money £9/10
Style Grown-up Soho
The Grill at Browns
Dover Street, W1 (Tel: 0871-075 1072) Daily 12.30pm-2.30pm, 7pm-10.30pm
I revisited the Grill Room at the vaunted new Browns Hotel (£19 million restoration) to see if it had improved since opening. It had not. Drinks took a good 10 minutes to arrive and the star dish of the evening, roast lamb from the trolley, was finished (at 9.15pm). Meanwhile loin of veal, from another trolley, was tough as old boots - in fact, inedible. Service is well-intentioned but lacks any kind of focus.
High point Deliciously comfortable circular banquettes
Low point Still failing to deliver on many fronts
Capacity 80
Price per head Two-course "menu du jour" lunch £20; à la carte £55
Wine list £21
Vegetarian 6.5/10
Service 6/10
Music None
Value for money 6/10
Style "Hotel dining room revival"
