3-Michelin Stars for Over 25 Years…..in a Little Village Called Bray

23 Sep 2010: My birthday, which I felt like I’d been celebrating all week, starting on Monday with a really yummy Thai meal at Pattara with Nick, who drove up from Henley just to have dinner with me. I felt very special!

Tuesday dinner was a treat – home-cooked supper in the kitchen of my boss’s home, with a bottle of 2006 Le Serre Nuove over a (not so) spicy spag bol. A very vivacious and velvety-textured Le Serre Nuove (second wine of Ornellaia), a rich and spicy nose of blackcurrant jam, black cherries, blackberries, figs, liquorice, black pepper, cloves, violet, cedar and mint. Still tasting very young. Drinking well now, but will continue to develop over the next 6 – 8 years. 17/20 Le Serre Nuove is about 2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1/3 Merlot, with the balance made with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, pretty much made and aged in the same way as Ornellaia, except that the vines are much younger – so really great value to have a taste of the grand vin! Richard (my boss) served a delicious Vin Santo with dessert – 1999 Vin Santo di Carmignano, Fattori di Bacchereto, with aromas of dried apricot, raisin, orange peel, orange marmalade, grilled nuts and honey. Vin Santo is just one of these dessert wines that I find do not shock the palate as much, especially when moving away from a feisty red. It has this spicy sweetness which refreshes the palate. With a bit of age, like this example, it offers an elegant rancio character, which puts it in the same beguiling category as marmite, which is an acquired taste for the connoisseurs!

Wednesday was dinner at Kicca with Graham. The food was rather disappointing at Kicca – I had quite high expectations because like me, Graham enjoys the finer things in the gourmet world! We had a delicious bottle of Guado Al Tasso 2005, which I thought was not ready for drinking, but I could see the potential for development into a true beauty. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, that would marry well the power, elegance and character of all its composite grape varieties, when given the right amount of time. It tasted very New World and very new oak.

So when it came to the actual day, I was full of expectations! And I had every reason to be, as Richard arrived from Hong Kong in the morning and we left London to drive down to Bray about 3:30 pm. My second visit to The Waterside Inn. It is just a magical spot: the “establishment” and its riverside terrace, against the backdrop of the River Thames and the geese regaling up and down the river and the occasional boats passing by, conjure up a most romantic scene. We took the same room as last time – La Regate. I love the apple green and mauve colours of this room – so refreshing. We went for our traditional walk round the village and paid our respect to the “menu” of the Fat Duck……we’re such traditionalists that we still haven’t felt the urge to taste the food at the high temple of molecular cuisine. That day will come, no doubt! Just not today!




Gnocchi, ceps, onions
and shaved truffle

I find The Waterside Inn a formal establishment, despite its charming and romantic settings. Everything runs like clockwork, with such breathtaking precision. We actually enjoyed a half bottle of Krug Rosé in our room when Richard and I were busy typing some emails on our respective blackberries. Richard still ordered a glass of Michel Roux Brut (actually a Laurent-Perrier) to kick off the meal. I was content with some sparkling Hildon. We were given very tasty amuse-bouches, including a very spicy gougère. For starter, I had a green salad and Richard had this most creative and tasty dish of gnocchi, ceps, onions and artichoke sauce, with shaved black truffle on top. It was a sensational dish! The complementary flavours from the perfume of the truffle, the earthiness of the ceps, the sweet spiciness of the onions and the vegetal character of the artichoke were completely integrated and delivered to perfection by the gnocchi, which had a most exotic texture of springy sponginess, like a chewy marshmallow, that melted in your mouth. It was a truly 3-star dish! What an achievement! Our half bottle of 2004 Chassagne Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, Joseph Drouhin, did the perfect job of matching this dish. The creamy texture and rounded character were well balanced by taut acidity. Complex nose of melon, grapefruit, cashew, lime blossom, honey, creamy yoghurt and smoke. Lengthy finish. Drinking beautifully now and over next 5 – 6 years. 17.5/20



Turbot in vine leaves
with verjus sauce


For main course, I had the turbot in vine leaves and verjus sauce, for which the richness and texture of the fish was well balanced by the acidity and grapey character of the verjus. Richard had the côte de boeuf, which was beautifully presented and very carefully sliced to half an inch thick. Unfortunately, we were not able to have the wine that Richard had arranged for this special day. The Waterside Inn flatly denied us the possibility of having the wine on this special occasion. So we picked a 2003 Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux, Emmanuel Rouget from the list. The wine took little time to open up. Red fruit, spicy liquorice, wet leaves, violet, before revealing dried fruit and even a hint of burnt character. The wine unfortunately was slightly bretty. Texture was velvety, with fine soft tannins, enlivened by a good amount of acidity. Elegant, but by no means generous. Nice long finish, but I couldn’t help noticing a slightly bitter edge. Towards the end of our meal, the wine decidedly tasted rather indifferent (and uninteresting). Drink now, and best drunk over next 4 – 5 years. 16.5/20 (We’ve found the quality of 2003 burgundy has been a little hit and miss, with most needing to be drunk up soon, but some quite exceptionally delicious, such as the 2003 Clos de Vougeot, Meo-Camuzet.)



Cote de boeuf



The restaurant organized a mini brownie as a birthday cake for me – that was kind and unexpected……although there were lots other people celebrating birthdays the same evening! Richard had a caramel-flavoured dessert, which I thought was rather uninteresting. The waiter was very kind to bring me lots of cannelé, my favourite amongst the petits fours! To finish, Richard had a glass of 2001 Château de Rayne Vigneau….quite delicious!

The food, service, ambiance and price were all firmly in the 3-star bracket, but on reflection, I found The Waterside Inn somewhat lacking in the endearing charm that I cherish in other French-run restaurants, such as Lameloise in Chagny, France (3-star) and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons (2-star). Service was without fault, to the point of being overly formal. Just a couple of points annoyed us slightly, that they overcharged us at dinner – two glasses of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs crept into our bill, without our noticing. I called afterwards to explain this and hopefully we would get refunded. They were rather unapologetic about not being able to let us drink our wine, even though we explained that it was a special occasion, that we had come from Hong Kong and that we were prepared to pay corkage! I will write later that at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, they rather graciously let us enjoy our bottle of wine and I guess the sommeliers were quite happy to try a drop or two!

It was nonetheless a memorable experience and we left after a restorative breakfast of croissant, pain au chocolat and kugelhopf, an Alsatian specialty! The croissant was really worth a mention, one of the best I’ve had, comparable to the croissant at Ladurée!