The London Lounge

Greetings all:
Cufflink79 here, just wanted to share with you some of my favorite places to eat when I feel like getting dressed up. Ever since I was little I have always enjoyed wearing a suit and tie or blazer and tie while eating a great meal. Orignally from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area there were a lot of chocies to pick from. Now in Albuquerque there is not much to pick from but I found a couple of places. Hope this list suits everyones taste. I have not been to 21 Club or Gruet Steakhouse yet so if anyone has been there or has other restaurant suggustions please feel free to share.

The Oak Grill (Minneapolis)
12th floor of Marshall Fields Department Store (old Daytons) downtown Minneapolis
No known web site

Murrays Steakhouse (Minneapolis)
In downtown Minneapolis
www.murraysrestaurant.com

Goodfellas (Minneapolis)
In downtown Minneapolis
No known web site

RL Grill (Chicago)
In downtown Chicago next Ralph Lauren Shop
www.rlrestaurant.com or www.polo.com

Harry Carays (Chicago)
In downtown Chicago near the river
www.harrycarays.com

21 Club (New York)
In downtown Manhattan
www.21club.com

Mortons Steakhouse (Nationwide)
I have eatan at the one in downtown Minneapolis (yum yum)
www.mortons.com

Seasons (Albuquerque)
West of downtown about 3 or 4 miles in Old Town area
www.seasonsonthenet.com

Zinc Wine Bar (Albuquerque)
East of downtown about 6 or 7 miles next the University
www.zincabq.com

Gruet Steakhouse (Albuquerque)
East of Zinc by about two blocks
www.gruetwinery.com

Best Regards,

Frank Cufflink79

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It's fair to say that there are many great restaurants which enhance the enjoyment of being well dressed.

Having said that, there are many, many more well reputed restaurants both in US and Europe which simply allow people to wear whatever they will, no matter the formality of the restaurant.

Recent case in point, I recently had lunch in London at Gordon Ramsey at Claridges on a Saturday afternoon. Fair to say that many Londoners were out of town for the weekend and the restaurant was filled with tourists and perhaps Britons visiting London from out of town. But still, the level of dress was very, very casual with jeans, t-shirts and such, commonly seen and I, in suit and tie, feeling out of place, perhaps one might argue, inappropriately dressed.

Perhaps the level of dress is better on the week days, evenings and when the tourist season is over and the London business crowd returns but I'm not so confident about that point. My expectation was that if any institution is going to maintain minimum dress standards, then it would be the grand hotels in London. But I think not, given that the restaurants are seating anyone who walks in, wearing whatever, with 30 pounds in his pocket for the prix fixe luncheon menu.

I don't know if that is OK or not, but I think next time I plan to lunch in a grand restaurant I would probably feel more at home being much more casually dress, just part of the global dumbing down of dress standards.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the lunch, though the food was just acceptable, certainly not deserving of its one Michelin star.

Most London restaurants now have dispensed with a dress code. Long gone are the days when as a ten year old I was sent away to fetch my tie by an imperious headwaiter at the Connaught. This was for Sunday breakfast. The Connaught is no more than a shadow of its former self since a revamp by the Gordon Ramsay people in early 2002.

In London, Wilton's is still good for spotting bespoke suits, although I think ties are no longer required. Most regulars wear them, though. It is closed for weekends, because those who will dress up for dinner usually leave for the country.

Claridges is a "destination" place, and as such suffers especially from the sartorially challenged. It is not so much informality that annoys, but inelegance. These are clothes innappropriate for a formal evening meal at one of the grandest London hotels.

I recall a few years ago the Korso at Vienna's Bristol hotel was most pleasantly grand, as was Les Ambassadeurs at the de Crillon in Paris.

I wonder what are some other London, Paris, NYC, Milan restaurants where one may still spy bespoke with some regularity?

Funnily enough, I found that breakfast at the woolsey across from the Ritz in London has a pretty large concentration of elegant men at any time during the morning hours. And the breakfast and coffee is good too.

I once had the pleasure of sitting next to a lovely transvestite and her outfit was darling but perfume a bit too overpowering for that time of day; a very popular girl who seemed to work in fashion. Alas, the fashionistas fluttering around her dressed miserably but the room was abuzz while this little ahem.... girl... held court.

I too have tried the connaught, for dinner, with Hartnett cooking and as I recall, the guests were more seriously dressed, if not elegantly, than what I observed in Claridges.
But then again, I suspect that the bespoke crowd, if there is such a thing, migrates and gathers in their own watering holes as their mood and seasons change.

Ofcourse, you've got the private dining clubs in London and I've never been to one, waiting to be invited by someone with a generous expense account, but aren't these clubs populated with the continental types? So maybe more Brioni than Huntsman?

Anyway, I'm much more interested in getting a good meal than observing peoples clothing, bespoke or otherwise, but certainly if the crowd takes a bit of time with their dress, all the better. And truth be told, I would be more interested in observing elegant man's mistress than elegant man's pumps.

Actually, if you stop to think about it, well dressed people , at least as we perceive it, and strive for it, are really quite a rarity, aren't they? Every where in the world.

BTW, the cooking at the Connaught was much better than Claridges at least on those particular visits and I find the Connaught altogether more congenial for a cigar and drink on a cold, rainy evening when spiritual sustenance is required. Ofcourse, the hotel is populated with Americans and their well preserved wives but some do obviously patronize SR and why not, afterall, SR lives from the American trade doesn't it. So perhaps true English style is found in the dining rooms in... Houston? Alas, no mistresses are to be regularly observed in the Connaught; altogether too staid for that kind of fun.

But the greatest hotel lounge that I've seen, at least the most congenial to me, if a bit too new and perfect in the ralph lauren sense, is on the first floor of the Covent Garden Hotel. Perfect for moody and grand thoughts. Plus, there's an open bar. Errr...honor bar.

http://www.firmdale.com/covdraw.html

I've never been to Wiltons but shall be sure to give it a try next time I get to London. Fish, isn't it?

Perhaps, it wouldn't be amiss to switch members' focus for fine dining and opportunities for observing delightful youthful companions of the gilded bespoke gentleman to Paris where our intrepid leader, alden, may have some helpful suggestions.

Uppercase, I concur in all cases with your own discoveries:

The Wolesley is full of elegant people, with bespoke in evidence. It is more fashionable than traditional but a splendid venue to observe London's "glitterati" at play.

For the true Gordon Ramsay experience one must eat at his original eponymous venue in Chelsea. Claridges is utterly disappointing and the standard of dress is typical of a tourist destination.

The Connaught is a distinctly more glamorous affair and tends to attract those genuinely interested in fine food. Angela Hartnett's crew rustled up a macaroni cheese for my daughter that makes me salivate 2 years later. It is also a more traditionally elegant restaurant.

Wilton's is a fish restaurant and attracts a smart clientele.

For the combination of high quality dining and a frequently bespoke crowd I also recommend Shepherds of Westminster. Close to the parliament buildings, it is popular with politicians of both houses, mainly due to the use of the divisions bell (which alerts members to voting times).

Dear Sirs:
Thanks for your replys. I enjoyed reading them. Thank you Mr. Kim for the other restaurants you mentioned and the right location of 21 Club. Being from the suburbs if I see an area with high rise buildings I always think of it as a downtown.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

I was interested to read the comments on London Hotel dining. I began patronizing the Connaught circa 1982. I have stayed there once or twice a year since then. I have been thru 2 or 3 managers now. My favorite meal there used to breakfast, but once Angela Harnett took over a number of changes took place:

The bulk of the senior waitstaff left (I think for Wilton's in some cases), the breakfast menu changed, the lunch and dinner menus obviously changed. I have to say, for me at least, there is practically nothing on the lunch or dinner menus I would want to eat. The breakfast is unpleasant, in that the staff is inexperienced, or as I told the Hotel's General Manager "seems to lack confidence." Many of the nice things on the breakfast menuof olde are gone. Now it's just a deluxe hotel american breakfast at very high prices.

In short things are not what they used to be. Much of this is from a conscious decision by the erstwhile and new owners, that to stay in business they have to appeal to a less formal clientele. I don't know if that is true, but I suppose it is their perogative as owners. On the other hand, the Staff was exceedingly kind to my wife, myself, and our (then) 4 year old son, who would not have survived the old dining room for breakfast.

I like the Wolsely very much and think it manages to appeal to a broad spectrum of clientale and wardrobes.

Yes, no doubt, everything has changed in the past 20-25 years, particularly the dumbing down of standards. Everybody complains of it. What to do , except maintain ours as individuals , set our own standards and follow through. Anyway, most of get a kick out of bucking the trends and I am sure that we are all eccentrics in that respect.

I generally avoid having breakfast, or any meal actually, in hotels; I'd rather be out and about, breathing the local atmosphere. When staying at the Connaught, I pop around the back and go to Richoux for a coffee and croissant and if the weather is fine, try to get a seat outside. Or the Wolsely for breakfast if I am staying in the St. James area.
Hanging outside at the Guinea Grill with the LL London chapter was fun as well and actually there are some well dressed gents inside the dining room there eating mediocre food.
I still maintain that one has to go to Paris to experience consistently good cooking throughout the range of restaurants. I haven't been there in a while, so don't recall standards of dress. And you can't go wrong in Italy for its basic soul satisfying food, even if it isn't generally so exciting and innovative. There people are no doubt nicely dressed, at least in Milan which I visited not so long ago. But then dressing and presenting oneself seems to be a national, and delightful , past time in Italy.

The Connaught of old, run by Paolo Zago as general manager and Michel Bourdin as chef was an all time great. Discreet, efficient, sublime food and service. Some thought it stuffy. I had quite a few rather racy dinners there, and then I was only in my early twenties, and the staff were marvelous and took it in their stride. Michel Bourdin was responsible for the best food I ever ate, and I have spent a large part of my fortune on Michelin starred cuisine. It was the only place in the world genuinely capable of working in true Escoffier style. They also did anything you wanted, even if it was not on the menu.

M Bourdin cooked a few special dinners for me where we agreed the menu some time beforehand, all of which could be compared to Doudin-Bouffants famous feast.

After the Blackstone Group bought the place, I was told that the general manager who had taken over from Mr Zago disagreed with them about the direction the hotel should be taking. He left. So did Jerome Ponchelle, who had taken over from his mentor M Bourdin in the kitchens. The only person left from the old guard is the barmen in the American Bar.

The new owners made the hotel more accessible (especially for those sartorially challenged), every inch of lobby space is now being made to work as lounge bars. Service is the generic five star type, rather than truly exceptional. The American Bar is being rented out for functions, and was closed all August. I was livid.

There was once an atmosphere in the Connaught that staff were an aristocracy of the hotel world, proud to execute every wish at the slightest of whims with efficiency that bordered on the miraculous. The Connaught on a chef's, waiter's or hotelier's CV opened doors. No more.

If you want to get what the Connaught is trying to do at the moment, but with more panache, try the Berkeley, owned by the same people.

Also, for those in London, Bellamy's next to the Guinea Grill in Bruton Place (where Kaviar Caspia used to be) cannot be beaten on price and is very elegant. Most of the Annabell's crowd go there, Gavin Rankin, the owner, used to manage it. The bespoke count on men is always above 50%.

Yes, sad about the Connnaught, particularly for those who knew it in its better days.

Is Bourdin still cooking? The dining experience sounds wonderful.

Yes, the American Bar was closed when I was there in August but I didn't bother to ask and just thought that it was closed on that particular day evening.

On the other hand, the lobby bar is pleasant although it seems that I only get there when they are about to close for the night; still, the young staff are often good for a drink on the house at that late hour.

I stil like the Connaught and that area. The Audley is always good for a beer on a Summers evening, soon the Ivy will be opening on Mount St. and Rubinacci as well.

Bellamy;s sounds like a good tip and I had not heard of it before. What say you, Michael, a LL meeting at Bellamy's ?

Very well said re: the Connaught. There is an interesting parallel here in the States. The Carlyle was bought by a chain, and dumbed-down. The Bemelmans Bar used to be one of the best places in town, for seeing sophisticates, professional waiters, etc. It is now following the Connaught course, with a limited menu, no dress code, and a decided downward drift (reversion to the mean) in terms of dress and sophistication. However, I am sure they are generating more revenue per square foot which is the name of the game.

I think the loss of senior staff is the determining factor in all of this. I have stayed at some of these Hotels for more than 20- years and with new owners I need to remind even the latest Manager of my loyalty and patronage.

The General Manager before the current one was superb, he quit or left, as I do not think he could handle the deteriorating demands. the current manager is a veteran of the Savoy group but verly much a corporate man. I miss Paolo Zago, his type is not to be found anymore.

A pleasant exception is the Palce Hotel in St. Moritz----they have met or exceeded old world standards---I highly recommend the trek, especially in summer when the rates are palatable.

Michel Bourdin, as far as I know, has retired to the South of France. He is still active in culinary circles, but has not taken on an executive appointment. After all, it would be difficult to better his previous achievements, and it is rest well earned.

Jerome Ponchelle is now at Wilton's. The best Lobster in town, unrivalled game birds. But while it is formal and old fashioned, this is not a "grand" restaurant in the traditional sense of the word, such as the Connaught, Les Amabassadeurs at the de Crillon, The Ritz (either of the three I know of), the now changing Lucas Carton etc.

Some of London' s (gentlemen's) clubs have grand rooms. One has to be a member, or a member's guest. The food is frequently disappointing, but wine lists tend to be both stunning and great value.

Uppercase

You know I come up to London from Paris just for the food! OK, seriously now, we should try Bellamys one day. Next meet day is just around the corner. Check the London chapter room for details.

And if you guys ever want to have a London chapter meeting in the City of Lights, there are a few places to eat here too. Of course we could skip Paris altogether and just go out to Reims and eat here http://www.tablethotels.com/Hotel/fr/40 ... ion_l10n=1

Cheers.

Make it Paris, Michael, though I know I don't have a vote.
I think that a tour of the city's shoemakers would alone be worth the price of the train trip over for LL's London based cadre.
...shoes, and whatever else you could conjure up.

I think that I peeked into Wilton's once - dark wood, antlers, distinctly masculine as I recall but as I was with a vooman, I think I got yanked out. So much for taking a woman to Jermyn St.