Our meal at Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus by Marcus Wareing, was one that we were looking forward to with great antipication. Booked months in advance, we didn’t realise that Petrus at it is was closed on September the 6th this year which makes us feel much luckier. But more interesting information on that later 
Petrus has a reputation, borne from a rather famous lunch where in 2001 a dining party of Investment Bankers ran up at £44,007 food and drinks bill. Along with their meals, they ordered 3 bottles of Petrus (from 1945, 1946 and 1947, the last said to be the best vintage) as well as a bottle of Montrachet and Château d’Yquem. When Gordon was told of their first order of wine by the staff that rang him he was happy but by the next few bottles, he had decided that the food would all be comped. After all, what was the price of food when they were paying £12,300 for the 1947 vintage? If you hadn’t heard, there was a bit of a scandal about it and the bankers were fired. And I’m left wondering why my Careers Guidance Counsellour never suggested Investment Banking as an occupation…
The Berkeley Hotel also houses another Gordon Ramsay eatery, the diffusion, more affordable Boxwood Cafe. We enter the hotel and turn right, there’s no sign but the unmistakable Petrus interior seen on Gordon Ramsay’s website is apparent. The claret and purple tones with circular motifs signal we have arrived at our much desired destination.
We’re late, 45 minutes late admittedly which we know is very bad form, especially at a restaurant like this. When we enter, a smiling face enquires with our name. We’re led to our table, it’s very hushed and a little serious on the floor although the staff are friendly.
We’re offered a range of breads, and when I select one they enquire if I would like to try another. Good thing as they’re both good. Interestingly they only have unsalted butter although they bring us some salt when we ask. My husband and I sniff the air, there is a distinctly unpleasant smell totally out of harmony with the decor and service. He worries that he has stepped in dog mess on the street.
Oh no, it’s the cheese trolley. Ripening just behind our table in the centre of the restaurant are a huge selection of almost 30 cheeses. It’s so overpowering especially for me who has a very strong sense of smell that we ask for it to be covered which is not a problem.
Pre Amuse Bouche: puff pastry foie gras triangle with blackcurrant
Along with the bread, we’re given two complimentary items to whet our appetite, two pre Amuse Bouches. One is a puff pastry foie gras triangle with quince paste with blackcurrant. The paper thin and crispy puff pastry is crunchy and stidd but delicate against the creamy foie gras mousse with a sweet touch from the quince paste and blackcurrants. It’s a brilliant start and we know we’re in for a treat.
Pre Amuse Bouche: Taramosalata and avocado with crispy croutons
The taramosalata dip has an avocado base and unlike any taramosalata you’ve ever eaten. Rich and creamy and absolutely addictive it has us dipping in our bread long after the croutons have gone to elicit every single drop.
Amuse Bouche: Tomato consomme with paprika sticks
The Amuse Bouche arrives, a tomato consomme in a tall shot glass. It’s hot to the touch which I find funny as Gordon Ramsay had grumbled in the past about the serving of hot drinks in glass on a few occassions. The vine ripened tomato soup is rich and throaty, and with a slight taste of crab or lobster in the broth as well as basil and capped off with a creamy foam.
The restaurant manager Jean Phillippe arrives to take our order. Yes he is the maitre’d from Hell’s Kitchen, the one who frequently had to confront angry diners when they were denied food after Gordon would shut down the kitchen in disgust at the performance of the chefs- the meat in the proverbial sandwich. His style is different from that of the Maitre’d at Royal Hospital Road, a little quieter but still very observant and watching the floor from all angles. We ask him about Hell’s Kitchen and he says candidly that Hell’s Kitchen is never a fun experience, however no-one else is willing or able to do the job so he is stuck with it. We ask to keep a copy of the menu at the table and he does one better. Marcus Waring the Chef Patron signs a copy for us. We clutch it like groupies. Yes call me a Food Groupie.
Cornish crab and marinated tuna, celery, apple and avocado
We’re not waiting long for our entrees, the tian of Crab with tuna sashimi and thin wafers is delectable and delicate. The two fruits of the sea go well together and feature another delicate touch, little peony petals and other flowers.
Foie gras and Sauternes mousse, sticky duck bun, blood orange and toasted cashews
The foie gras with sticky duck bun is a sensation of bliss. The creamy foie gras is perfectly countered by the unusual sticky duck bun, warm and full of the softest duck leg meat. We know that the chef is deserving of the Michelin star (two in fact here) when all three elements combine together to be so much more than a sum of the parts and this is the dish that has my sister murmuring “best meal ever”.
Slow cooked crispy pork belly, watercress, lemon and almonds
We have a brief wait and the mains arrive. The braised pork belly is a perfect little rectangle with the multi layered pork starting with the crispy crackling to the soft fall apart meat. It’s small but oh so good. Give me a little portion of this rather than a large unchewable piece of pork any day.
Roasted rump of Cornish lamb, confit tomato, braised baby artichokes, asparagus, fennel pollen
The next dish fascinates us as it has an ingredient that I’ve never seen before-fennel pollen. And indeed the tiny, yellow specks on top are fennel pollen. They give a texture more than a distinct flavour but the lamb is wonderfully tender and rare and delicious with the little points of flavour from the tomato, asparagus and artichokes.
Poached sea bass, barigoule vegetables, girolles (mushrooms), sea urchin and Jersey Royals
The Sea Bass with the vegetables is my husband’s clear favourite. We were a little reluctant to order fish as the fish in London has not been great compared to Australia’s but of course this proves us gladly wrong. The creamy emulsion with almost a hint of curry spice and thinly sliced vegetables go wonderfully with the perfectly cooked fish. An accompanying small pot of roasted potatoes rounds it off nicely.
Pre-dessert: Sauternes Jelly with apple granita and vanilla custard and caramelised basil
We sit back and sigh, the entrees and mains were blissful. Now it’s onto the desserts, but before this, the pre dessert course. It is a small glass of sauternes jelly with apple granita and vanilla custard. It’s light and refreshingly tangy with the apple granita giving the palate a cleansing, readying us for the desserts. It’s topped with caramelised basil which plays with our tastebuds giving it a distinctly different taste.
Jean Phillippe cuts our Apricot Tarte Tatin
We couldn’t resist getting the apricot tarte tatin for two although this meant that we couldn’t get one of the desserts. No matter, Jean Phillippe to the rescue. He has arranged for us to have the third dessert with his compliments. We feel rather special about that. The apricot tarte tatin is brought out on a wooden trolley and in a gorgeous copper pan where Jean Phillippe cuts it in two at the table.
Apricot tarte tatin with creme fraiche, comb honey (for two)
Comb honey
The pastry is buttery and crisp and the sugar deliciously caramelised although the apricots are perhaps not as sweet as I’d like, I often find apples in apple tarte tatin the same. The honeycomb creme fraiche accompanying helps to curb the acidity.
English raspberries, fresh mint, vanilla ice cream, lemonade
The dessert from Jean Phillippe is certainly an interesting concept. Raspberries, meringue and ice cream around which is poured refreshing lemonade and finely shredded mint. It’s ingeniously delicious and definitely one to try and replicate at a home dinner party to impress guests.
Baked egg custard tart, strawberry jelly, strawberry ripple ice cream
The third dessert, the egg custard tart is sumptuously creamy, like the richest of the rich creme brulee in a tart form and it is ceremoniously savoured. And of course the details on this dish are striking with the strawberry jelly squares, perfectly picked leaves and the thin squares of strawberries, baked in the oven to form delicate but intensely flavoured red flags.
Bon bon trolley
And of course the thing that no girl (or boy) can resist is temptingly wheeled out for us: the Bon Bon Trolley, in case we didn’t already feel spoiled enough. Silver baskets of hand made truffles, made fresh each morning come in a variety of flavours. We sample 3 each which covers the whole spectrum.
Bon bon assortment
The praline is like how a Ferrero Rocher dreams to be on the outside with a delicious praline centre, the 68% dark chocolate is deeply richly dark, the passionfruit chocolate becoming increasingly more common now is every bit as delicious as it sounds, the tangyness of the passionfruit perfectly balanced with the bitter-sweetness of dark chocolate. The blackcurrant one is my favourite, intensely blackcurrant in flavour and moist inside. The Rose truffle is reminiscent of Turkish delight. It is gloriously good with none of that jaw aching sweetness usually associated with Turkish Delight.
A prized bottle of Petrus
While we’re enjoying our coffee and truffles, Jean Phillippe and the assistant restaurant manager ask if we would like to see the kitchen. How does YES YES and YES! sound? Jean Phillippe jokes that the camera isn’t allowed in there but when we say fine (we’re not exactly going to pass up an opportunity to visit the Petrus kitchen) he laughs and says that he was joking, of course we can bring it. On the way to the kitchen they show us the precious collection of Petrus, at £22,000 a bottle to £49,000 it’s really for the filthy rich or those on investment bank expense accounts (and we all know the story of the Barclay’s bankers that ran up at £44,000 tab to have the meals comp’d and then once the story broke they were fired).
Marcus Wareing puts the finishing touch on a dish
While in the kitchen there is a chef’s table full of diners eating and imbibing while nearby the staff work efficiently. And I did promise you some interesting information didn’t I? We meet Marcus Wareing the brilliant mind and head of the team behind the dishes. He’s friendly and busy plating dishes to go out. They tell us that Marcus and Gordon are splitting and that on September the 6th, 2008 Petrus will cease operating as it is with Marcus at the helm. Marcus will open up his own restaurant at this site whilst Gordon Ramsay will retain the Petrus name.
The Petrus kitchen
Some staff including the assistant manager are loyal to Marcus whilst others are loyal to Gordon. I comment at how quiet and efficient the kitchen is, I expect there to be some shouting and they say that with Marcus and Gordon, it’s like the Sun and the Moon. We ask if Gordon ever comes around here and they say that whilst he might have stopped by before the split, now he doesn’t. If anyone has read any of Gordon’s books, his “Magnificent Seven” team appears to mean a lot to him so the spilt must be quite hard.
We ask about the Michelin stars, for Petrus has 2 stars, and whilst in the past they never knew whether a Michelin judge had visited, nowadays they sometimes leave business cards and also open up discussion with the restaurants as to how they can improve, what they look for etc. They say that it is most difficult to go from 1 star to 2 stars (as attested to the many 1 Michelin starred restaurants in London). Marcus will get to keep the 2 Michelin stars which took him 7 years to earn.
We watch the painstaking and precise preparation and plating of some dishes and it’s easy to understand why the 2 stars were awarded. Not only that, we feel lucky that we were able to visit before the doors were closed.
Petrus
The Berkeley Wilton Place
Knightsbridge SW1X 7RL
Tel: +44 (020)7235 1200
http://gordonramsay.com/petrus/
Set lunch 3 courses for £35 at lunch
A la carte 3 courses for £75 at lunch and dinner
Tasting menu 8 courses for £90
Vegetarian options: none, you may have to inquire when booking but they do not appear on the menu
**Marcus Wareing has now opened a restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel, London. Tel: 020 7235 1200**
Restaurant Reservations
T: 020 7592 1609
F: 020 7592 1603
petrus@marcuswareing.com
Private Dining Reservations
T: 020 7592 1373 / 74
F: 020 7592 1366
privatedining@marcuswareing.com
Opening Hours
Monday-Friday
Lunch 12.00pm – 2.30pm
Dinner 6.00pm – 11.00pm
Saturday
Dinner only 6.00pm – 11.00pm
Closed Sunday
Dress Code
Smart with jacket preferred for gentlemen. Jeans, T-shirts or sportswear not accepted.
All major credit cards.
Smoking is not permitted.
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32 Comments | Add your own
you know, i still say that this meal was really superior to the one that we had at gordon ramsay hospital road. every single dish was amazing (which is no mean feat) and the fact that they gave us the extra dessert only made me like them more!
My god you certainly do get to eat in some nice restaurants!
Please take me on your next trip to Europe!
Petrus, for the last few years, has been my very favourite restaurant in London! I’ve had a few really subpar meals at Gordon Ramsay and don’t normally put much stock in his restaurants, but I’d follow Marcus Wareing anywhere. I love his cookbooks, and his sweet shortcrust pastry recipe is the only one I use anymore. I’m really excited to try his new restaurant, and I think it’s great that he’s finally emerging from Gordon Ramsay’s shadow. Can you tell I’m a Marcus groupie?
wow, what a meal! and i can’t believe you got to meet jean phillipe! he’s so cool, calm and collected! a meal at petrus, a free dessert, a kitchen tour… to say i’m envious is a serious understatement! thanks for sharing it with us!
great photos and i wish i had more time to try Petrus last time i was in london. i went to the royal hospital road instead for 3 course set menu but Petrus looks like it has much nicer dining area and i didn’t realise jean phillipe worked there which would have been great to meet him. there’s always next time. i hope to upload my food photos from Royal Hospital Road in due course.
simon
oh, my god. My favourite of your O/S posts so far…the whole meal from amuse bouche, to entrees, to mains and to dessert and petit four! Wow! And even better: kitchen tour, extra desserts! Yay for you! and Yay for capturing it and sharing it. I loved it!
Wahh you are so luuckkyyy!! What an amazing meal, everything just oozes perfection and a kitchen tour ^^! Woooww…
OMG!!! You do not know how jealous I am! We are planning our whole Europe trip around the food- not the site seeing. Please don’t torment me and tell me you have been the The Fat Duck too??? Sorry about my excessive use of !!! and ??? but I’m so jealous. How come you got such special treatment? I can’t believe you got to go into the kitchen and talk to Marcus Wareing. I would have been happy enough talking to JP! Anyway I’m sad that we won’t get to try Petrus
I really want to try El Bulli (now I would really die if you have been there).
The food looks and sounds amazing!
Wow, how posh, you lucky lady! And Jean Phillipe too – almost as good as Jean Baptiste – I’ll faint on the spot if I meet him one day!
Hi blythe-That extra dessert was amazing, I really must try and make something like that at home, especially now that it’s hot.
Hi Cappucino-Thanks, I definitely try to!
Haha sure
Hi Amanda-I guess now’s a good time now that everyone has had a chance to taste his sublime dishes and he has built a real name for himself. I must look into his sweet shortcrust pastry!
Hi Helen-It was quite odd to be sitting there in front of him after seeing him on Hell’s Kitchen. You’re welcome, it was a truly amazing experience that I love remembering through the pictures.
Hi Simon-I think all of GR’s places have a distinct decorative style from what I’ve seen. I had to visit RHR to try a 3 star Michelin restaurant but I have to say that I thought that Petrus deserved 3 stars too!
Hi Reesmski-I would have been happy with just getting the Amuse Bouches I have to say they were soooo incredibly good. To think that it continued in quality throughout all the courses was amazing! Thanks so much!
Hi FFichiban-A kitchen tour is always very cool isn’t it! Plus being shown the famous Petrus bottles was pretty cool too
Hi Bria-That’s how we planned our trip-it was food, food and more food! I haven’t been to Fat Duck or El Bulli as Fat Duck was quite a drive away and we didn’t visit Spain but if I were to go back, I’d definitely try and do both.I don’t know, I think they could sense we were dedicated foodies and the photo taking helped!
Hi Christie-Thanks! I have no idea which restaurant Jean Baptiste belongs to but meeting Jean Claude from RHR and Jean Phillippe from Petrus was a rela bonus!
Wow, what a great review! I too ate at Petrus, looks like shortly before you did, in June 2008. I write about it here: http://escapecville.blogspot.com but I must say your review is much better, thank you for remembering details I had forgotten…and the pictures really brought it back to life for me. Jean-Phillipe was indeed working during our visit, at 11pm on a Monday night!!!! It remains the best meal I’ve EVER had, that 24-hour-cooked norfolk suckling pig was incredible. Thanks for bringing back such great memories….and I too am a Marcus Wareing groupie
I should add that while we did not order the tasting menu (too many things on the regular menu that just HAD to be eaten, lol!) we got the full treatment anyway! All the snicky snacks, amuse bouches and royal treatment two foodies on vacation could ask for…
Oh my – this makes my homemade pizza for lunch pale into insignificance. Beautifully presented food – almost too good to eat.
Wow, just wow. I’m home sick with food poisoning and all food looks awful to me but this review actually made me feel (briefly) hungry.
You know, if one day I logged onto NQN and found a post titled “Christmas at Sandringham with HRH”, I don’t think I’d flinch. I kid you not.. you just keep raising the bar re: where you eat, who you feature and now special ‘inside info’ and pics!! I really feel like I have someone on the ‘inside’ of the foodie world.. drip-feeding me with ‘access all areas’ food porn at international levels.
I caught some Ramsay’s Boiling Point last week I think and Marcus featured in that (did you catch it)? Old footage of course. But I feel like I know that ‘team’ because of Gordon’s books.
My first glimpse of a Gordon Ramsay restaurant was ‘maze’ last year (a YouTube friend from Sydney living in London). I was very impressed and excited to devour every photo and food description. I really enjoyed the airport G.R. restaurant post your friend helped you with.. as I have enjoyed this one. I’m yet to go the Royal Hospital Road post, which I’ll do after this.
I’m so glad you all loved your food. I noted no prices attached though? Anyway, none of my beeswax!
Here at home I only have a boxy, 17″ monitor and it does not do your website justice. I used to visit you when I was at Paul’s because the computer monitor there is much larger and I loved appreciating your photo’s in the way they were meant to be appreciated. Here (for some pic’s) I have to scroll up and down to just look at one photo. Still, better than nothing!
Thanks so much for this awesome post!
Before I die, I need to visit Petrus! So so lucky. How wonderful that they were so accommodating!
Hi Libby-It was definitely a meal to remember. Who’d have thought that chefs would have groupies but here I am confessing to being one. It’s nice that one doesn’t have to order the tasting menu to be treated like a valued guest with all of the trimmings!
Hi Cakelaw-I feel the same when I see my salad for lunch and remember my meal there
Hi SydneyGal-Hope you get better soon! If the food here doesn’t make you hungry I think it’s safe to say very little will!
Hi Maria-LOL I can dream about that too! Call me the food porn broker or pimp-I don’t mind that
I didn’t see that particular episode but I have seen other ones and Marcus was in those. He’s the calm presence from what I can see. Although I am reading Jay Rayner book “The Man Who Ate the world” and he had an interesting run in with Marcus Wareing!
Oh well the meal was a set price and it’s at the bottom of the story. It’s:
Set lunch 3 courses for £35 at lunch
A la carte 3 courses for £75 at lunch and dinner
and we had the 3 course set lunch.
I would have loved to have ordered a la carte or the tasting menu but the Australian dollar doesn’t stretch very far in London!
Awww I hope the pics are turning out ok on your monitor? You’re more than welcome
Hi Maria-It was everything and more than I hoped it would be. I didn’t expect a tour and the signed menu and everything but it really made for a most memorable meal! Definitely somewhere to go before we die!
cheese that smells like dog poo? how tempting.
Great post Lorraine. Was this your favourite meal in London?
OMG! That all looks so divine! What a lucky girl! Extra desserts, kitchen tour and a signed menu!! Pity I’ll never be able to dine there though…..
But thanks for the lovely post! it’s the first thing i read when i got into work… hehe… now time for boring toast
wow wow wow………not only you had a super wonderful meal but also had chance to see the kitchen !! Such a great experience….oh! and you met Jean phillipe..hehe..He is so cute and calm and the Hell’s kitchen ^ ^
Oops, I’m so sorry I missed the prices at the bottom. I obviously skimmed over that bit thinking it was address/contact details for Petrus. Sozzz!! Thank you for writing them out especially for me anyway. Too kind.
Hi grace-Not exactly but the combination of all of those cheeses was not as harmonious as I would have liked!
Hi Y-Hmm hard question, I liked places for different reasons. I really liked the decor of the Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester but the food Petrus and RHR were brilliant. They were probably my top 3.
Hi Jen-Thanks so much! It’s a pity Petrus by Marcus won’t be around but I’m sure he’ll be back with something just as fabulous! Hehe sorry
Hi Bean Sprout-I know, it was really a dream come true for me. Jean Phillippe is just as cool and calm in real life which was a relief and why he runs the restaurant!
Hi Maria-I should have put it in the story itself
I just got caught up in the food.
Can I ask – did you just start taking photos during your meal or did you ask if it was ok first? I was dying to take photos during my visit there last year but was too chicken to try it.
Hi bruleeblog-When we booked we asked if it was ok
I had visions of an angry Ramsay coming out screaming at us 
A colleague told us that he hates photographers but I think he meant more of the paparazzi variety. I think as long as we weren’t disturbing the other guests with flash photography they didn’t mind (although they didn’t say so, they just said it was totally fine to take photographs).
I have just read your blog. Some very nice comments, thank you!
Marcus has now reopened and the restaurant is called Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley.
As predicted everything is very much the same although Jean Phillipe has moved on.
sorry to continue with previous message…
the food has evolved further and Marcus did retain two stars in January.
If you wanted to post it, our phone number is 020 7235 1200.
thank you!
Jane Wareing
Hi Jane-Thanks for reading and commenting! Great to hear that he still has the 2 stars, he deserves 3 IMHO!
I had dinner at Petrus in December 2007 while visiting London for the Led Zeppelin reunion concert at the O2. The 13 course meal (which included several complimentary dishes) was superb and the service was among the finest, anywhere. Jean Phillippe was a most gracious host and we were delighted to request and receive a tour of the kitchen. Petrus was not inexpensive but certainly a bargain in comparison to the Michelin 3 star restaurants in Paris. It was a meal that will linger in my memory as one of the greats!
ps–Not Quite Nigella–your photos are stunning!!
hey i was wondering, do they actually allow you to bring camera’s for food photography to these restaurants without permission before hand?
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[...] and remain imprinted in your mind. For me, it was Tetsuya’s Confit of Ocean Trout, as well as Marcus Wareing’s Lemonade dessert at Petrus. One that came from a meal I had while back was the papardelle from Pendolino’s in the Strand [...]
[...] funny how life changes. Two years ago I dined at Marcus Wareing’s Petrus restaurant (back when he and Gordon Ramsay were business partners) and we had a fantastic meal where every [...]
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