Single candle on the table lit-up the room in an hour power off to save the earth.
WWF Turn off power for1 Hour on 27 March 2010.
Single candle on the table lit-up the room in an hour power off to save the earth.
Bibendum, London - IV
The butter dish.Architectural detail - The building is a tribute to the famous Michelin Man with compelling references woven into the fabric of the floors, walls and windows of the Restaurant, Oyster Bar and Café.
Bibendum, London - III
PeopleOut of the 75 staff who work at Bibendum, some have been here since we opened 21 years ago and many others for over a decade.
MATTHEW HARRIS – Chef/Director
On 21st November 1987, Sir Terence Conran, Simon Hopkinson and Lord Paul Hamlyn opened the doors of the iconic Michelin Building that was the newly refurbished home of Bibendum. Twenty years on, Matthew Harris, who had started on that first day as Chef de Partie, is still there, now Head Chef having taken over the mantle from his mentor, Simon Hopkinson, in 1995.
Matthew was immersed in the world of food and wine from an early age, his parents running a French Restaurant Le Grand Gousier in Brighton, together with a wine, brandy and spirit company. Family events were all about large gatherings around the lunch or dinner table, and an early love of all things gastronomic was nurtured. Shortly after leaving school Matthew started his chef training, first in the UK, then working in a Restaurant in Geneva, and moving to Paris to do his patisserie training at the Ecole le Notre.
Returning to England in 1986, Matthew worked with Simon Hopkinson, then head chef of the highly acclaimed Hilaire in the Old Brompton Road. The duo moved up the road to the Michelin Building in November 1987 to the brand new Bibendum kitchen.
While a great deal has changed since that autumn day in 1987, much too has remained the same. Bibendum’s original ethos of producing classic French food with a strong British influence, using the best quality seasonal ingredients continues today. The heart of Matthew’s cooking style is derived from the masterful influence of Simon Hopkinson, but he brings to the menu a contemporary edge and breaks new ground in flavour and style. Two dishes have never left the menu – escargots, and steak au poivre, and some of Bibendum’s original customers still return time and time again for that classic combination. While Matthew refuses to be influenced by short-term fads and fashions, the menu is more elaborate and complex than it was twenty years ago, puddings are more creative. Menus change regularly to embrace the best of seasonal produce – lunch daily, and dinner every six weeks. The four or five daily specials are created from whichever seasonal ingredients and delicacies tempt him to work his magic that day.
2008 is a defining year for Matthew Harris. Having led the Bibendum kitchen for twelve years, he is now a director and welcomes the challenge of presiding over the culinary future of what many consider to be a precious institution; one that has been responsible, at least in part, for the shape of London’s Restaurant scene today.
http://www.bibendum.co.uk/restaurant/people.html
Bibendum, London - II
Restaurant - A truly timeless establishment for all whoembrace the simple pleasures of eating good
food with warm hospitality.
Dining at the Restaurant is a visual feast as well as a treat for the tastebuds. During the day, light streams through the spectacular stained glass windows, and the high-ceilinged Restaurant buzzes with reassuring activity. Comfy chairs and well-spaced tables add to the feeling of space. The evening brings with it a sense of elegance and glamour, and the right combination of welcome, attentiveness and professionalism has been honed to perfection over the Restaurant’s 20-year history. Dining at the Restaurant always feels like a special occasion.
Head chef, Matthew Harris, continues Simon Hopkinson’s legacy of producing classic French food with a strong British influence, using the best quality seasonal ingredients. Twenty years on from the Restaurant’s conception , he brings to the menu a contemporary edge and breaks new ground in flavour and style. Sophisticated simplicity embraces the best and most carefully sourced produce and results in consistent excellence.
The Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week, offering a prix fixe menu at lunch, an a la carte menu for dinner everyday except Sunday when there is a prix fixe supper menu.
Consistent excellence is what every chef strives for – to be recognised for it by this award gives us great satisfaction.
Matthew Harris– chef/Director
http://www.bibendum.co.uk/restaurant/index.html
Bibendum, London - I
Michelin House, commissioned by the Michelin Tyre Company Ltd as their first permanent British headquarters in 1909, has been a favourite London landmark for many years.Its exuberant stylistic individualism has been variously described as an example of Art Nouveau, proto-Art-Deco, Secessionist Functionalism and geometrical Classicism. It has even been described as 'the most completely French of any Edwardian building in London'! Designed by an employee of the company, probably under the guidance of Edouard and Andre Michelin, it owes more to the imagination, vivacity and outrageously irreverent flair for public relations of these two men than to any notion of the architectural taste of its time.
In 1985 Michelin moved out of the building and in June of that year it was bought by Sir Terence Conran and Paul Hamlyn. Planning permission for a Restaurant, bar, major retail store and additional office space was obtained and a programme of extensive restoration of the building and reinstatement of many of its most prominent original features was begun. It is against the background of the history of the Michelin Building, seen in the context of the early days of motoring and the character then of the Michelin Company, that the most recent extensions and developments of the building should be seen. Conran Design Group were responsible for the interiors of the new restaurant and bar on the ground and first floors, and for the retail area. In all three spaces, they opted to retain aspects relating to the history of the building whilst introducing new themes appropriate to its change of use.
Both the Oyster Bar and the Restaurant refer directly to the building's association with tyres and, in particular, to Bibendum, the Michelin man. Both are named after him and take advantage of every opportunity to reflect his corpulent profile. Both the Restaurant and the Oyster Bar continue to retain strong French overtones, with a clear emphasis on quality and style. The new Michelin Building is now every bit as concerned with modernity, efficiency, quality and style today as it was when it first opened in 1911, nearly a century ago.
http://www.bibendum.co.uk/the-building.html
The Wolseley, London - V
Treat yourself to dinner at the Wolseley (160 Piccadilly W1; 44-207-499-6996; www.thewolseley.com), a glamorous restaurant near the Ritz Hotel beloved by more social members of the London literati. Housed in a large, high-ceilinged space whose previous incarnations include a bank and car showroom, the restaurant has been meticulously refitted to evoke a sophisticated old-word Viennese cafe. The layout gives a feeling of tête-à-tête intimacy while also providing lots of people-watching opportunities. The menu is impeccable — leave room for the rich, beautiful desserts — and its old-fashioned tenor perfectly suits the setting. A three-course dinner is £50 to £100. Alert diners might well catch a glimpse of, among others, the authors Lady Antonia Fraser and Harold Pinter.http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/travel/20hours.html
The Wolseley, London - IV
The Wolseley serves classic British Cuisine in the Mayfair neighborhood of London, across the street from the famous Ritz Hotel. It opened in 2003. They have everything from Steak Frites to Fish to Roasts & Grills and serve breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. Lunch and dinner menus are identical. 12.5% discretionary service charge.http://www.foodnut.com/430/the-wolseley-restaurant-review-london-uk/
The Wolseley, London - III
The great Brasseries of France are the most obvious inspiration for this hugely popular restaurant, but there are few places in Paris that can match The Wolseley for sheer plushness. Originally a 1920s car showroom, it was built on such an extravagant scale that it bankrupted Wolseley Motors. Swift black-clad waiters glide across the patterned marble floor, carrying groaning platters of fruits de mer, steak frites and lobster bisque between the pillars and archways of this Italian-influenced dining room. It's packed with celebrities at all times of day - we spotted a relaxed looking Ralph Fiennes brunching here last time - and booking a table is usually done months in advance if you don't happen to be Michael Winner.http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/The_Wolseley/a4ba/
The Wolseley, London - II
An interpretation of the grand cafés of continental Europea, the Wolseley serves breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner to a smart set of Londoners and visitors in its large opulent dining room.The building is reminiscent of fin de siècle, but in fact dates from the 1920s when it was built as a car showroom. It was then used as a banking hall, before becoming today's café-restaurant in 2003.
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2:2347/the-wolseley
The Wolseley, London - I
The Wolseley is a café-restaurant in the grand European tradition located in St James’ on London’s most famous of boulevards, Piccadilly. 160 Piccadilly is a Grade II Listed Building.In 1921, Wolseley Motors Limited commissioned the architect, William Curtis Green, to design a prestigious car showroom in London’s West End. He drew on Venetian and Florentine influences and made the interior very atmospheric with its grand pillars, arches and stairways. The Wolseley cars were displayed on the marble floor and cost between £225-£1300. Unfortunately, the cars did not sell well enough and by 1926 the Company was bankrupt.
Barclays Bank acquired the building and the branch opened for the first time in April 1927. William Curtis Green was recalled to install offices and a banking counter retaining the Japanese lacquer theme. He also designed specialised furniture including a post box and stamp machine, which is on display today. Barclays remained until 1999.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King secured the site in July 2003 and its restoration and renovation was overseen by David Collins Architects. The Wolseley opened in November 2003.
http://www.thewolseley.com/History.aspx
Marqius Cornwallis - A Pub In Russell Square IV
A view of the ceiling over looking the other side of the bar.
Marqius Cornwallis - A Pub In Russell Square III
A view from the platform over looking the other side of the bar.
Marqius Cornwallis - A Pub In Russell Square II
The Marquis of Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1APReverting to the name from its spit 'n' sawdust past, this ex-Goose has tried to emerge in splendid grandeur from its golden egg. A total refit has seen mock-Edwardian wooden panelling adorn the walls, natty little lamps spring up like mushrooms after rain and prices skyrocket in order to fit in with the newly gentrified/homogenised Brunswick Centre across the road. It attempts to come over all aristocratic, but looks more like the furniture section in Harrods. Posh students rather than posties seem to be its primary market, and in they swarm, smoking like chimneys and posing like statues, obviously feeling it fits in nicely with their aspirational world. An excellent range of real ales kept me mollified, and the barstaff are very friendly, although as yet serving with all the speed of a glacier, and with rather impenetrable accents ("yoo vant doobellorsingal wodka?"). A better array of tables would help solve its impending seating crisis (seeming to come only in one size - large - the tables are then occupied by two sets of couples, glaring icily at each other and pretending to be waiting for 15 friends in the hope of driving the other couple off), and the music ranged from silly to simply horrendous, but it wasn't overly intrusive, and didn't really detract from what proved to be a mostly enjoyable experience. Does posh food. Gets very, very crowded.
Reviewed by Fred Flange, Dec 2006
http://www.randompubfinder.com/review.php?Name=The_Marquis_of_Cornwallis,_31_Marchmont_Street
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