Corrigan’s Mayfair (August 2012)

This was the second time I had visited Corrigan's at lunchtime and while I had fond memories of my first trip (hence the return visit, about a year later), I was substantially more disappointed on this occasion. Corrigan's is the sort of place I want to like in the sense that the venue, ambience, attitude of the staff and the menu (when viewed on paper) are all superb. My two main gripes from this occasion, however, were (i) food and (ii) value for money. With regard to the food, the amuse bouche (goat's cheese gougere) was excellent and the brioche a nice touch on which to finish. My starter (fish tartare) was over-engineered, while my main (veal) was utterly tasteless and came with a sauce not too dissimilar to snot. In terms of price, lunch for two with a mid-range bottle of wine came to just under £200. I think I could do distinctly better elsewhere.