THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED NAMES Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED NAMES Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley Restaurant Review:

THE FORMER MARCUS WAREING AT THE BERKELEY HAS DEBUTED WITH A NEW NAME, MARCUS, AND UPDATED INTERIOR AND MENU. The split with the parent company of Gordon Ramsay gave Marcus Wareing his own restaurant. It is still at The Berkeley hotel and retains the same deep purple, lush décor of a temple of gastronomy. In a lightened atmosphere, the staff is more relaxed. The impressive range of those wonderful Pétrus wines has gone but the sommelier has put together a superb selection, strong on first growths, heavy on the classics, particularly Bordeaux. The cooking is precise and inventive with all the thought and care that goes with a chef aiming for the top and the dishes are becoming more inventive. Start with Dorset crab with potato bread, pear and a kick of ginger, or langoustine with black pudding, orange and leeks. Follow with Cornish sea bass, cauliflower, almonds and polonaise, or Cumbrian lamb with falafel, cornichon, carrot, and a pink peppercorn yogurt. Desserts might include an apple crème with spicy brioche, popcorn and salted caramel ice cream. Or go for the cheese board. Of course, you expect and get all the trappings of a star meal: amuse-gueules to get your taste buds all fired up; perhaps a Sauternes jelly with apple granita to calm them down before dessert. The clientele is generally of the sort who don’t think of the prices, but there is a 2-course set lunch at £30, 3 courses at £38 if they can’t manage the £75 (3 course) or £95 (7 course) menu.