'Despite being lectured about eating local, seasonal, independent, artisan, we're happy to keep piling into the bland mega-brands: Prezzo, Giraffe, Ask, Yo! Sushi and Garfunkel's. Not to mention Nando's'
If you spend any time with metrocentric food pundits – or southern foodie ponces as we're also known – you might be forgiven for thinking the restaurant scene has come a long way. Britain is up there, we say, fighting for culinary supremacy with New York and Tokyo. We're trend-driven and forward-thinking, all small plates and no reservations; kimchi and chefs with dehydrators and tweezers; pimped-up US comfort food and offal; preserving and pickling. Aren't we?
It appears not. A recent dining-out survey from Deloitte found that nearly half of all of adults simply head to high streets or shopping centres. Which means that, despite being lectured about eating local, seasonal, independent, artisan, etc, we're happy to keep piling into the bland mega-brands: Prezzo, Giraffe (now owned by Tesco), Ask, Yo! Sushi and yes, Garfunkel's. Then, of course, there's the juggernaut that is Nando's, a corporate behemoth flogging unhappy "indoor-reared" chickens, whose masterstroke was giving the likes of David Beckham and One Direction a fabled, much lusted-after High Five black card.
For fayn daynin' occasions, we still want to eat in over-upholstered, swag-curtained conservatories and be told, "Excellent choice, sir", by the sommelier. The top five on the dreaded Tripadvisor are all temples of clenched haute gastronomy. Crowd-sourced Zagat's top 10 is populated by restaurants from Gordon Ramsay, Michel Roux and Heston Blumenthal, aka chefs off the telly. Likewise, the "annual Diners' Choice awards" from online booking service Toptable. But what's this? At number 10 there's Wild Mushroom, just outside Hastings, a place one local describes as having "the atmosphere of a morgue". It's listed above L'Enclume, Viajante, The Hand & Flowers. It's simply not the 10th best restaurant in the UK. I'd be surprised if it's the 10th best restaurant in East Sussex.
We're still choosing restaurants based on convenience, familiarity, brand – and the clunky allure of the celebrity chef. I'm not even counting "strong performances in the UK" for McDonald's: that's not a restaurant, that's an evil-smelling pusher of pasty, sugary slurry in an atmosphere with the warm embrace of an operating theatre. The Westfield megamall has just announced the launch of Café Football, brought to us by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. Food snob? Me? Too right I am. Sometimes we get the restaurants we deserve. Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.
If you spend any time with metrocentric food pundits – or southern foodie ponces as we're also known – you might be forgiven for thinking the restaurant scene has come a long way. Britain is up there, we say, fighting for culinary supremacy with New York and Tokyo. We're trend-driven and forward-thinking, all small plates and no reservations; kimchi and chefs with dehydrators and tweezers; pimped-up US comfort food and offal; preserving and pickling. Aren't we?
It appears not. A recent dining-out survey from Deloitte found that nearly half of all of adults simply head to high streets or shopping centres. Which means that, despite being lectured about eating local, seasonal, independent, artisan, etc, we're happy to keep piling into the bland mega-brands: Prezzo, Giraffe (now owned by Tesco), Ask, Yo! Sushi and yes, Garfunkel's. Then, of course, there's the juggernaut that is Nando's, a corporate behemoth flogging unhappy "indoor-reared" chickens, whose masterstroke was giving the likes of David Beckham and One Direction a fabled, much lusted-after High Five black card.
For fayn daynin' occasions, we still want to eat in over-upholstered, swag-curtained conservatories and be told, "Excellent choice, sir", by the sommelier. The top five on the dreaded Tripadvisor are all temples of clenched haute gastronomy. Crowd-sourced Zagat's top 10 is populated by restaurants from Gordon Ramsay, Michel Roux and Heston Blumenthal, aka chefs off the telly. Likewise, the "annual Diners' Choice awards" from online booking service Toptable. But what's this? At number 10 there's Wild Mushroom, just outside Hastings, a place one local describes as having "the atmosphere of a morgue". It's listed above L'Enclume, Viajante, The Hand & Flowers. It's simply not the 10th best restaurant in the UK. I'd be surprised if it's the 10th best restaurant in East Sussex.
We're still choosing restaurants based on convenience, familiarity, brand – and the clunky allure of the celebrity chef. I'm not even counting "strong performances in the UK" for McDonald's: that's not a restaurant, that's an evil-smelling pusher of pasty, sugary slurry in an atmosphere with the warm embrace of an operating theatre. The Westfield megamall has just announced the launch of Café Football, brought to us by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. Food snob? Me? Too right I am. Sometimes we get the restaurants we deserve. Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.