Where Can I Eat Ramsay's Beef Wellington in Nyc
- I ate a three-course meal at Ramsay's Kitchen, chef Gordon Ramsay's newest restaurant in Boston.
- The staff was friendly, but I waited more than two hours for an entrée that was only OK.
- With the high prices and OK food, I won't be making another reservation.
Gordon Ramsay's newest restaurant, Ramsay's Kitchen, opened in Boston at the end of January.
The celebrity chef has hosted a handful of TV shows and runs restaurants around the globe (some with Michelin stars), so I had pretty high expectations when I went to try Ramsay's Kitchen for myself.
You'll probably need to reserve a table months in advance to eat at Ramsay's Kitchen
Before you can eat at Ramsay's Kitchen, you need to reserve a table.
You may be able to find an opening during lunch hours — my own reservation was at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday — a month in advance, but it seems that dinners are filled three to four months out right now.
When I visited the restaurant in mid-February, I overheard the person in front of me in line ask the host for their next weekend lunch availability, which was April 30.
It seemed like people were able to walk in and sit at the bar without reservations, so that may be an option if you can't secure a booking.
The restaurant is on Boston's historic Boylston Street, attached to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
The restaurant is inside the Mandarin Oriental, though this location seemed a bit dated.
The restaurant itself is bright and airy, with big windows and a vibe similar to an elevated airport lounge.
The white furniture is accented with blue chairs, plates, and lights, in what might be a reference to Boston's waterfront.
I also thought parts of the restaurant looked like a shrine for the celebrity chef — shelves were lined with his books, large pieces of art featured his image, and his shows played on TV screens around the dining area.
I thought the waitstaff was eager and earnest, if a bit awkward
This is a new location, so I'd anticipated that the staff might still be working out some kinks.
After we were seated, I was given a lunch menu, and my guest was handed a dinner menu. It took about 15 minutes before someone poured water for us.
The pleasant waitstaff spoke passionately about the ingredients that came from Ramsay's London flagship and offered suggestions such as dipping fries into the potato-puree side dish.
More than once, a dish we had not ordered was brought to our table and then hastily taken back.
I ordered twists on local favorites as well as Ramsay classics
Part of the menu seemed to be made up of Boston-themed dishes such as lobster rolls and clam chowder.
Classic dishes Ramsay is known for, like beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding, were also on the menu.
Per the waiters' suggestions, I ordered the nontraditional king-crab sushi as an appetizer and went with the classic Wellington as my entrée and the sticky toffee pudding as dessert.
The sushi came out within 30 minutes. Though the rice was a bit cold and hard, the crab was fresh and flavorful. The plating left a bit to be desired, because the cup of soy sauce was barely wide enough to dip a piece of the roll in.
When my entrée arrived after 2 hours of waiting, it was underwhelming
It was not until after 4 p.m. — two hours after I sat down, and into the third repeat of National Geographic TV's "Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted" — that my entrée came out.
Before I got my entrée, one server said three times that my food was coming "right now." Another waiter explained there were tech issues with the kitchen's ticket system. Eventually, the manager apologized and said my food had been delivered to another table.
I think beef Wellington has become synonymous with Ramsay's cooking, which is part of the reason I ordered the $59 dish.
The meat was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, but the flavor and texture lacked variation or interest. Though the puff pastry was golden brown, it was soggy and fell apart and made the whole dish a bit mushy. The flavor also was one-note, earthy, and intensely salty without much else going on.
If I had ordered it at a pub for half the price I would be content, but for a dish served at Ramsay's restaurant, I expected more.
On the other hand, I enjoyed the maitake mushroom, a side dish that I never ordered but that arrived at my table. The perfectly browned mushrooms were served with a miso aioli, which had a creaminess that rounded out the savory flavor.
I hate to say it, but the sticky toffee pudding was also a bit of a mess
After my entrée, the sticky toffee pudding arrived surprisingly quickly.
Though it's hard to hate warm, gooey cake topped with ice cream, the dish seemed uninspired and was so sweet that I couldn't finish it.
The texture of the pudding was excellent; it wasn't too dense and was still gooey. However, the vanilla ice cream tasted as if it came from a supermarket tub.
I think the dish could have been improved with a slight tartness from a crème fraîche flavor or even just a sprinkle of flaky salt.
A new restaurant facing some hiccups is understandable, but I was disappointed
Between the widespread staffing shortages in the restaurant industry and a team learning a new menu and system, I feel like the delays I faced are justifiable.
Everyone I spoke with was friendly, and the service team recognized problems without my commenting on them. They also ended up making my meal complimentary because I had waited so long.
But it's hard not to see the irony in these issues at a restaurant belonging to a chef known for his harsh criticism.
Given this unmemorable lunch of an appetizer, two entrées, and a dessert worth over $150, I won't be making another reservation at Ramsay's Kitchen.
Source: https://www.insider.com/gordon-ramsay-boston-restaurant-review-ramsays-kitchen-photos-2022-3
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