Gordon Ramsay at the Claridge's in London: Our Favorite in Britain (London Restaurant Review No. 1)

Overall, we found London to be somewhat of a cuilinary wasteland (which made us feel right at home since we live in the South Loop). However, by far the best for dinner (as opposed to tea, which we always enjoyed) was Gordon Ramsay at the Claridges. This should not be confused, as our travel agent did, with the free standing Gordon Ramsay restaurant, which is where we thought we were going. As it turns out, we had reservations the Gordon Ramsay in our hotel, but no matter, it was wonderful.

We loved the decor, which was very British but the seats were uneven, which was strange. Also the place was impossible to find, even though it was in our hotel. The entrance from outside leads into Claridge's lobby, and the entrance from inside is through the tea area and a lounge area into an unmarked room. But it is worth the hunt.

We started with a bottle of Jasper Hill Shiraz, which we both liked. It was a bit tart, but had a nice, spicey and fruity flavor. The first amuse bouche was parmesan mousse and pear. The tastes set each other off well. The appetizers were tremendous. We split the lobster ravioli and beef carpaccio, both of which were perfect.

Steve was waiting the whole trip for English roast beef, so he was excited to see it on the menu here. Lisa had it as well. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and was accompanied by excellent potatoes and tomatoes. The only quibble we had was the the beef was somewhat bland (Steve had expected something out of this world from what is supposed to be a roast beef haven -- LIsa was pleasantly surprised because it was so much better than any other beef they'd had in London).

The dessert amuse bouche was marscapone cheesecake, which we both liked. In London, unlike in Paris, there is no separate cheese course before dessert. Lisa had the cheese as her dessert and Steve had French Toast (in essence, fried brioche with vanilla icing). Steve thought the dessert was a great idea, but he did not particularly care for the peaches that accompanied the toast. Steve had no one to blame, however, but himself, since the dish was called Peach French Toast. Lisa liked the cheese. She tried bleu, goat, camembert and semi-hard cheddar. All of them were a bit strong for her but she still enjoyed them.

The bathrooms were the nicest we found in London. The Women's Room had marble counters and floors and was extremely clean. The Men's also was spacious and very clean.

Gordon Ramsay is our pick for the top restaurant in London, which is sort of like our pick for the most liberal Republican (we are latte sipping Obama liberals, after all (who don't actually drink lattes)). It was a fine restaurant but probably a notch below the best in Chicago and certainly well below the top places we went to in Paris.

The total bill was 295 pounds (about $600) and would have been about $400 with wine by the glass, which, believe it or not, is a decent value these days in London.

Our ratings for Gordon Ramsay at the Claridge's, Brook Street and Davies, London:

8.5 of 10 Beef Knives; 3 of 3 Bathroom Brushes