Even some Bill news would be welcome.

Buduh Buduh Beeow
du du du dedoo do dedoo doo wah!

I would defiantly agree with you about the need to order the right meal. In my experience it is not that any of the meals taste or look bad, in fact I have never had anything other than good food there. However, some of the dishes are of an extremely high quality, with smells and flavours which can tend to leave you feeling disappointed if you are sat watching someone else experience it!

On my most recent visit, since it has been taken over, I was pleasantly surprised by the increase in the quality of the food. I had the 7 course tasting menu, and it really did blow my senses. I agree with your opinion of the parsnip milkshake. Normally you would not find parsnip on my wish list; in fact normally I would avoid it. But after the first taste I was hooked.

We too had the red onion chutney with our cheese board, the chef clearly has a very good understanding of how to make unusual flavours and colours (!!) work in harmony.

In response to Weon, I have always felt that Lumiere has a nice balance about it. It’s not so posh that you feel on edge, yet it is a quiet, subtle place where you can enjoy intimate moments without feeling on display. Of course this is purely down to personal opinion, so I guess you will have to try it for yourself and let us know your verdict.

As for the tasting menu and value, it was £50 per person. That might sound a lot, but for 7 courses with such fine ingredients and skill, we all felt that we had had good value for money, and that’s not a feeling I get too often when we eat out.

Was Asterix there?

Do you think it was a case of style over substance? Anne and I were having a conversation the other day about restaurants and saying how if the place is too fancy, we wouldn’t enjoy the food as the atmosphere in the place would be too stuffy/fussy – case in point is Le Champignon Sauvage. Apparently the food is good but it just doesn’t appeal as a place to have a nice night out.