Will Ramsay conquer Manhattan?

Posted by Anthea Gerrie Nov 26, 2006

Gordon Ramsay had not yet opened the doors of his new restaurant at the London Hotel when I

was in New York a few weeks ago, so I am not in a position to judge whether he is dishing up the right stuff. But although I instinctively feel he knows his market, and has created some masterful dishes, I fear he is spreading himself too thin running around the globe. I was disappointed both in Tokyo this spring, where dishes at the Gordon Ramsay restaurant in the Conrad failed to push any buttons, and horrified in London to have to wait 90 minutes for the main course to arrive at a business lunch in Claridges, even though the dining room was barely more than half-full.

You can imagine Gordon creating hell had he watched lacklustre dishes moving off the pass line in Tokyo or heavenly ones not moving off the pass line at all in Claridges. But he wasn't there.

I would love to hear some first-hand experiences of whether, Emmy now in hand, he's going to be able to take Manhattan, where there's more competition for the diner's dollar than anywhere else in the world.