I Tested GORDON RAMSAY'S NEWEST Fine Dining Restaurant

We’re about to try Gordon  Ramsay’s newest restaurant.

Once, it would have been  breaking news, a dream come true.

Right now I wonder if it’s still the case.

Especially in London, which is  practically a playground for restaurants.

New waves, new faces, extreme  ideas, a whole new era for dining.

The race for customers has never been harder.

So my question

Is this legendary name still  enough to fill a restaurant?

Well, by the end of the video you will find out.

And it might surprise you.

Let’s go inside Gordon Ramsay High.

We’re heading to the commercial district.

Our destination: 22 Bishopsgate.

The best thing about skyscrapers  is they’re not hard to find.

22 Bishopsgate is mostly an office building.

But it is also home to a food marketplace;

and a gym with a glass climbing wall.

Also, a level dedicated just for the view;

The so-called ‘22 Horizon’ at the 58th.

This is London’s highest viewing  gallery, and it is completely free.

Construction finished in 2020,  so it’s barely 5 years old.

We’re going to the 60th floor, the  very top which is 269 meters high.

Here, you’ll see Gordon’s name everywhere.

He currently runs two restaurants on this level:

The High, of course;

and The Lucky Cat with Asian-inspired  small plates and cocktails.

Later this year, a roof terrace, and another  restaurant one floor below will open.

But if you’re here for something  different, than here’s something different:

You can learn here as well,  at the Gordon Ramsay Academy.

Tempting to be called an idiot  sandwich, but that’s not why we’re here.

Stepping inside High, this is what greets us.

Luxurious chandeliers, an open kitchen;

And twelve seats lined up  against a spectacular view.

Today, I came with my daughter, and  we’re gonna start with some bubbles.

My first is a Henri Giraud  champagne, hers is a rosé.

About the food: There’s only one menu,  that goes for 250 pounds per person.

Soon the first bite arrives;

Presented by Michele Vannini,  the senior sous chef.

What we have here is a Gougère  with pine dust on the top.

Gougère I simply call cheese-doughnut;

because it’s a french salty  pastry, mixed with cheese.

Here, the cheese is French goat cheese.

Light, fluffy inside, beautifully  crunchy on the outside;

And a very dominant cheese aroma.

Love it.

Another young gentleman brings us the next bite.

I always love when a restaurant  is not a one man show.

It’s Gordon’s name on the door,  but the team has the attention.

Liquid lettuce at the bottom,  confit shallot, lobster on top;

finished with espelette and parmesan.

Another bite, another kind face from the kitchen.

This is a buckwheat tart, with caramelised  pine nut cream and a little miso.

On top, sea bream sashimi, cured  in salt, sugar and lemon zest,

and brushed with kombu oil.

It looks beautiful, and the taste:

The pastry is fabulous.

Sharp thin crunchy.

It breaks into this slow, creamy  flavor that lingers on your tongue.

Surprisingly, no acidity,but it doesn’t need it.

Fantastic bite.

I take a quick look at the wine list.

It’s quite a short one, clearly still growing.

Obviously, the place is still new, and  it takes time to build a nice collection.

Still, there are a few nice labels on it.

Our fourth canape arrives, and  it sounds very interesting.

Plated in a style familiar from  another Gordon Ramsay restaurant.

Around the little pearl,  there’s horseradish jelly;

Underneath fresh gooseberry and  compressed gooseberry juice;

And finally an oil, made from blackcurrant leaf.

It tastes exactly as it sounds.

Clean, beautiful flavors, and  the oyster ice cream is genius.

All right, I couldn’t resist: A bottle of Krug.

Not much of a contest on the champagne  list, so the choice was obvious.

Finally, our last bite is here.

And since it’s about tea time, this  is the middle-way between the two.

This is a tomato dashi, and  I’m gonna sip it like a king.

This is a really-really good one.

Smells fresh, but strong  and heavy at the same time.

And it tastes just like that.

Vibrant, green flavors, with a lot of  acidity, but warm and incredibly deep.

And by the way, the utensils are stunning.

This cup is a timeless Limoges porcelain.

All the plates, glasses and cutlery I’ve  seen so far, are high-end to the last.

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Our first course arrives.

And so does Matt Abé.

He’s been with Gordon for 16 years;

and rose to chef patron of  Gordon’s flagship restaurant:

The three-star Gordon Ramsay.

But he’s leaving soon.

After all, every chef dreams  about their own place.

By the end of the year, he’ll open his own.

Best of luck, I’ll be watching!

Back to our dish, this is  a Cornish crab chawanmushi.

On the side we have courgettes,  some pickled, some raw.

And a generous amount of caviar on top.

On the side, we have this crunchy tempura.

Dusted with smoked paprika, and  finished with basil emulsion.

The texture of the custard  is not perfect in my opinion.

It’s a bit tougher than it should be.

Making chawanmushi the right  way is quite difficult.

But flavor-wise…

Well, this is bloody serious.

I tried a lot of dishes lately, where  the caviar was just there, doing nothing.

But here, it actually adds a lot to the dish.

Then you get these fresh, crispy  green bites, with a touch of acidity;

and with this airy, crunchy snack on the side.

Well, this is brilliant..

Between two courses, I wonder;

The experience so far is really good.

The view is spectacular, the team is brilliant;

the food, chef’s kiss.

But how difficult is it to book here?

I did a quick bit of research, and  well the result might surprise you.

But we’ll get to that at the end.

The last dish was brilliant  and here’s another one.

On the table we have bread,  butter and whipped lardo.

If I didn’t say it a thousand  times, I’ll say it again:

This is my weak spot.

This is a simple white bread, but  elevated with some rosemary and truffles.

Its scent is amazing, and it doesn’t  disappoint in flavors either.

The ampersand butter is just “oh my god”.

Beautiful.

Next up is lobster.

A native, English lobster, to be exact.

If I get it right, this is from south Cornwall.

On the side we have some more English products.

Cherries from Kent, and cherry  tomatoes from the Isle of Wight.

The tomatoes were blanched and marinated in  an oil, made from the shell of the lobster.

We’re asked if we want some more bread for it.

It’s like asking a child  if he wants more ice cream.

The lobster is cooked nicely, the  cherries and tomatoes are wonderful.

The sauce is silky, and has this  vanilla-like aroma I really enjoy.

It looks simple, but packed  with flavors, nicely balanced.

We've been sitting here for about an hour now.

To be honest, I’d rather watch  the kitchen than the view.

I love it, but let’s just say  London’s sky is not a Monet painting.

Meanwhile there’s this pulsing kitchen behind us.

It’s a chef’s table experience after all,  and that is the only thing we can’t see.

A fish course is next, Dover sole.

Dover sole is a flatfish, found in the  waters around the UK and Northern Europe.

Here, it's stuffed with a mousse,  made from scallops and summer herbs.

On the side, there’s pickled cucumber,  fresh almond and a bit of lemon.

And finally, a sauce made from the bones  of the fish, finished with lemongrass.

This is a chewier fish, but it  has a nice texture despite that.

The summer herbs really brighten  it up with sharp flavors.

So do the lemon and the pickled  cucumbers, which I enjoy very much.

The sauce is well, it's worth a prayer.

Brilliant.

See, this is what I’m missing.

For me, it’s way more interesting than the view.

What we see here is the  preparation of the next course.

Which is this: Herdwick Lamb.

It was dry-aged for 15 days, then roasted  on butter and finished in the oven.

On the side we have a lamb shoulder, braised  for 8 hours and topped with girolles,

We also have a puree, which is - if  I’m not mistaken - made from garlic.

Before I forget:

For this dish, we get a 2022  French red from Aloxe-Corton.

This dish was brilliant too.

What I missed is a pinch more salt.

But if the purpose here is to  show the lambs mature flavors,

This is a total hit.

I love it.

Cheese is next, a classic French  tradition before the sweets.

This is called St. Jude, and  it’s made from cow's milk.

This is an English cheese  from Sussex, south of England.

On the side, we have a raisin chutney,  verjus and some caraway crackers.

Well, in flavors, I love it.

The chutney, the cracker, the  cheese, all are really good.

It’s time for a transition  between the savories and sweets.

This is the essence of Southerns.

We have a sorbet here, made from wine;

a mousse, also made from  Southerns, with added saffron;

and underneath we have confit apricot.

Well, this is how you turn  simple things into complex ones.

Just a few ingredients, but  man, this is damn genius.

The wine comes through so  nicely, it’s acidic, but chill.

Then you reach the apricots, the saffron kicks in;

and you get this mild, fresh sweetness.

I say it again: Genius.

So, coming up next is dessert.

Strawberries, toasted vanilla, rose and koji.

Not only looks beautiful, but tastes amazing.

Sweet creamy vibrant.

A perfect dessert.

And they don’t even have a pastry chef.

Last, but not least,petit fours.

Blueberry and white juniper jelly;

Smoked peanut crunch, and fig leaf custard tart.

Wonderful, delicate bites.

I love them.

And that brings us to the end of the experience.

Our total for today settles  at 1766 pounds for two.

Now that we’ve reached the end, I’m  left with an interesting feeling.

The food was great, nothing to complain about.

True timeless classics.

Service was good, the place looked nice,  but somehow it didn’t feel truly special.

I could even say the fireworks were missing.

I don’t want to come back right away.

This is another restaurant that shows  why Gordon Ramsay became who he is.

But of course, Gordon is no  longer standing in the kitchen.

And I can’t help but wonder  what would this place be like,

with a hunger for more 25-year-old  Gordon Ramsay behind the stove?

Now let's get back to the reservation question.

After a meal like this, with  Gordon’s name on the door;

I’d say it should be full all the time.

I check if I can book a  table for two on a Saturday.

Considering that the whole restaurant  only has space for twelve people;

it seems impossible.

Well, it is not.

I could easily book a table,  almost for any day of the week.

I won’t say it’s shocking,  but definitely surprising.

Because, as you can see;

Except for a few minor  things, everything works here.

Gordon is famous for a good reason

He’s a genius.

This is old-school fine dining with  just the right amount of freshness.

For those like me, it is perfect.

However, Gordon’s not here, obviously;

His name runs this place.

And that might not be enough  to fill the seats anymore.

But for me, he has a remarkable  style; do I still love him?

It’s timeless, elegant, crazy good and I  will always support this type of dining.

And I almost forgot it,

Come and check out the new dining room of 42.

And maybe we will meet in person.

And that does it for this episode,

Thank you for joining me.

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See you next time!