If one eats at enough Michelin star restaurants at each level, one will begin to notice a significant difference between a 1, 2, and 3 star restaurant. It will be evident in the food, presentation, service, ambiance and various other parts of the dining experience.
Core, by Clare Smyth is a 3 Michelin Star restaurant in London. It also ranks 64th on the SP List of World’s Best Restaurants.
Upon entry, we passed by the open kitchen which is always nice and exciting for me to see.
The table was set very nice. So far everything was consistent with being a 3 star restaurant.
There are a couple of tasting menus you can choose from. I had the Seasonal and my wife had the Classics.
Both menus started with the same amuse and ended with the same petit fours.
The amuse was very impressive visually.
This was followed by bread service:
…and then the meal.
…and the desserts
…and finally, the petit fours:
I can see why this place has 3 stars. The ambiance, the service, the presentation of the food, the technicality of the food, and everything else screams 3 stars; everything except, the food. Some courses were good, but many underwhelmed. They lacked that ability to make me say wow or close my eyes upon first taste. Not that they were bad, but they weren’t overly bold and full of flavor either…and in the end, when coming to this type of restaurant, the main focus should be the food.