This is not a restaurant review. I didn't pay for my dinner and you won't be able to eat at this establishment. So this breaks all the rules – which means you can take the mark out of 10, below, with a pinch of salt. But the 10-day pop-up version of The French Laundry (open till tomorrow) should not go unmentioned because it is, quite simply, extraordinary.
Regular readers will know from John Walsh's masterful interview in the 25 September issue with Thomas Keller, chef/patron of the three-Michelin-starred Californian institution, that his temporary home in Harrods is not an overture to opening a London outpost. Rather, this is the maestro allowing us Brits the chance to experience his food without jetting over to America, by jetting himself, 30 staff, plenty of tableware and inordinate amounts of butter to the UK.
The wisdom of this decision must be judged by what is on the plate. It must surely have been Harrods' decision to create an anteroom to the restaurant with astroturf and fake lavender plants on garden furniture. It puts one less in mind of the Napa Valley than B&Q. A facsimile of the original's blue door swings open for the big reveal, but instead of a light-flooded, luxuriously appointed room, the temporary French Laundry is more of a generic conference centre. For £250 a head (without wine), I want to be bathed in atmosphere, not noticing a blown lightbulb, and a clump of exposed plug sockets and extension cables.
Restaurant review http://www.independent.co.uk
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