Written by Katrina Conagren
February 10, 2024 13:35, Updated February 10, 2024 14:44
The mission is Simple: Restaurant hustle – gourmet and mainstream.
I spent £35 at the highly acclaimed restaurant Leroy (a heavily Italian-influenced Shoreditch restaurant that won a Michelin star in 2019 and will hold it until February 2024), and then… We also went to Prezzo, the upscale equivalent of Italy’s popular family chain.
why? I assure you, I did not intend to cause her type 2 diabetes. But while many people turn to chain restaurants for the best value for their money, do they really offer the best value?
High-end restaurants often offer fixed-price set menu lunches on weekdays. This helps spread the word about the restaurant’s cuisine and trains staff for more intensive dinner service. So at Leroy he had a 3 course set menu lunch. I then checked to see how much it would cost at £35 at Prezzo.
So which one offers the best value for money? Are gourmet restaurants formal, pretentious and boring? Need a nap after your meal? (Spoiler: Yes.) Read more…
leroy
Those expecting the starched white linens and reverent, solemn atmosphere of a fine-dining restaurant may be surprised by LeRoy. With hardwood floors, smoky jazz, and natural light, it’s like a George Clooney restaurant that’s so aware of its assets that it doesn’t need to flaunt it. Easy confidence. It doesn’t ask anything of you, just that you have a good time.
The menu changes weekly and is not automatically overridden. Extraneous adjectives and ambiguous farm names are not displayed. There are no collected groceries, disassembled dishes, or modern bubbles. In short, nothing too much.
The waiters are friendly, unobtrusive, knowledgeable and helpful when I have questions. When I’m alone and want to grumble contentedly over my cooking, it blends into the kitchen like a benign ghost.
I inhaled a starter of wood-roasted winter vegetables, roasted garlic and hazelnuts. Tender, sweet, and savory vegetables (which are great produce) are perfectly balanced with the satisfying crunch of hazelnuts. The knuckle-tingling sound of the raw garlic in the dressing was particularly pungent, leaving a pleasant burn in my throat like a dram of good whisky. I kept telling myself to slow down.
The main dish was veal and chicken liver choux farsi served with mashed potatoes. Yes, choufalci is French. Please let it go. As the waiter kindly explained, it just means stuffed cabbage.
It wasn’t a spectator. Indeed, the thick dumplings, with the distinct veins of a cabbage leaf, looked a little like a bull’s testicles. But something was missing in appearance, Lord! Did the taste make up for it? Buttery mashed spuds (the kind I wish my mom had made) smoothed out iron-rich cubes of veal and chicken and nestled happily into the tangy tang of oil-soaked spinach.
There were no elements that overpowered the others, and it felt like they were in perfect harmony. Yes, veal is an ethically questionable ingredient. Yes, chicken liver is a horrible 70’s food. But a bold order and Leroy’s trust in the chef paid off. I wasn’t eating food as a punishment. It wasn’t a fancy dish meant to be a “challenge”. This was what I call “bedroom dining.” The food is so delicious that I hear low moans and delicate sighs, as if sensing my feelings.
Dessert: Gooey, fluffy donuts tinged with pearl-pink rhubarb and filled with custard. At this point I had to put down the spoon (it didn’t work to pierce the syrup-soaked skin) and tear the pudding apart by hand. My lips, fingers, and cheeks became sticky. The giddy, childlike Sugar plunges into an elegant and relaxing moment.
I was completely full but had no bile. What a meal!
Strong Points
Creative yet simple food, knowledgeable staff, surprisingly good wine, and a great atmosphere.
Cons
The wine was expensive (£11.50 for 125ml of white wine) and there were only two choices per course.
Star rating: 4/5.
Fee: 3 course set menu £35 / 2 125ml glasses of wine £24.50 / tip £8.
Total food cost: £43.50.
Visit www.leroyshoreditch.com.
Prezzo
Prezzo at Brighton Marina is cavernous. As I sat in the booth, I noticed that the leather seats were scuffed and weathered. This was not a place where appearance mattered much. it doesn’t matter. The focus was on the food.
This is clearly a multi-generational restaurant. There’s nothing alarming here, and there’s something to please every palate, if not exactly impress. Pasta, pizza, hamburgers, and lots of desserts. The menu items are reassuringly familiar, including some Italian words.
Do you adore choice? Thank you very much for your help. At Leroy there were 2 options per course, whereas at Prezzo there were 34 main courses.
My waitress was a lovely lady. She asked which white wine was the driest. A big smile. ‘I don’t know! ‘ no problem. What I ordered was a small bucket of bitterly chilled gabi. It was reassuringly inconspicuous. By the end of the meal, I was satisfied with how much I poured.
Don’t get me wrong. I really liked the waitress. I’m not mocking her. It was a real contrast. There was a lack of evident food and beverage training for Leroy’s staff who could have written a thesis on the weekly changing menu. Prezzo’s menu is fixed. You can see that it is made of wipeable plastic.
First, I tried the pumpkin and mozzarella cheese arancini. The four of us arrived, swaying on a moat of truffle mayonnaise. Arancini often makes a lumpy sound, but it evoked an optimistic impression of how light it was.
The taste was certainly cloudy, but the deep-fried mushy taste was very comforting. I couldn’t taste the truffle in the mayonnaise, but the lemon flavor was very nice. So far, so good. Is it worth the £9.25 price tag? Not really on second thought, but I had a great time snorting them and drinking wine.
For my main dish, I chose spinach and ricotta cannelloni. A pile of warm, fresh pasta, cheese, and sauce seems to be rejuvenating. Oh, it was piping hot. That’s where the superlatives ended.
I’m not a snob, but my main issue here is that I was able to make that dish. Actually I could have made it better. The tomato sauce was thick, like a jar of supermarket passata, and homogeneous in its anonymity.
It wasn’t bad, but we were back in warm mush territory – the realm of children’s food. I ate most of it and felt very full, wondering why a restaurant operating on a large scale would charge £17.95 for a meal that was a hair better than the restaurant I ate at in the movie.
I had high expectations for the pudding. Sicilian lemon meringue pie is a desert island dessert. The meringue rocked as expected. The rich egg whites were stirred to form a comically large peak. The toothsomely sweet, slightly moist, granular meringue disappointed me, but it didn’t lack for grandeur. Props, though, to the awesome card and the pastry shell that dazzles the judges with its waxed rhapsody of “Bake Off.”
I once lived with four teenage boys. We know how important portions are to many people. I’m not turning my nose up at the concept of providing rich food, which is theoretically what you would get from a prezzo.
But when it comes to value for money, it really isn’t. Prezzo’s only truly unique selling point was that it was outside the home. We raided Marks and Spencer’s ‘Best of All Time’ range so there was nothing we couldn’t eat at home.
Strong Points
Generous portions, lots of options, and authentic, friendly staff.
Cons
Average food comes with a hefty price tag. It’s a great idea to be able to satisfy the whole family, but not when you have to refinance your home to feed your kids spag bol.
Star rating: 2.5/5.
Fee: Starter £9.25 / Main £17.95 / Dessert £8.50 / 250ml wine £12.25 / Tip £4.59.
Total food costs: £40.29.