Food Restaurant 'dine at home' boxes

I’ve been trying a few delivered meals in London. Some things work better than others. Given the constraints, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice selection of fish from Hannah for lunch yesterday, a restaurant I haven’t visited but was listed on the Michelin website as doing home delivery. It would have been even better if fresh wasabi was used ... something that can be corrected at home next time if I am prepared.

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Mailer from Tommy Banks just in about their 'Signature' box at £135 that "includes a matched wine". There is loving, ingredient by ingredient description of the food, but not a single word of more detail on the wine. I guess it shows how little importance some restaurants place on wine (other than how much profit it brings in), though it's possible most of Tommy Banks customers won't be bothered with that detail either...
 
St John box has just arrived.

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It looks brilliant but I have 2 gripes:

1. There are 3 bones for the bone marrow on toast starter. Not easy to share when it is meant for 2 people

2. Although there is a fair sized chunk of cheese, you only get 1 Eccles cake between 2 people, which just seems a bit stingy.

To be clear, the main course looks substantial and overall I am sure there will be more than enough to eat, but on first impression it feels a little mean.
 
Having had it several times over the years at St John, surely the one eccles cake is a mistake :( I'm certain it's a whole cake per person normally. Sound good otherwise.
 
Richard Ward said:
St John box has just arrived.

View attachment 17506

It looks brilliant but I have 2 gripes:

1. There are 3 bones for the bone marrow on toast starter. Not easy to share when it is meant for 2 people

2. Although there is a fair sized chunk of cheese, you only get 1 Eccles cake between 2 people, which just seems a bit stingy.

To be clear, the main course looks substantial and overall I am sure there will be more than enough to eat, but on first impression it feels a little mean.
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That does seem a bit stingy. I have this coming next week so will report back if I get a more generous portion.
 
I've actually just sent an email off to dishpatch, saying that I'm left feeling a bit cheated by the contents of the box and explaining why - given what they serve in the restaurant, this is a bone marrow starter to share, a duck main each and the Eccles cake to share. At £75 it is the same price it would cost for the same dishes in the actual restaurant and it just feels stingy. We've probably had 15-20 boxes in total from around 10 different restaurants and it's the first time I've felt hard done to.

Particularly disappointing given that I absolutely LOVE St John.
 
Ottolenghi Master Stock Chicken lined up for tonight. Eager to try!

Arabica arriving Tuesday and St John Friday. Hope they address that Eccles cake issue Richard!
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Richard Ward said:
I've actually just sent an email off to dishpatch, saying that I'm left feeling a bit cheated by the contents of the box and explaining why - given what they serve in the restaurant, this is a bone marrow starter to share, a duck main each and the Eccles cake to share. At £75 it is the same price it would cost for the same dishes in the actual restaurant and it just feels stingy. We've probably had 15-20 boxes in total from around 10 different restaurants and it's the first time I've felt hard done to.

Particularly disappointing given that I absolutely LOVE St John.
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St Johngate is go! Looking forward to the answer.
 
Richard Ward said:
I've actually just sent an email off to dishpatch, saying that I'm left feeling a bit cheated by the contents of the box and explaining why - given what they serve in the restaurant, this is a bone marrow starter to share, a duck main each and the Eccles cake to share. At £75 it is the same price it would cost for the same dishes in the actual restaurant and it just feels stingy. We've probably had 15-20 boxes in total from around 10 different restaurants and it's the first time I've felt hard done to.

Particularly disappointing given that I absolutely LOVE St John.
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....... doesn’t look as though they could be bothered to peel the carrots either. :rolleyes:
 
Going to participate in a distanced/Zoom meal to celebrate a birthday. The aim will be for the two households to eat the same meal & the same/similar wines. I have deleted St John & Tommy Banks from the long list. Now to plough through the other 29 pages of this thread. Suggestions welcome. And no, I am not willing to pay the price for Core.
 
A couple of pics of the St John meal:

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It really was absolutely delicious. I mean seriously good - there can be few chefs who understand flavour in the way Fergus Henderson does - the aioli was the best I've ever tasted, the carrots were the carrotiest carrots, the use of vinaigrette, capers etc to offset, yet highlight, the meaty richness of bone marrow... he extracts every possible ounce of flavour from every ingredient. And the dishes were identical to how they are in the restaurant.

The Eccles cake stinginess has p-ed me off though. I hate things that appear miserly. Ffs, they could charge an extra £10 and give you 1 more bone (2 each rather than 3 between 2) and another Eccles cake. I'd be perfectly happy to pay a little more if needed.

In the end, Vicki said she was too full for pastry, so (other than a taste) I scoffed the whole thing.

As for whether I'd order again, I'm genuinely torn. I'm interested to see if I get a response from Dishpatch and what they say.
 
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Mark Carrington said:
Going to participate in a distanced/Zoom meal to celebrate a birthday. The aim will be for the two households to eat the same meal & the same/similar wines. I have deleted St John & Tommy Banks from the long list. Now to plough through the other 29 pages of this thread. Suggestions welcome. And no, I am not willing to pay the price for Core.
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Based on the ones we've had...

If you want something smart, I'd say Antona at Home, Lima or The Angel Hetton.

If you prefer something more casual/comforting, Arabica or Cafe Murano. Or St John if you don't mind fighting over dessert!

If you want a feast/sharing style meal, Arabica again, Gymkhana or Aktar at Home
 
Nick Amis said:
We had it last weekend. I decanted the liquid into a tupperware and froze it, but rather than being able to scrape it with a spoon it was solid as a rock, and I ended up stabbing myself with the knife I was using to scrape it out - worst cooking accident I've ever had. Beware!
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Hi Nick
we used a spoon to scrape the ginger snow. Like you, put the liquid in a Tupperware. Sorry to hear about your accident. We really enjoyed the dessert
 
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