The Arbuturian, July 2010 - 'Our Editor went to meet the forefather of Britain's most important food movement to date'. For full interview please click here.
The Arbuturian, Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill review, July 2010 - 'A pure and natural food environement indeed, go there immediately'. For full review, please click here.
Richard Corrigan serves up a treat for Hollywood stars February 2010
Samuel L Jackson and Dionne Warwick in Bentley’s Dublin
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DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS: A BLOW OUT AT BENTLEY’S
November 2009
On Monday, the evening of the latest DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS, someone asked me why we organise these increasingly popular suppers.
I had to think for a moment, but in the end suggested that, in these days when every new restaurant has to come with a concept (think pop-up, think underground, think nuevo tapas) that it comes as a blessed relief just to sit down for a great meal with lots of interesting people with no other agenda than to have a bloody good time.
Judging by the e-mails, Facebook messages and Twitter DM’s I received from the more well mannered of our guests after Monday’s event, I think it is fair to say that everybody who attended the latest DINE WITH DOS HERMANOS had a very good time indeed. This is primarily thanks to the good folks of Bentley’s, Richard Corrigan’s excellent seafood restaurant on Swallow Street.
Head chef, Brendan Fyles, had taken the opportunity to go well above and beyond the call of duty and far exceeded my expectations for the £40 a head budget I set him, providing a meal which showed just how good a restaurant Bentley’s is.
The meal began, as people arrived, with freshly shucked oysters served with Porterhouse Oyster Stout. These were accompanied by two superb canapes of Foie Gras with Apple Chutney and Deep Fried Chilli Shrimp. By the time we actually went to table, people were already nodding approvingly and continued their happy murmurs as the first course arrived.
HP and I like to make DWDH an famly style affair. It is easier on the kitchens and it promotes interaction, so important when we make sure that there are always a large number of new people at each event. So, when huge plates were placed on the table each carrying Sally Barnes smoked salmon,smoked tuna, smoked eel, smoked mackerel, soda bread, blinis and potted shrimp, the sight of everybody tucking in with gusto and passing the plates around was particularly pleasing.
Even more pleasing was yet another act of generosity on the apart of Head Chef, Brendan when he sent out plates of smoked herring roe on toast, coated with a silky bernaise sauce. Stunning.
A similar "wow" factor was gained by the arrival the two main courses. The first, a fish pie showed just how wonderful such a classic British dish can be when made well. Plumped out with haddock, scallops, salmon and prawns, it was layered with a bechamel sauce flavoured with the skins of smoked haddock and topped with a thick, buttery mashed potato. Just as delicious were large bowls of beef cheeks cooked down in more of the oyster stout. Astonishingly tender, they were probably my dish of the night.
It was a close call, however as no sooner had our main course plates been cleared than dessert arrived in the form of trays of rich sticky toffee pudding, served with jars of Roddas Clotted Cream and a thick toffee sauce.
I was having a dry night as I had to drive to the airport. Everyone else was very appreciative of the wines supplied by Nepenthe and Wines Unearthed, which were explained to everyone by the splendid Robert Macintosh.
At the end of the evening, Mr Corrigan made an appearance, to everybody’s delight. But, more importantly so did Brendan to receive the round of applause his skills and generosity so richly deserved. An added round of applause went to events manager, Jane Sturgess, restaurant manager, King and his whole serving team who were faultless.
As people left, they stopped to collect the now legendary DWDH goody bags and a huge vote of thanks has to go out to Mathilde Delville who sourced the amazing contents of this event’s offering. If you are wondering why the photographs on this post are a notch above our usual blurry DH snaps, they too are the result of her efforts
Each time we hold an event people tell me that it has been even better than the last. I don’t know about that, they have all been fun for me. I am merely appreciative that so many wonderful chefs and restaurant staff have been so generous in supporting the single Dos Hermanos aim of helping Britain learn how to feast again. Long may it continue.
Simon Majumdar
National Restaurant Awards 2009/2010
Richard Corrigan was honoured to collect his award for the highest new entry in the National Restaurant Awards 2009/2010. Corrigan’s Mayfair entered the list at No.5, Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill was No.55.
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Shuck and awe
By Zoe Strimpel, City AM, 1st October 2009
With oyster season in full swing, Zoe Strimpel chooses seven great places to get your fix of the little beauties.
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THERE IS SUCH A THING AS A FREE LUNCH
Telegraph Magazine (the Daily Telegraph), 22nd August 2009
With a week and a half still to go before school starts again, you're probably wondering, 'What now?' You could take the problem to Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill, which is offering a 'kids eat free' deal until Friday under the London Kids Week scheme.
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Top five places to watch Wimbledon (other than Wimbledon)
Esquire.co.uk, June 2009
Swallow Street in W1 is home to two of Esquire's favourite restaurants (and not just because they're spitting distance from the office) - Bentley's Oyster Bar and Gaucho.
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Richard Corrigan: Return of the prodigal
By Rose Prince, Telegraph.co.uk, 27th February 2009
Richard Corrigan blows into Bentley's Townhouse in Dublin at Breakfast time like a refreshing blast of winter wind. He arrived the night before from London, exhausted, on a quick visit to his oyster bar and grill, which opened in July last year. 'I have been in the kitchen in Corrigan's since it opened in November,' Corrigan says meaning his new restaurant in Mayfair. 'Here in Bentley's they have the smallest kitchen - its amazing what they do - but there the kitchen was built for Nico Ladenis, a three-Michelin-star chef. What do you think a three-star chef's Mayfair kitchen is like? Its enormous! Its bigger than the restaurant - we are walking miles!' He pats a noticeably fitter stomach and orders scrambled eggs.
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Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
By Carla Bevan, Marie Claire, January 2009
Forget teh credit crunch and dine in style at one of London's best oyster bars.
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Time Out Eating & Drinking
Guide 2009 Four Stars ****
London certainly knows how to revitalise and reinvent its historic fish restaurants.. Ever since Irish-born Richard Corrigan and his partners took over this 92-year-old veteran a couple of years ago, Bentley’s has been one of the capital’s most charming and consistent performers. While the first-floor dining rooms are more sedate and well-mannered, the downstairs oyster bar is where the action is – and where there’s a good chance the ebullient Corrigan himself will be holding forth. The menu crawls all over the place like a mad crab, from the traditional (huge fish and chips, old-fashioned fish pie and a richly endowed shellfish cocktail with pink marie-rose sauce) to the modern (meaty stone-bass fillet with chanterelles, and an inventive steamed Cornish fish with Thai flavours). Best spot is a bar-side stool to watch the oyster-openers shuck and flip like sleight-of-hand magicians. Yes, it’s expensive here, but you can’t help feeling that your boat has come in.
Delicious Magazine
October 2008
by Douglas Blyde
The ‘Glorious Twelth’ (of August) marks the first day of the shooting season for red grouse, the pin-up of the Scotch industry. I have often wondered whether these warbling birds with red-eyebrows and black tails might be more fun to shoot then eat.
After consulting game aficionados, I booked the legendary ‘Bentley’s Grill’ off Regent Street. My father accompanied. Having frequented the venue some 25 years earlier when it was “rather down at heel” he was delighted to note it was shabby no longer. In a heroic move in 2005, Richard Corrigan, Celtic tiger and devotee of ‘evangelical ingredientism’ purchased the clubby pile, instantly instigating a top to toe refurbishment. This labour of love by the Michelin starred-chef was motivated by his toil there over a decade before.
Whilst we sipped Champagne at the marble counter of the piano bar, the restaurant manager recounted stories of his shooting trips north of the border. An intriguing insight into bird psychology. Snipe are trusting and fly erratically. Male woodcocks croak then squeak during courting. Teal are even more audible. And grouse soar into the sky when disturbed, with dramatic, whirring wing beats. Looking towards a cabinet containing assorted stuffed seagulls, he mentioned that a table of trans-Atlantic cousins had asked: “Are they grouse?” the previous evening.
Flutes finished, we ventured up to the Grill and into the Edwardian era. William Morris fabric insulates the walls. Studded leather chairs meet an expanse of linen. A still life of a lobster, crab and enormous copper pot dominates, joined by anatomical fish studies. Little light fittings, which look like antlers, punctuate.
Little espresso cups of Game, Truffle and Chestnut Soup, like liquefied Stroganoff, were nurturing and earthy; a dense tile of game terrine followed, served with a hardcore chutney of ‘mustard fruits’ and a buoyant, arctic raspberry scented Pinot Noir. Game and red Burgundy is a classic match. Each element seldom overpowers. Our version came from further afield, however. Whilst more commonly known as ‘Middle Earth’ since that tedious trilogy of films occurred there, New Zealand’s Central Otago region features the world’s most southerly vineyards. For me, though, the wines seem like caricatures.
It was by now time for the grouse, nimbly carved at table. A surprisingly small bird when plucked, it yielded an intense aroma. Imagine a gentleman’s club: cigar smoke trails twirling amidst decanters of mature claret and polished panelling. It was sealed on the outside with a pinkish, moist, remarkably tender texture within. The skewered livers, served separately, had an unadulterated earthiness. Shredded cabbage and bacon temporarily toned this down. A lustrous reduction coated. Overall it was so intensely compelling that I wish I had asked to keep the carcass to gnaw away the final scraps. An angular, elegant and refreshing ’05 Chianti accompanied, tasting of bitter cherries, cedar and cold mash.
A wide brimmed, chilled trifle was perfectly layered, from reservoir of crunchy fruits to pistachio dusted, creamy top. Alongside, a sweet Riesling added the taste of ripe currants and a cleansing acidity. Immaculate macchiatos followed.
By now the dining room was almost empty. On a trip to the old school loos, complete with marble splash backs, I almost became wedged between the door and a gent’s tummy. Judging by his admirable bulk, I imagined him to be a Bentley’s habitué. For an instant I glimpsed a future vision of myself….
The View London Review *****
October 2007
Liz East
Quite simply, Bentley's is classy, magnificent and totally worth every penny.
March 2007
by Toby Young
Let me begin by saying I’m a huge fan of Richard Corrigan, the barrel-chested Irishman who owns Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill. Last week, another Irish chef--Kevin Thornton--took him to task for participating in the BBC’s Great British Menu series in which various chefs competed for the chance to cook for the Queen on her 80th birthday--but it would take more than a bit of forelock-tugging to turn Corrigan into an honorary Englishman. He’s a one-man Celtic Tiger.
If anything needed an injection of convivial Irish charm, it was Bentley’s. Founded in 1916, it used to enjoy a similar reputation to Scott’s as one of London’s premier fish restaurants, but by the time Corrigan took over in 2005 it was teetering on the brink. Acquiring the lease was a moment of triumph for him because he’d worked in the kitchen of Bentley’s 12 years earlier. In the interim, he’d honed his skills at Lindsay House, winning a Michelin star in the process, and opened a bar and restaurant at the top of the Gherkin. He was just the man to restore Bentley’s to its former glory.
To a very great extent, Corrigan has succeeded. Bentley’s is located in Swallow Street, just off Piccadilly and has a bucolic, Hogarthian atmosphere that makes every trip to the restaurant enjoyable.
Decanter April 2006
- 'True Hospitality'
- 'What was most impressive was the judgement of flavours, superb ingredients and mostly perfect execution
- Wine list: **** Four Stars (out of five)
'Financial Times' Nicholas Lander January 2006
- 'New pearl in an old shell'
'Independent on Sunday' Terry Durrack December 2005
- 'Capable of Greatness'
- 'the wine list is a multi-faceted joy'
'The Times' AA Gill December 2005
- 'Mother-of -Pearl'
- Five Stars ***** (out of Five)
'Metro' Marina O'Loughlin December 2005
- 'The boy done good'
- Four Stars **** (out of five)
’Evening Standard’ Fay Mashler November 2005
- ’Excellent’ **** Four Stars (out of five)
- ’Plain Grilled Dover Sole beautifully trimmed -a fish on a dish- was perfection’
