Critics give Ramsay’s New York eaterie a right roasting

GORDON Ramsay’s first New York restaurant has taken a battering from food critics.

The celebrity chef’s American debut drew criticism from several writers in the city, who complained of “overcooked” sea scallops and branded lobster ravioli “leathery” and “rubbery”.

A mushroom risotto was called a “distinct disappointment” and one reviewer hit out at the “pitiful” lighting at Gordon Ramsay at The London.

New York Magazine’s Gael Green was the toughest critic, writing just days after the €4.5 million venture’s opening late last year.

“The chef’s signature feint, a luscious smoky froth with white beans, has us sighing, but most everything else is a work-in-progress,” he sniped. “Sea scallops, slivered, then overcooked, suggest someone hasn’t a clue what great chefs here do with diver scallops.

“We are shocked by a leathery lobster ravioli and an unseemly marriage of langoustine tails and maple-infused chicken (not to mention the bill).”

Paul Adams of the New York Sun also had problems with the lobster ravioli: “A creamy fennel sauce amplified the delicate shellfish flavour magnificently, but the sweet meat had that rubbery chew that signals overcooking.”

Alan Richman, Bloomberg News reviewer, said his three meals had been “satisfying, comforting, beautifully presented and fairly priced” but called the corn-fed chicken “terribly disappointing”.

Ramsay, 40, will still be waiting nervously for the New York Times’s Frank Bruni to give his verdict.

The writer’s rating of between zero and four stars is said to be able to make or break an eaterie.

Mr Bruni visits a restaurant four or five times before reviewing it.

When Ramsay’s plans for a Manhattan restaurant were revealed in 2005, he said: “It’s the burning ambition of every top chef in the world to succeed in New York.”

A spokeswoman for the usually outspoken Ramsey said the chef was unavailable for comment.