So what’s changed since the Petrus name got taken back by the Gordon Ramsay Group and Marcus Wareing took over the reins under his own name? Not a lot, according to the Sommelier, who has been there for several years and said that the staff are pretty much the same as before. The decor certainly hasn’t changed and the style & quality of cooking hasn’t either. So why was I less impressed than I was when I visited Petrus 15 months ago?

I have to admit that my nose was put a little out of joint pretty early on, when I was refused the request to take pictures of the food. It wasn’t a problem the last time (when I asked, rather than taking pics anyway, like I usually do) and when I asked ‘Why not?’ was answered ‘The chef doesn’t like it’, which smacked of an answer just made up on the spot. I didn’t push the matter considering this was a birthday treat for Ms R and to be quite honest, my photos don’t always reflect how well the food is put together, so I thought it best to let things lie, despite not being entirely happy to do so.

A trio of Amuse Bouches perked me up, consisting of foie gras in a wafer sandwich with a sprinkling of purple spice that may have been Sumac, a lobster tartlet and a smoked tomato dip. All of these were lovely, although the smoked tomato dip had such an intense flavour it was barely recognisable as tomato and was a bit much for Ms R.

Then another Amuse Bouche which I’m not quite sure how to name; post Amuse Bouche/pre-starter Amuse Bouche perhaps? Or perhaps not.  Anyway, this miscellaneous course was a heady Mushroom Veloute with a Cappucino foam, umami rich but not overpoweringly so.

As a starter (after all the Amuse Bouches), I’d ordered the Tuna Ballotine with spiced pineapple & cardomom, which was a little underwhelming, although I think that’s partly to do with the fact that I’m becoming a bit underwhelmed by tuna in general. I think there’s probably only so much you can do with it and probably the best tuna dishes I’ve had are sashimi ones, looking back. Ms R’s Scottish Lobster with Dorset Crab and charred young leeks was a more elegant dish, but at a £12 supplement to a £75 menu, anything less than elegant would have been a bit of a cheek.

Ms R again won out with the main courses, her Dover Sole with Sweet Peas and Brown Shrimps outclassing my Salt Marsh Lamb with Fennel & Caramelised Shallots. Despite both mains being very good, I wasn’t blown away by them, as I had been with the main courses last time, which was a little disappointing, although perhaps unfairly so.

The pre-dessert course perhaps lay down where Marcus Wareing’s wow factor lies, as the vodka and lychee sorbet on a lemon cream with passionfruit jelly was outstanding. I’m not the biggest fan of vodka, but the double refreshment of the sorbet with the rich cream sandwiched in between was a real delight.  The desserts went on to raise the bar even higher. Ms R’s Peanut Parfait with Chocolate Mousse and Salted Caramel Jelly was a heavenly version of a Reese’s Piece, if it’s not heresy to suggest such a comparison, whilst my Granny Smith Apple Creme with Salted Caramel Ice-cream & Salted Toffee Popcorn gave an unseemly amount of pleasure with each mouthful.

At this point, I was quite happy to sup on the remnants of my Umathum Scheurebe dessert wine, but Ms R was getting rather agitated. “Last time they brought chocolates round on that trolley. Do you remember? Do you think they still do that? I was really looking forward to it and I bet they don’t do it anymore. Typical. The best part of the meal and they don’t do it anymore” at which point the bon-bon trolley arrived and all was well in the world.

So, to go back to the unanswered question. I’m still not entirely sure why I walked away from Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley less impressed than before. I guess there’s a bit of the old ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ coming into play and compared to my experience at Le Gavroche the previous week, there weren’t as many dishes that had the wow factor (and I know I’m not comparing apples to apples as I had the tasting menu at Le Gavroche but not here) but there were a couple of things that didn’t sit quite right. The first was the fobbing off in regards to not taking pictures. I had asked the last time and it wasn’t a problem then, so why now? I think the waiter wasn’t sure about the rules and as a safe bet, decided on the spot to say I wasn’t allowed, but the feeble excuse I was given felt like a lie, to me. I think the fobbing off is my real issue, as if it was clearly stated that photography is not allowed, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

In addition, I asked at the end for a copy of what we ate and was given a signed menu, which later on turned out not to be the same menu as the one we’d ordered from. Very similar dishes, but not the same. Whilst this again is only a minor issue, I kind of felt as though I was being fobbed off with what was probably an old menu that could not be re-used and was expected to be impressed that it was signed by Marcus Wareing. I know this sounds like I’m getting lost in my own self-importance, but I’m not. I’ve just never seen the point of autographs and all I wanted was an accurate record of what I’d eaten.

I think the devil sometimes is in the detail and when you’re spending a lot of money on a meal, you expect something special. That’s not to say I wouldn’t go back, but on this occasion, the je ne sais quoi just wasn’t quite there.