Morgan M

I dined at Morgan M last night and was not disappointed. Both of us opted for the Spring tasting menu, with wine pairings. Each dish, from the broad bean soup to the spring lamb was a triumph. The risotto was delicious too. Service was faultless without being OTT. In fact they were so attentive, they noticed that I had something wrong with my arm (no bandage on, and still can’t fathom how they noticed) but our waiter discreetly asked if I would like to have my lamb cut, which made things a lot easier for me.

Morgan M came out to greet all the diners mid service. He was friendly and genuinely interested to know how his food had gone down.

If you like chocolate, you’ll think you have died and gone to heaven come dessert, divine.

I can’t wait to go back…..
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

After wanting to dine at Morgan M for a long time, the occasion finally came on Friday night. The four of us opted for the tasting menus and, as our group consisted of two carnivores, a pescatarian and a vegetarian, we were pleased that we could select whichever tasting menu suited us best.

The first dish was for all of us; a mushroom beignet with pumpkin soup. It was deliciously light and creamy - a good option to begin. This was followed by hand-dived scallops, which were very nice and, again, very light. The next course was sea bass, which was quite enjoyable, but ultimately unmemorable in comparison to the other dishes. After this was a delicious venison dish, served with a bold, flavoursome hare ravioli. It was with the venison that I really felt the menu got into its stride.

Moving on to the sweeter dishes, next was rice pudding with prune, which had a pleasant strength of flavour . Finally, it was time for a pudding of chocolate. Served with Grand Marnier ice cream, the dish was visually stunning and enriched with orange flavours - including a small glass of fresh orange juice.

The food at Morgan M is certainly not cheap, but I felt that I had a good variety of dishes and flavours from the tasting menu. We accompanied our food with a decent bottle from a very extensive wine list - possibly too extensive, as selection was beyond me and choice had to be deferred to my friend.

Service at Morgan M is slick and professional, but ultimately lacking in warmth. Accusations of snootiness have been levelled at the waiting staff and, while I feel that may be a little harsh, I can understand why. It was probably the service which stopped the evening being as exceptional as I had hoped - given the expense of dining at Morgan M and the subsequent service charge being therefore very high, I think I would expect more for my money.

Another area for development at Morgan M is certainly the bathroom. The rest of the restaurant is decorated tastefully, but the lavatories really let the place down - an ill-fitting cubicle door, dubiously-chipped seat, dodgy locks... I was really unimpressed.

I expect I'll return to Morgan M at some point, as the food is really very good. However, I am not sure I quite got value for money from the experience - and there are many, many very good restaurants in London where I have felt that I have got excellent value for my money.
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dawnage - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Sunday, January 27, 2008

Went to Morgan M party of 4 13/12/2007 - this was our second visit. The food was absolutely outstanding - my wife and I are vegetarian and the set menu of 7 Veg courses was AMAZING - talk about being surprised and delighted it was just terrific, my friend had the Christmas menu with meat & fish which looked wonderful too - service was at tentative - the staff had fun and were efficient and polite we had a glass of champagne with peach coulis before dinner which was divine. The detail and beauty of the food was something really special - the only other place I have had such beautiful food was Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir. This is not 'just' French food it is modern global cookery that takes its influence from 4 corners of the world - yes its the essence of France in service etc but the food is much more than that.

Morgan M has the most subtle flavours that balance and combine so well - he is the Cyrano De Bergerac of London's Restaurants!! - this is a place for a special occasion and I think that some of the reviews below are unfair, we've been twice now in the last couple of months and it is always full which for this side of Islington says so much about his vision and had a simply wonderful time - trust him to surprise you! I also recommend taking the glass of wine with each course option - we did this the first time and it was perfect. I also really respect the fact that Morgan came out at the end of the night and was asking very humbly for feedback on his food and if we had enjoyed ourselves. We finished with a shared cheese plate and a cup of their special herbal tea and we left utterly delighted into the cold London night - Its not cheap but for what you get its great value, and what a great way to begin Christmas celebrations - BRAVO MORGAN ! and see you soon I really hope you get what you deserve for all your hard work and efforts.
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Shaun Hutchinson
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 14, 2007

Context:

I booked a table at Morgan M for my 25th birthday, 2 months in advance. I asked a few friends to join me on this special occasion.

What happened:

When we arrived, the pompous staff were condescending becaue I did not forewarn them about bringing my 3 month old baby. Bad form and nothing was mentioned on their website...

About the menu, to cut a long story short, as a group, we weren't given any choice in the menu, and despite our expressing reservations, and in some cases open but polite disagrement, we HAD to go for the 'Surprise menu', a 6-course menu which intends to accomodate everybody's taste, but which clearly doesn't...

The majority of the dishes were too sophisticated for the Chef's skills. The meal started with a Roquefort cheese mousse in a cold beetroot soup, adventurous at the very least... The second dish, by French standards a culinary heresy, cold game terrine with unfortunately toasted pain Poilane, lacked in finesse and was clearly not gourmet. The desserts however were good, although they were not served in the right order. The richest came last, and nobody could finish it, and both were "au chocolat".

As some of us are French, we chose our wines carefully, opting, inter alia, for safety with the red: a Pomerol, which turned out a bad choice as its bouquet was overwhelmed by the alcohol.

Total price: just under £80 per person, drinking moderately.

My advice:

Do not go there as a group, you will NOT be able to choose your menu. The compulsory 'Surprise menu' will have been decided, and already prepared if not cooked, before you arrive.

To conclude, dear Morgan, you are a good patissier (although Collignon beats you hands down). There are more than 200,000 French in London, many of which now have budgets to risk your cuisine, and who expect a bit more from a French 'gourmet' restaurant, including better trained staff.
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Thursday, November 15, 2007

I had heard and read a lot about Morgan M, mostly positive so we chose it for a family celebration. I was really disappointed. I don't blame the food. As reflected by most of your reviewers and certainly confirmed by almost everyone in our party, it was good, even very good. But the attitude and approach of the front-of-house staff lead by the Maitre d' was oh so stiff, formal, pompous and even arrogant. There was not a smile between them (at least not until late in the evening when they learnt that France had beaten New Zealand in the rugby world cup quarter finals). And I really do not need my choice of meal to be announced formally when it is delivered to the table. That's pretentious nonsense. A telling example of Morgan M's attitude is to leave the costly bottle of mineral water on the table but remove to behind the scenes the jug of tap water that sniffily they had deigned to supply. Last but not least this is the only restaurant that I have ever been to that refuses to serve lager or beer so if any readers like a beer before or with their meal do not choose Morgan M.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Monday, October 08, 2007

The food was over fussy and over-pureed for our taste. If you like your food to in some way resemble its original state then this isn't the place for you: if you like a jus, a puree, a sauce, a sorbet or a daub of something then book now. Too little texture and too little flavour in most of the dishes.

We found the service incredibably irritating: we know what we ordered because we read it on the menu and having a waiter interrupt our conversation to remind us was completely unnecessary, intrusive and unwelcome.

The atmosphere was ok once the restaurant filled up, as this diluted the over-fussy and intrusive presence of the staff.

We agree with a previous reviewer: Michelin-star wishing nonsense of a place.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, July 22, 2007

We went to Morgan M after a lengthy absence (more than a year). We were tentative as our previous experience had been mixed to say the least. A change of decor welcomed us into the restaurant, and chimed very well we thought. The previous decor looked a little dated and tired, colour scheme was a bit bland. A refreshed interior was a good move. Onto the food, the amuse bouche was excellent and boded well for the entree. The main course was equally well executed, and the charming waiting staff ensured that every aspect of the evening was perfect. I compared the quality of the lamb dish with only one other, that consumed at Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road, but for a humbler price. It was melt in your mouth stuff. The pre dessert was a lovely refreshing rice pudding accompanied by a raspberry coulis, very well orchestrated. I won't spoil the climax for you - divine dessert. Suffice to say, I can see why they ask you order at the head of the meal, as the tail will most certainly wag.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

I am quite confused about the reviews. Now, I don't mean to be contradictory but I really felt dissapointed after my meal at Morgan M.

Yes, it is probably the "finest" restaurant in that neck of the woods, not a hard task though.

What was good?

* The actual restaurant is ok, nice size, decor ok, nothing too pompous, not too many business suits due to its location.

* The wine list was good and some good middle range options.

* service was attentive, if you like your wine being served for you and your napkins twisted in the shape of a croissant every time you go somewhere (i.e toilet)- is there a need for that though?

What was bad?

* The food- it wasn't bad as such, just not very imaginative. Too many ingredients on the menu end up reflecting in a muddled up dish- Michelin star searching- all very well but Chez Bruce was able to do it with items on their menu such as Creme Brule, etc, so why does Morgan's have to over complicate it all?

* on the negative side of the service- too arrogant for my liking, just a bit too pretentious.

* The price-for the same amount (2 people £135) I would rather go to a few other high standard restaurants.

Anyhow, ,maybe it is me that is missing something.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I've been to Morgan M a few times since it opened and have always enjoyed the fine, reasonably priced French food on offer there. However it really seems to have stepped up a gear. On a recent visit I had a fantastic meal from their spring menu - each course faultless. Furthermore the room has been redecorated which seems to have improved the atmosphere. The service is friendly, but formal and the waiters offer sound advice on both food and wine. It's not cheap, but is good value and therefore is highly recommended
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Leo - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, April 19, 2007

They must be good if they can allow themselves to let a party of four wait for an hour for their food.

When asked about the whereabouts of our meals the waiter said that the chef had burned it and therefore it had to be cooked again.

All that wait and they didn’t even offer us a coffee on the house but were heavily insulted when we consequently didn’t leave the full 12% tip...not very professional.

I can't stand places that act as if they are doing you a favour for overcharging you. I'm not going back and wish everybody who does good luck.
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Hans
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, April 03, 2007