Rhodes Twenty Four was a Michelin-starred restaurant located in the City of London. Run by celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, the restaurant was located on the 24th floor of Tower 42, formerly known as the Natwest Tower and operated between 2003 and 2014.

Description

Rhodes Twenty Four opened in 2003, following the closure of restaurants ''City Rhodes'' and ''Rhodes in the Square'' the previous year. Located on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in a location formerly used by Roux Fine Dining, it served

modern British cuisine British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine meant "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavou ...

described in its initial press release as "Very British Fayre". Chef Gary Rhodes was introduced into the space by Albert Roux, who put him in touch with the company looking to revamp the former Restaurant Twentyfour. The original agreement was to take over the restaurant, private dining rooms and bar for an initial five years. The restaurant was funded by Restaurant Associates, and fronted by Rhodes using the chef's signature dishes (including his bread and butter pudding and jaffa cake dessert). Rhodes described his hopes for the restaurant on launch: "If we never get a Michelin star here, I will be very disappointed, but what I really want is customers." It won a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

in 2005, which it retained until it closed as one of two Michelin starred restaurants for Gary Rhodes in London.

Reception

Fay Maschler reviewed the restaurant on the second day after opening in November 2003, giving four out five stars whilst describing the meal as good hearty food. Rick Stein, who happened to be dining with the critic, described a potted

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

and

gooseberry Gooseberry ( or (American and northern British) or (southern British)) is a common name for many species of ''Ribes'' (which also includes currants), as well as a large number of plants of similar appearance. The berries of those in the genu ...

jelly dish as "quite nice stuff". Marina O'Loughlin, writing for the '' Metro'' in the same month, also gave four out of five stars and said that the food gave "superior comfort food with a view". Giles Coren reviewed Rhodes Twenty Four in December 2003 for '' The Times''. He found a great deal of difficulty in booking a table, which was only alleviated after revealing himself as a restaurant critic. He described the menu as being "standard" for a Gary Rhodes restaurant, but said that it was "not in the class of Gary’s two recent closures", but "competent". He gave an overall score of six out of ten. A review in January 2004 in '' The Independent'' described the restaurant as being like a "

boardroom A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

", but praised the use of both suet and mutton on the menu, giving an overall score of thirteen out of twenty. The '' Evening Standard'' conducted a second review in 2005, with Toby Young visiting the restaurant. He gave it two stars out of five, describing the food as "OK, but nothing special" and criticising the restaurant for only serving locally-grown, in-season produce. Mark Bolland reviewed it again for the ''Evening Standard'' in April 2008, describing it as being much like an airport terminal but said that the menu was imaginative and featured the expected Rhodes twists, but found that the service was slow and robotic; giving the restaurant three out of five stars. As of 1 May 2014, the site is occupied by City Social, a Jason Atherton and Restaurant Associates venture.

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in London Michelin Guide starred restaurants in London Defunct European restaurants in London Restaurants established in 2003 British cuisine Defunct Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United Kingdom