Michelin-starred chef Richard Neat: Diners come to judge us on TripAdvisor, not enjoy themselves

A Michelin-starred chef today railed at diners who only go to restaurants to “judge” them online.

Richard Neat, who helped kickstart London’s culinary revolution when he co-founded Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia in 1991, has returned to the capital this week for the first time in 20 years to cook at the celebrity haunt. The restaurant, in Charlotte Street, won two Michelin stars in its first four years and its clientele has included Robert De Niro, Tony Blair and Brad Pitt.

Neat, 51, went on to open restaurants around the world and now runs the Park Café, an exclusive 16-cover venue in Costa Rica. He said: “The restaurant business has changed since the early Nineties as far as customers are concerned. Where have we gone wrong?

“Now we have people coming into restaurants to pass judgment and not to enjoy themselves. Nobody goes out to enjoy themselves any more.

“People want to pass judgment on their night out and then go running off to TripAdvisor and get it on the internet, rather than living in the moment and going out to enjoy a meal.”

Neat, who grew up in Surrey, trained under Raymond Blanc and Joel Robuchon before becoming Marco Pierre White’s head chef and then launching Pied à Terre.

He has come back to the restaurant for six days to celebrate its 25th birthday by recreating his signature lunch and dinner menus — and already has critics, celebrities and industry legends such as Blanc, 66, booked in. Neat said: “I’m excited and happy to be back at Pied à Terre after so long. When we opened Pied there was a big noise, it created a big splash. In terms of ambition I was always very ambitious but it was always to practise gastronomy rather than commercial objectives.

“At the Park Café in Costa Rica we serve just 16 people in one sitting, and I am privileged to be able to serve a small number of people like that.”

Pied à Terre’s owner David Moore said: “Richard was one of the greatest talents to come out of this country, part of the new genre of chefs that super-charged British dining. If you’re serious about food, then this has to be on your list of things to experience.”

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