Test Driving Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, the high-rise 12-seater restaurant clearly deserves its Michelin star

The room at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, seating just 12 diners.

So what exactly is Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High?

If you've watched Ramsay's recent Netflix show (and it seems that quite a lot of people did), you'll know that this is one of his restaurants at the top of the 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper in the City (along with Lucky Cat and the upcoming Bread Street Kitchen). It's essentially a high-rise version of the chef's flagship restaurant, the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. There's one big thing that sets it aside from the original, though (other than the view), it seats only 12 people. 

Where is it?

You'll find it right at the top of 22 Bishopsgate. There's a specific entrance for the restaurants which is separate to the main 22 Bishopsgate entrance, so be aware of that.

This is probably the one key thing that needs a little attention in the whole endeavour. When you're up on the 60th floor, the experience is great, but it's a bit lacking on the ground floor, particularly when you're waiting for the lift, and when leaving. Ramsay needs to bring a little showmanship to both areas, we thought - both in setting that first impression and a proper farewell.

Once you're upstairs, if you're going to High, you'll be met at the lift and led to a "secret" door away from the main reception that takes you right to the restaurant. 

That's 22 Bishopsgate in the middle. If you squint, you can see High right up at the top left of the building. 

And what's the set-up there?

Think of it as a chef's table experience like no other. As you can see from the photo at the top of the page, the 12-seater table looks out at the, frankly fantastic, view with Tower Bridge and the Tower of London the most prominent of London's sightseeing attractions and with Canary Wharf and the O2 in the distance. The kitchen counter is behind you and while you can turn around to watch much of the prep work, the food is all served in front of you, with the chefs showcasing the odd elements:

Head chef James Goodyear in the background, taking us through the duck dish (see below)

Given that there are only 12 of you, it's inevitable that you will start talking to the people around you and that gives it a dinner party vibe, albeit a very high-end one, particularly by the end of the meal. 

But Gordon isn't the one cooking? 

No, Gordon hasn't been properly in the kitchen of his restaurant for a while. Instead, he's focusing on overseeing them all, across the world.

In charge of things here is Chef James Goodyear. Quite often at this level, you'll see chefs move on from the original Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to take on places like this (like Matt Abé did with Bonheur), but this time Ramsay brought James Goodyear in specifically to run this. Previously, he'd been at places like Mugaritz and Maaemo, but in London his most prominent job was two years at Evelyn's Table, where he helped retain their Michelin star. 

This really doesn't quite get across just how impressive the view looks in person. 

So what about the food?

We're in fine dining tasting menu territory here. Bits and pieces of the menu will change with the season, but it's clear that they've already established some signatures. There are seven main dishes, plus bread, petit fours and a very strong canapes/snacks section to kick everything off. Price-wise, you're looking at £250 a head up here. So it's very much a premium dining experience, but with so few seats, that price is understandable.  

Here's a run-through of some of the highlights of our meal:

Things start off with meticulously created snacks. These are a gougere with Tumworth cheese and Iberico ham, and a tartlet with crab, caramelised cream and grapefruit. 

More from the snacks section - another tartlet, this time with aged beef, sesame and buckwheat.

The bread is an excellent sage and onion Parker House roll. We also really coveted the amazing-looking cutlery up here (those patterns continue all the way up the knife edge).

Lobster ravioli with langoustine, salmon and yuzu - an updated version of one of the signature dish from the original Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

Cornish brill with white asparagus, citrus and young garlic, showcasing some of the beautiful presentation. 

This is a Sladestown Farm duck with morel, grape and pine nut XO. The whole cooked duck is presented for show, before being plated up.

After desserts, things finish off with petits fours, including a wonderful passion fruit and sauternes tart at the back. This is the time to sit back for a final gawp at the view down below. 

Overall thoughts

If you watched the show, you'll know the effort that went into this whole operation (although it did seem that High was the part that went the most smoothly). Gordon Ramsay, together with James Goodyear, has delivered an experience like no other in London. It's a fantastic (and deservedly Michelin-starred) restaurant with a spectacular view. Given the exclusivity that only 12 seats brings, it doesn't come cheap, but it really does deliver a great night out.