I've heard it said that hotels with restaurants can do one thing well. Our experience to date sort of proves that. Not that the food has been terrible, just average or slightly above.
Gonville Hotel
We ate at the Terrace restaurant on October 5. The restaurant has two Michelin rosettes (a sign it's on it's way to becoming great). The atmosphere is nothing special but it was pleasant inside. Dress code was “smart casual” but we saw folks in jeans and t-shirts here.
The Food:
- Scallops
- Lobster Ravioli in a lobster sauce
- Lamb chops
- Halibut with Scallop
- Cheese board
- Poached Pear
The Critique
Scallops were overcooked, both on my starter and on Fran's Halibut. Fran liked the Lobster. The lamb was fine but not particularly inspired and Fran felt the same way about the Halibut (though she liked the crispy coating on the outside). Cheese board was dull and not well presented. Fran loved the poached pear (it was tasty in the bite she shared with me). Wine parings were OK but honestly I did better than the wine steward at choosing parings. One thing about hotel restaurants is they generally don't have very knowledgeable wine folks.
Overall 6-7/10
The George Hotel
We at at the Oak Room on October 6. The restaurant has two AA rosettes (the linked text provides some explanation). The atmosphere was old wood and leather stodgy and a bit oppressive in my opinion. The dress code was jacket and slacks, I was initially slightly underdressed as the only patron that didn’t have a tie on. I have no problems with dress codes and, at times, like dressing up for dinner, but this added to the stodgy nature of the place.
The Food:
- Bread with burre noisette (burned butter that has a hazelnut flavor to it)
- Melon and ham (a British version of procuitto).
- Gazpacho
- Chicken
- Alesbury Duck (a heritage breed duck)
The Critique
Bread and butter were good but not great (we had a home made sourdough at Midsummer House that was hard to beat), Melon and gazpacho were fine. Melon, to my surprise, was ok given the time of year. Chicken was fine. Duck was tasty (I'd never had Alesbury duck before and I'm glad I tried it) but the preparation and presentation were just adequate.
Overall: 7/10
The conclusion
I think in both places the service was off. In the Terrace it was because there was one server (the restaurant was slow). In the Oak Room the service was smothering. There's a balance and neither hit it. There was also a bit of artifice about the service as well, as though the servers were not particularly happy to be there.
The food was good but lacking. Flavors, presentation, and imagination would have gone a long way.
I did learn, and we’ll replicate, that the burned butter and poached pears are delicious.
As I mentioned the wine selections were OK but not outstanding. The knowledge of the wine steward was limited, I want someone who knows more than me and neither place gave me the impression they did.
Again I think hotels can do one thing well, hopefully it's the hotel (Gonville did this nicely and I don't yet have any way to judge the George yet - although the hotel is a bit stodgy in general)..
We’ve been eating (and judging) a lot of “fine dining” the past two weeks. Tonight we are headed to more of a casual dining place called Tobie Norris. Kind of excited to do this.
A quick late edition about our breakfast this AM (at the George in Stamford). I tried lamb kidneys! First time ever. Honestly not a fan - maybe it was their preparation but they were a bit gritty and tasted gamy. We’ll at least I tried them. Overall though breakfast here was good (I did the full English sans beans and black pudding and Fran avacado and eggs on toast).
No comments:
Post a Comment