Jason B.
Google
Having visited previously for the market set menu, we were really looking forward to a second visit. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of our expectations.
Firstly we were ushered upstairs to a dreary room that contained only one other table and hence had zero atmosphere compared to the hustle and bustle of downstairs. I should say we reserved a table months ago.
We had mistakenly assumed the set menu would still be available, but the waitress explained that it is now only offered to large groups. As we were a party of three, this was not an option. As it was a Christmas celebration, we accepted this as our own misunderstanding of the information on the website and decided to proceed regardless.
Of the three starters ordered, the monkfish was extremely disappointing. It was a confused dish, a bizarre combination of ingredients that simply did not work together. Even after reviewing the listed components, they bore little resemblance to what actually arrived on the plate. The price felt wholly unjustifiable. The monkfish itself (if it was present at all) appeared as two tiny spherical croquettes. The dish was pretentious, poorly executed, and completely lacking in flavour.
The other two starters were, at best, average. The soufflé lacked any discernible truffle flavour, so much so that it felt as though the truffle may have been forgotten altogether.
Moving on to the mains, one of my daughters ordered the carrot croquettes(being vegetarian). Once again, this was a bizarre and uninspiring dish, featuring carrots prepared in various ways with no real cohesion. Some elements were so bland they resembled baby food from a jar.
The cod in my main was cooked to perfection; however, the accompanying risotto was overcooked, mushy, and tasteless. The turkey dinner was similarly disappointing, style over substance. A cylindrical piece of dry turkey is not particularly appealing, regardless of presentation.
By this point, our disappointment was such that we decided to skip dessert altogether.
I did ask the waiting staff to pass on my feedback to the chef, although there was no acknowledgement of this when we left, including from who I believe was the bar manager.
I’m not sure whether this is the same chef who cooked our meal back in September or if the kitchen is currently going through an experimental phase. However, I would urge the team to remember that diners appreciate understanding what a dish is meant to represent. Most people simply want good-quality ingredients cooked extremely well. There are already plenty of failed chefs chasing pretentious concepts, there’s no need to join them.
