Gastroclub@Room: Room for expectation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:53:00 +0000

Expectations can dramatically change opinions, thoughts and feelings. As with any Gastroclub, expectation is always higher than when I normally go out to eat. The restaurant has been briefed that a bunch of foodies are coming to eat. They then produce a special menu for the occasion, guessing their guests will most likely tweet, blog and tell others about their experience. The restaurant should be out to impress and therefore expectations are high. We get to see the menu in advance and this one looked good! A six course bonanza.

My first impressions are really good. The building is grand with a big set of sweeping stairs leading to a high ceilinged dining room and bar area. There is nice lighting and big fireplaces that set the room of nicely and the whole establishment had an air of grander. This is undoubtably one of the nicest dining rooms that Manchester has to offer. My expectations inched up a little more.

We were served two starters, two mains and two desserts.

The Truffled Jerusalem Artichoke soup, I really enjoyed. The depth of flavour was excellent and both the artichoke and truffles worked in perfect harmony. There was also a bonus of something deep fried and cheesy dropped in the soup which I thought was a nice touch. The second starter was also good - local rabbit terrine with Fois gras. I know there has been a lot said about Fois gras lately and I do regard it as unethical, but it does taste good!

Then a few errors started to creep in. The salmon, crayfish and caper ravioli was nice, but some of my fellow diners complained about the capers being a bit too overpowering inside the ravioli. The watercress sauce was way too salty and there was far too much, which unbalanced the dish.

The best course if the night was the Venison “Wellington” with a vanilla and parsnip puree, a classic bit of menu embellishment. The wellington consisted of a fig tart perched on top of the meat, not really a wellington or a wellington de-contruction. From the description of the dish I was expecting to dislike it because I thought it would be too sweet, but actually I thought it worked really well. The sweetness in the Vanilla and Parsnip puree worked well with the perfectly cooked Venison.

The puddings were the weakest part of the meal. The calvados custard with the Apple Tart was too sweet, it required more blackberries to balance out the sweetness. The pastry for the Apple seemed to be bought-in! It was hard and not nice to eat. A restaurant of this standard should be making its own pastry and if that pastry was not bought-in then they need a new pastry chef!

I had to wait about ten minutes for my second pudding as they forgot to serve me. There wasn’t much of an apology when it finally came and again it was all a bit too sweet. It also featured the same suspect allegedly bought-in pastry casings.

I went out to eat at a pub last weekend, my expectations were not high because it was, well, a pub. I was really impressed. This evening worked in reverse, I expected more and Room did not deliver fully. That’s not to say it was bad! I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but not all the elements were up to the standard of the setting and the price of the food.

However the standard menu looks interesting enough to give it another shot. The wine menu looked good and you can even order from a Vegan menu, which you rarely see in many restaurants. For this visit a 3/5, but I expect that to go up after another visit. Oh and when I go again I will be having the cheese for dessert!

I have been away..

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 05:09:00 +0100

I have been travelling in South America over the last few months and have experienced some amazing foodie experiences. I will write about these on my newly designed blog. Keep you eyes peeled!!

Greedy Foodie

Gastroclub@Room: Room for expectation

I have been away..