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You may
already know this hotel as the old “Quality Hotel” next to Abbey
Hill Golf Course where many Christmas parties have been held
over the years. Lee Robinson (Head chef) is very passionate and
his aim is to have a kitchen in this hotel that consistently
delivers on quality. We arrived for a 7:30 booking on a Friday
evening eager to see the new and much varied menu.
Décor
We started our
evening with a couple of drinks at the bar with complimentary
olives and pistachio nuts. The bar is well managed by a
welcoming manager named Martin. We strolled over to our table 30
minutes later. The restaurant is quite large with a breakfast
buffet bar at the back which you see in many hotels. Some tables
were set for the next morning’s breakfast with white linen
whilst the rest of them (dark mahogany wood tables) had no
linen. I am not sure where the focus is with these looks. A full
flush of white linen on every table would be more appealing and
consistent.
Service
Our waitress
Barbara served us all evening with her colleague. The restaurant
was very quiet so we received a personal service. Barbara was
polite and thorough. The hotel’s website states “Relaxed and
friendly service” and this does ring true.
Atmosphere
There was a
plasma TV in the next room which supplied the music through to
the dining area. Abbey Restaurant had only one other diner
eating at the same time as our booking so it lacked any real
buzz.
Food
Before the
starters arrived we were given warm plain and seeded bread
rolls. Brilliant!!
Shelled king
prawns arrived for my guest. The prawns are pan fried in garlic
butter and chilli. The juices were amazing and the size of the
prawns exceptional. For my starter I ordered the chorizo slices
with pan seared black pudding, coupled with blistered cherry
tomatoes on a bed of mixed salad. What made this dish so special
was the whirlwind of hollandaise sauce drizzled over the
scrumptious ingredients. This is now one of my all-time
favourites.
My guest asked
for the stir fried pork with lemon grass, coriander and pok choi
for his main course. This dish is served with steamed rice. This
was tasty but the pork was slightly overcooked. I picked the
oven roast cod loin wrapped in Parma ham on a cushion of minted
crushed new potato. Again the dish was over cooked and the
texture dry. The Parma ham and certainly the potato failed to
impress. The mint is an ingredient that works well with the main
players of the dish but it was too late to rescue a
disappointing course. We shared a side of onion rings which we
both enjoyed.
My guest and I
sampled the Bailey’s crème brulee and the chocolate fondant. The
fondant was small and dry and not cooked particularly well. The
crème brulee was also disappointing and needed to be cooked
through the middle.
It’s such a
shame that the beginning of the meal started so well yet ended
so poorly. Even the flat and fluff-less cappuccino failed to
inspire. This is however, just the beginning for this restaurant
that still needs to find it’s feet. Talking to Lee, I was left
with no doubt that the team will change and improve the quality
of food. |
