[Chester] La Brasserie

With a stretch of the imagination, you might feel that you’re sat in a brasserie in Paris, with the decoration giving a nod towards Art Nouveau. . Tables are quite spacious, not too close together. And the servers are right on the ball – efficient, yet friendly. The menu also nods towards France, not least in not having “starters” and “main courses”, but “entrees” and “plats principaux”, the food itself often incorporating Gallic influences. But, unfortunately, that’s as good as it gets. The food just isn’t that great. Not actively bad but just disappointing.

Lincolnshire Poacher comes as a set cream and, unfortunately, loses the sharp, yet rich, flavour of this cheddar style cheese. There’s radicchio, candied walnuts, and a slice of pear, which should have perked things up but were just a bit bland and boring. As was the other starter. That featured cured sea trout – very similar to smoked salmon. There’s pickled beetroot which had no particular pickle flavour. Sour cream and dill which were in such small quantities as to make no real contribution.

One main course featured half a duck breast. Yes, half. I can cook a duck breast so I get crispy skin and medium rare flesh. Seems the Brasserie’s chef can’t manage the crispy skin, so serves it flabby and inedible. There’s some very nice pearl barley, a disc of celeriac (a bit undercooked). The menu said there were also “hedgerow pickings” but there was nothing obvious on the plate. A fillet steak was accurately cooked as requested and was OK, if underseasoned. The plate is garnished with half a tomato, topped with a few shreds of beef and melted cheese. There’s also a grilled mushroom and a “herb bouquet” which seemed to be just lettuce. We shared extra portions of lettuce salad and pont neuf potatoes (that’s fat chips to you and me).

By now, we’d realised that desserts were probably not going to be worth the calories but we ordered anyway. And we were right. There was a “sticky toffee Christmas pudding” which, in spite of the addition of a few raisins (presumably the Christmas bit), lacked any of the rich stickiness that you’d expect. An indifferent sponge, with a flavourless brandy sauce and a dollop of ice cream. Creme caramel was flavoured with orange that was nice, and ginger which proved not be. Hazelnuts gave a bit of crunch. Such a shame – this was a meal that could have been so much better and should have been so much better. The most disappointing experience of the 66 different places where we’ve eaten this year

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Oh dear, and the fact that it’s December now really says a lot!

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