What had appealed was the restaurant’s commitment to the “farm to table” concept, using local produce where possible. In that, it delivered and it’s fair to say one of us ordered better and enjoyed their dinner more. It’s a pleasant enough space though, if you were beamed in, you’d immediately know it’s a restaurant in a hotel. It just has a look.
Good bread arrived quickly, along with what we think was horseradish butter (not necessarily the best of matches).
“Gypsy peppers” seemed a light starter, although we had no idea of what it might be until the plate arrived. It’s what we know from visits to Spain as “pimientos de Padron” (peppers from Padron). These are small green peppers quickly fried in olive oil and then given a hit of sea salt. Very occasionally, you get one with some heat. Here, they’ve made a decent effort to replicate the classic tapas dish, also including a variety of chilli pepper so heat is guaranteed. But they need to fry at a higher temperature and make sure they serve immediately before there’s any chance of the peppers going limp and greasy.
The other starter was better. Toasted baguette topped with a slice of grilled halloumi and some fried field mushrooms. A handful of rocket added crunch and pepperiness. Good match
A burger used grass fed beef from Connecticut and was cooked as requested. It was a good burger, in a bun which didn’t fall apart while it was being eaten. There’s the expected salad toppings and pickle. New York strip was a decent enough steak. I think it was also local beef. It came with asparagus which, whilst seasonal, managed to taste of not very much (an issue we’ve had with the asparagus that has regularly appeared on plates throughout this trip). My partner asked for it without the usual mashed potato. There were also Cipollini onions which are sweetish in themselves but it tasted as though a lot of sugar had been added to caramelise them. They were so sweet as to be actively unpleasant.
We didn’t have dessert but did have decent coffee (although not served piping hot).
