Glassboat

Mrs Robertsaw

In no uncertain terms do not relate this restaurant to the high standard restaurant it used to be. I frequently went with my husband before it changed hands. I was part of a fairly large pre booked group. We had a secluded area that was separated by a curtain. The surroundings were lovely. The starters were acceptable. Unfortunately the soup was cold. As the waiter had disappeared everyone ate it and didn't grumble. The flavour was nothing that a school child could not have produced. The main course was dreadful. The Chicken was tasteless. The veal had more bone that meat. The mashed potato with the salmon was stone cold. The risotto was so over cooked it had turned to mash and three people sent it back to the kitchen. The head waiter appeared and was no help at all. His manner was incrediably rude and patronosing. (Bear in mind this was a group of professional people dining). The people who complained about the risotto had it replaced. Th replacement was even worse than the origional. This is not a hard dish to make. This again was sent back with serious complaints about the food. Ignored. Those who sent the risotto back were left with no food at all until desert. Desert was the best bit. Too be honest you can't really mess up cheese and biscuits. Unfortunatly when the coffee arrived I only had an inch full in my average sized cup and had to ask for more. The waiting staff were very good and did a good job when all diners were unhappy. The management was dreadful and after a complaint were not seen again. Sadly as it was a professional meeting we had all pre paid for the meal as I would have not paid full price otherwise. I would not recommend this place at all now to anyone.

Ali

What an awful evening! a group of thirty of us had a very disappointing experience. The soup was cold, the bread came out after everyone had finnished their starter, the salmon was lovely, but the mash with it was luke warm,the three people that had the risotto went hungry, because it was inedible, and others had more bone than veal. The chocolate fondant was nothing more than ordinary. At thirty pounds a head, this was not the standard of food or service we were expecting. We had had excellent meals there in the past, but certainly won't be going back.

After visiting the Glassboat on numerous occasions in the past I am pretty confident that a good time will be had by all when we visit. The most recent visit was on a Saturday night in September 2006. On this night my wife and I found it rather noisy (we usually go mid week which is quieter) and was disappointed to see a rather casual look to the clientele eating on the night. We like to dress up for a meal out (I? 37), whereas some guests wore jeans and trainers. I would have preferred a dress rule to be enforced at restaurants like this to preserve the idea of getting dressed for dinner, but times change and I guess restaurants have to also. The service was excellent: friendly and prompt without being in you face every 2 minutes. The selection of drinks available always good and the choice of wines by the glass can be recommended. A little surprised by the bar staff not knowing if they had a Fino or Tio Pepe (dry sherry's) and having to search for a bottle - which to their credit they did without too much fuss. Starters: Scallops for my wife (very good even though she was afraid of the Roe that accompanied it). The Rabbit En Crout on the other hand, while tasty enough, should really have called Rabbit Pate and supplied with a chutney. The En Croute pastry was more than a little hard (had to catch the little devil before it was fired of the plate when I tried to cut it). Main course: Fillet of Beef (well done for my wife) was soft and tasty and came with mushrooms and Gratin Dauphinoise potatoes. The potatoes a little on the hard side, lacking in cream we felt but tasty all the same. Meanwhile I had the Veal Cassoulet, succulent pieces of veal on a bed of beans, smokey bacon and what appeared to be chorizo. My first time eating a cassoulet, and an excellent introduction - would certainly eat it again. A side dish of vegetables (including new potatoes and butternut squash amongst other items) accompanied the meal course. Desserts, we felt let the meal down, my wife? Tiramisu while looking the part unfortunately consisted of a heavy cream dish, which she simply couldn't complete. My own Pear Tarte Tatin with Saffron icecream shouldn? have been called a Tarte Tatin. To my mind a Tarte Tatin is a caramelised fruit dish set in puff pastry, this one appeared to have been made the lazy way and was a pastry base with poached pears and a strong flavoured honey poured all over it. I never found out if the Icecream had saffron in it as the Honey flavour killed the dessert dead, leaving me with a strong after taste for the rest of the night - not pleasant. For some reason, the Glassboat have included a taster glass of dessert wine with each dessert. Each glass supposedly matching the dessert ordered. While this free(?) taster would normally have appealed to me, on this occasion I had driven (from Weston) and so wasn? drinking and my wife had drank enough already so other than a small sip both glasses were left. It wasn? until after I left that I thought perhaps I should have asked for the alcoholic drink to be changed for a coffee instead. The drinks themselves, while fine in themselves where not what I would have selected for myself. For instance the drink that came with the Tiramisu had a strong hint of honey, which I would have thought would have matched the honey flavoured Tarte Tatin, but then I? not a sommelier. On previous occasions I? sure the taster glass wasn? included and I also think the price for the dessert was a little lower also, so was it really free?. Coffee - fresh and tasty accompanied by with chocolate truffles. The total for the night was a little under £100 (including 2 dry sherry's, a glass of wine and bottle of water), which we felt was ok apart from the slightly disappointing desserts. Next time I'll watch out for the puddings and try and exchange the drink that comes with the desserts for a coffee. Still highly recommended.

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