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The Restaurant at Wallett's Court Dover
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1
Reviews
Mediterranean in Dover
Dover Road, Westcliffe
, Dover, CT15 6EW
+44 (0) 800 035 1628
http://www.wallettscourthotel.com/
The Restaurant, part of the Wallett’s Court country house, restaurant and spa in St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe, just outside of Dover.
Tags:
dover, dover castle, guest house, silver service
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The Restaurant at Wallett's Court
Dover
Reviews
Inspired food, rubbish experience - Dover is a strange old place - almost everyone who lives in the UK has gone through the place at one time or another, en-route to the European mainland. When I told people I was going to go to Dover, they responded with ‘Oh, that’s nice. Where are you going?’ ‘Dover’ ‘Yeah, but where are you going?’.
Sure, Dover has its own share of attraction - Dover Castle being one of the obvious ones - but we figured we’d try and see what else the place has to offer. Based on a very warm recommendation from the guest house where we were staying (East Lee in Dover town centre - which was great in itself), we set course for the interestingly-named The Restaurant, part of the Wallett’s Court country house, restaurant and spa in St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe, just outside of Dover.
From the second we arrived at Wallett’s Court, it became clear that it was, in fact, a place of good old-fashioned silver service. We were ushered into a gorgeous sitting room, where we were asked to pick our meals from a small, but interesting menu. Wallett’s Court’s decision to only barely communicate with the patrons in the actual dining room was a little peculiar, but it did create a very intimate, if somewhat stuffy, atmosphere.
My menu consisted of a gloriously powerful griddled breast of pigeon served with deep-fried rhubarb and Madeira sauce. The pigeon is probably some of the most perfectly prepared bird I have ever eaten - if I hadn’t know what I was tucking into, based on the looks alone, I’d have sworn it was a specially prepared calves’ liver of some sort. Perfectly delicious. The rhubarb was less successful, as it was completely saturated with fat - not something I’m particularly fond of - but the dish overall was very tasty indeed.
Along with the meal, we had a bottle of Lebanese white wine which was so incredibly dry that I thought it had turned into vinegar at first. When put in relation with the meal, however, its flavours came to full strength: The acidity of the wine made the Flaneuse’s soup beautifully sweet in comparison. It’s very rare to find a white which goes so well with the strong flavours of the rest of my meal, too, so that was an unexpected success.
The main dish was a time-and-space-bendingly phenomenal fillet of Miller’s thirty day matured Aberdeen Angus with blue cheese butter, creamed leek and dauphinoise potato. This dish appeared to be all about the presentation at first, but I have to honestly admit my first impression was faulthy: This may very well have been some of the best steak I’ve ever had in my life. Perfectly cooked to a slightly-under-medium-rare, spiced perfectly, and tender as anything. My deepest compliments to the chef.
Despite the absolutely stellar main course, and a rather delicious and original dessert (a trio of sorbets: apple with cinnamon & Bombay Sapphire, peach & white rum, pear & almond liqueur), I believe I decided quite early on that Wallett’s court falls firmly in the ‘Okay, I’ve done that now, I never have to do it again’ category. Food-wise, I have no complaints (beyond the rhubarb incident, but that may be a subjective preference rather than anythign else), the wine was great, the service was impeccable, the music selection was phenomenal (a series of obscure and less obscure covers of famous songs, including some Johnny Cash classics) and both the food and the dining / sitting room were traditionally comfortably laid out.
My main complaint of the place is that it appears completely devoid of any genuine character - Good food, yes, but the whole atmosphere appeared to be devoid of people genuinely enjoying food. Perhaps this is a side-effect of being inside a spa, but what’s the point of dishing up world-class dishes if people aren’t going to enjoy it? Perhaps playing the music a little bit more loudly would have helped, or maybe it was just the other patrons that seemed to quietly pick away at their food, rather than appreciating what they had on their plates what got to me… While the food obviously can’t be compared, I've been in Wetherspoons pubs where the eating experience has been more enjoyable. Hardly much of a recommendation, when the final bill at Wallett’s court comes to £140 for two, including a bottle of wine…
Our recommendation? Only go if you bring along enough people to take over one of the bigger tables of the dining room, so you can create your own party. As a two-people-deeply-in-love-chatting-about-the-wellbeing-of-the-world's-economy-and-democratic-progress, the venue just didn't work. A shame, because the food was truly inspired.
12-01-09
Tags:
dover, dover castle, guest house, silver service
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