On the Waterfront
Despite St David's Hotel dominating the bay's skyline, I've never had reason to visit. The website for the whole venue, including the restaurant and bar, is fairly inpenetrable and a bit off-putting for any wannabe visitor trying to navigate it's complex site map. Then there's the sample menu, but more of that later.
We arrived at the hotel and entered through the bright white atrium with views up to the canopy roof and made our way into the restaurant and bar. As is fairly standard for restaurants it was.... you guessed it.... dark wood, leather chairs (which even I have to admit were pretty comfy) and lots, and lots of brown (I may have to do a seperate blog soon on restaurant decor but can I just put a plea out to designers to stop, please just stop).
We were seated at a corner table which, as the nights get lighter, would have had a stunning view across the water, but as it was we were able to pick out the twinkling lights of Penarth.
Contrary to the sample menu seen on the website, which advertised 3 courses for £29, this was your standard a la carte menu. Some of the dishes were the same but the prices ranged from £6 - 11 for starters, with mains from £9 for an omlette to £59 for the chateubriand (for 2 to share). There was no mention of the set price apart from a small aside toward the bottom stating that residents of the hotel who were staying on an inclusive rate had an allowance of £30 for three courses. This, I felt, was a little misleading and I'd urge St David's to consider updating their website to me more reflective of this.
Starters of potted shrimp (£8) and chicken liver and Penderyn whisky pate (£7) arrived quickly and were both attractively served in tiny kilner jars sat atop wooden platters. I tucked into the shrimp - sweet, meaty and perfectly seasoned, but was slightly disappointed by the lemon crostini that accompanied them. Not a hint of lemon could be detected in the little toasts but they were incredibly greasy and left an unpleasant film in my mouth.
The pate was just as ambiguous - smooth, rich pate with a hint of the Welsh Whisky was beautifully set off by a quince jelly, but serving it with soft, sweet brioche was a big mistake and somewhat overgged the pudding of what was otherwise a good dish.
The stand-out dish of the night had to be the feather blade of slow braised Welsh beef, served with fricassee of wild mushroom and a parsley cream (£19). Slow cooked to the point of disintegration, this melted in the mouth and left you wanting more. Served with a perfectly cooked fondant potato, creamy wild mushrooms in a herby parsley cream and a fantastically punchy gravy (described here as "pan jus" but we know what they mean) this was a near perfect dish.
Continuing the run of beautifully turned out dishes was the breast of chicken stuffed with Toulouse Sausage and served with basil mash and a sun blush tomato sauce (£17) - a definite hint of the Masterchef about this one as you can see. The chicken was moist, peppery and full of flavour from the sausage stuffing. Each slice was served atop basil mash, echoing the herbiness of the sausage, balanced with iron-rich savoy cabbage and a sweet baby leek. The tomato sauce added some colour to the plate but was just too sugary, whilst the chicken skin wasn't crisped up and was left rather flaccid.
We rounded off the meal with two rather indulgent offerings. The chocolate fondant (£7) was everything it should be - rich, warm and oozing. The Horlicks ice cream accompaying it was a lovely twist but the wafer basket it was served in was a little bland.
Whilst my pudding was refined and dainty (Michel Roux Jr would have been pleased), the tiramisu (£8) was huge! Served in a margarita glass this completely dwarfed my poor little fondant but size isn't everything - whilst the booze soaked sponge and pistachio biscotti were delicious, the dish suffered from being 90% cream and it sadly drowned out the other elements.
The dishes themselves, whilst beautifully presented, were often a little hit and miss when it came to flavour and certainly below what I'd expect from a 5 star hotel. Executive Chef
Richard Yearnshire took over the helm last August and whilst he's done a lot to re-work the menu I'm not sure he's quite nailed it yet.
This meal was sponsored by Orchard Media and Events and was, as such, complimentary.
We arrived at the hotel and entered through the bright white atrium with views up to the canopy roof and made our way into the restaurant and bar. As is fairly standard for restaurants it was.... you guessed it.... dark wood, leather chairs (which even I have to admit were pretty comfy) and lots, and lots of brown (I may have to do a seperate blog soon on restaurant decor but can I just put a plea out to designers to stop, please just stop).
We were seated at a corner table which, as the nights get lighter, would have had a stunning view across the water, but as it was we were able to pick out the twinkling lights of Penarth.
Contrary to the sample menu seen on the website, which advertised 3 courses for £29, this was your standard a la carte menu. Some of the dishes were the same but the prices ranged from £6 - 11 for starters, with mains from £9 for an omlette to £59 for the chateubriand (for 2 to share). There was no mention of the set price apart from a small aside toward the bottom stating that residents of the hotel who were staying on an inclusive rate had an allowance of £30 for three courses. This, I felt, was a little misleading and I'd urge St David's to consider updating their website to me more reflective of this.
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| Potted Brixham Shrimp [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
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| Chicken Liver & Penderyn Whisky Pate with a Quince Jelly [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
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| Feather Blade of Slow Braised Welsh Beef [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
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| Breast of Chicken stuffed with Toulouse Sausage [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
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| Chocolate Fondant & Horlicks Ice Cream [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
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| St David's Orange and Baileys Tiramisu [Photo: Cardiff Bites] |
The dishes themselves, whilst beautifully presented, were often a little hit and miss when it came to flavour and certainly below what I'd expect from a 5 star hotel. Executive Chef
Richard Yearnshire took over the helm last August and whilst he's done a lot to re-work the menu I'm not sure he's quite nailed it yet.
This meal was sponsored by Orchard Media and Events and was, as such, complimentary.
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