Rhodes
24
Date of Visit: 29th
July 2013
Ambience
The ambience is already set when
you make your way up to the 24th floor. You will only be issued a
visitor pass if you have made a booking, you have to pass through a security
check which resembles that in an airport and you have to take a specific
coloured lift to the 24th floor.
As you enter Rhodes, you have to pass through the bar which is small but
the tables/bucket chairs are positioned along the large windows where guests
can take in the city views whilst have a sip of their drink.
I previously read that views in
the bar were breath-taking but I was duly disappointed that most of the view
consisted of work sites (though I can imagine that if no works were under way,
the view could potentially be nice). The air con in the bar was blasting so it
felt rather chilly even on a day of 22 degrees.
As you enter the dining room, we
were lucky to be seated by the window so again we got a view of the city but I
was quite disappointed with the atmosphere of the restaurant. The décor looked dated and nothing about the
setting radiated Michelin starred. Yes,
the servers were smartly dressed, yes there was the typical stage like area in
the middle of the restaurant where the servers could loiter whilst they were not
busy but the table setting was mediocre with old looking cutlery and standard
plates and table cloths.
Most tables were filled with
business men and women so the setting was more suited to city workers than a
romantic or intimate dinner. This didn’t
affect us since we were in a group of five but it is something to definitely
bear in mind if you require a more elegant setting.
Food
To start, we were served glasses
of Laurent Perrier Champagne and warm white & brown bread with butter. Shortly after, we were served an amuse-bouche
which consisted of courgette puree with olive and goats cheese to prepare us
for our meal.
Since we got a deal, we were
restricted to the set menu but this wasn’t an issue since they had something to
cater for vegetarians, carnivores and seafood lovers. For starters, we had asparagus with a fried
egg in hollandaise sauce. It was a nice
dish with subtle flavours but the best part of it was the egg which seemed to
be cooked to perfection.. fried in a light batter but as you cut into it, the
yolk would ooze out, leaving you to dip your asparagus into the yolk.
For mains, we tried the sea trout
with salmon/cucumber and the chicken with spinach/tomato. Both dishes were adequate but nothing special
or inspiring. The chicken breast was
however quite tender which is sometimes hard to achieve. We also ordered a few sides to share which
included fine beans & spinach, mashed potato and carrots. The only unusual side were the carrots which
were covered in an orangy, buttery sauce.
For desserts, we had a cheesecake
with berry compote, sticky toffee pudding with toffee ice cream and a cheese
and cracker platter. The cheesecake was very good, the sticky toffee pudding
very sweet and somewhat sickly but it was enjoyed by one in our party. Our server listened to the request of no blue
cheese on the cheeseboard but they came accompanied with some bread that tasted
as though it had been out for ages.
Luckily, the crackers were fine.
We all opted for English
Breakfast tea which was served with a plate of petit fours which consisted of a
petite blueberry muffin, lime cheesecake and a raspberry truffle. All were fine but not particularly impressive.
Service
The service at the bar was reasonable
but it amazes me that the bar staff did not know about a promotion that they
had on – 50% off summer cocktails. I
recall it was before 6pm but at 18:03, I asked if we had missed the offer to
which I got an answer after our server asked a couple of her colleagues.
Service in the restaurant was
also fine; it wasn’t a busy night so we got all the attention that we
required. There were two servers for us,
a young one who was polite and responsive, the other being quite stone faced
and cold.
Summary
In summary, being a Michelin
starred restaurant, the experience wasn’t amazing and overall it didn’t
particularly feel like a luxury dining experience. I think several things can be improved upon
but given that we dined as part of an offer, it was decent value for money but
at £57 per head, we could have found better food elsewhere. Overall, the food was OK but nothing special
and not worth the a la carte prices. It
is not a place that I would be in a hurry to return to but hey, we’ve been to
Rhodes 24 and we saw a pretty scene of the sun setting amongst the city
landscape. Happy Days!
No comments:
Post a Comment