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2008 was the year when the bar couldn't get any higher. As each new venue opened, with talk of costs in the millions of pounds, we were already conscious that things just couldn't carry on that way. It was Oddfellows that smashed most spectacularly through the ceiling of conspicuous expenditure, making us giddy on its extragavance and whimsy. But the writing was already on the wall and, sure enough, the end of the year brought a more sober and careful approach to new enterprise.
The small Grille chain, looking to expand, took on the archaic restaurant at Blossoms Hotel in what looks to be a prototype for other hotels in the MacDonalds group. It sounded like a pretty neat idea: share the risk, double the backing. The reality is that Grille arrived too late. The restaurant was already too far gone, too entrenched in the quicksands of poor quality and shabbiness, to make that leap of faith.
Blossoms Hotel has always had that 1930's ambience. It still feels as if it was - for a few years at least - quite the bee's knees, my dear. And that feeling is still there in the restaurant, when really it didn't ought to be. Having set out to join the twenty first century, they have merely tinkered when they needed to tear apart. The modern makeover has missed the mark. It's not Bertie Wooster any more, but it's not exactly Pete Doherty either.
I chose a main - moules frites - that appeared not just on the a la carte but also as a special of the day. A double endorsement. It turned up on ugly, cheap, crockery. The mussels were poor, insubstantial creatures (and this at the height of their season). The sauce was watery and lacking. Chips, on the other hand, were good. My pud was better: a dense crème brulée accompanied by a compote of berries that cut and sweetened it nicely, though two little cookies were stale. Coffee was OK and a glass of Pinot Grigio from the top end of a list of about ten whites available by the glass was also quite acceptable.
Perhaps I was unlucky. To judge by what is printed in the menu, Grille aspires somewhat higher than this.
At Grille, we don't gild the lily. We take classic dishes like a prawn cocktail or an escalope Holstein, and make them with the best ingredients available.
That's it. No fuss, nothing overdone, just good food perfectly made.
We work closely with our suppliers, following the seasons, to make sure we're using the best produce at the best time.
Service was charming. The prices - except for a T-bone at £21.50 and a mixed grill at £18.50 - were very reasonable. If I was to give it another go, I'd give the rather boring looking Pasta & Sandwiches a miss, and go for a salad and a main. I'd sit at the curved banquettes at the far end of the room. And I'd try not to be too critical of the décor.
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