View from The Olsen Hotel |
We started with drinks in the Penthouse Suite, before moving downstairs to the restaurant for dinner.
Champagne in the penthouse suite |
The private dining room in Spoonbill had been beautifully decorated in brightly coloured flowers. Of course, I'm totally stealing the idea for my next dinner party - so pretty!
Pretty flowers |
Springtime table |
Dorky of me, I know, but I was super-thrilled that my dress not only fit in with the Springtime theme, but also quite literally matched the table settings!
My lap, my place setting |
My place setting |
Bread |
TEMPURA SOFT SHELL CRAB - Wombok, Thai basil, yuzu mayonnaise |
SEARED DUCK BREAST - Soft polenta, forest mushrooms, asparagus |
CARAMELISED ONION AND ROAST TOMATO TARTLET - Soft herb salad |
SALT AND PEPPER CALAMARI - Fennel, blood orange, pine nut salad with citrus dressing |
LAMB CUTLETS - White bean skordalia, baby winter vegetables |
ROAST BEETROOT CARPACCIO - Feta, rocket, lemon and thyme dressing |
PEPPER CRUSTED VENISON - Whipped feta puree, broad beans, roast beetroot jus |
Mmm... rare |
The non-red meat alternative for this course was a light and refreshing chicken salad. Perfect for the style-conscious crowd around Chapel Street, perhaps?
MARINATED CHICKEN SALAD - Tofu, wombok, Asian greens, pickled carrots |
And you'd think that was enough (more than enough!) food for the evening, but then our waiter announced: "And here are the mains". Oof!
|
OSSO BUCO - soft polenta |
GRILLED SALMON - crushed potatoes, microherbs |
ASPARAGUS - Crisp jamon, soft boiled egg, fresh herbs GRILLED PEAR AND ROCKET - Walnut, blue cheese BROCCOLI - Smoked almonds, sea salt |
Desserts were again served sharing style, and represented a range of options from their dessert menu.
DESSERT TASTING PLATTER Front row: rhubarb and apple crumble, apple jelly with calvados panna cotta, chocolate brownie squares Ice-creams: burnt honey ice-cream & apple sorbet |
Across the table the most popular item seemed to be the dense chocolate marquise...
Chocolate marquise |
Apple mille feuille |
Hot lemon fritters with cinnamon sugar |
The aftermath |
We had a very enjoyable night at Spoonbill - whilst the food isn't particularly progressive or challenging, it is generally done well. The menu seems to follow a kind of please-all approach, which makes sense considering that Spoonbill is part of a hotel. The wider menu, for example, also includes of-the-moment sliders, tacos and steamed pork buns, with items like the beetroot carpaccio, chicken salad and grilled salmon available to satisfy the health conscious. I don't necessarily consider this to be a bad thing, especially if the food is done well - it's the type of place to which you could take a wide group of friends or family, and be confident that everyone will find something to enjoy.
Sarah and Catherine dined as guests of The Olsen Hotel.
2 comments
I love that your dress matched-it did so perfectly! A delicious looking meal. I had dinner there a few months ago and it was lovely :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a cheery looking meal! Very spring indeed, all looks quite delicious...
ReplyDelete