I’m often accused of being too ‘nice’ on the blog. Not being critical enough.
I certainly have a positive outlook. And I like to support new local ventures, people doing interesting things and even when critical, I’d like to think it’s constructive. I’ll try to suggest changing something, doing something differently, like the tweaks needed at Dog Bowl. And if I can, I’ll try to talk to the chef and make suggestions and tell them about what disappointed me, or what I didn’t like.
I’ve even not reviewed somewhere when it’s been bad. Or I’ve had a bad experience, because it was an ‘off’ day, or something unexpected went wrong. These things happen.
Then occasionally I go somewhere and I have to be critical. And here we are at 24 Bar and Grill after several great visits. But first for a touch of positivity. I love 24’s bar. I love the cocktails, the chaps and ladies behind the bar are lovely. The staff in their entirety are a bunch of good people. I like them.
I stopped by recently for dinner with a friend and, after one or two very nice cocktails, we made our way into the restaurant to dine from the seasonal Taste of 24 menu.
For starter, I opted for smoked salmon and leek tart, whilst Keeley opted for the duck rillette. And here’s where things went wrong.
The smoked salmon tart was covered in a pile of salad (on a separate note, what is it with restaurants at the moment and watercress? Have we ditched rocket for something more English?) which was lightly dressed and perfectly pleasant. The tart, however, went beyond soggy bottom and into soggy everything. No crispness remained anywhere in that little tart. The smoked salmon filling was nice, the leeks adding a nice contrast in flavour, but oh, the disappointment.
Keeley’s starter looked pretty enough – meaty duck, plum compote, which had a rich bitterness to it that should have contrasted nicely with the fattiness of the duck. Unfortunately, we couldn’t taste duck. We could see it, even smell it, but to be honest, it could have been pork, pheasant, brown turkey meat. We couldn’t find the flavour.
Things improved with our mains. My pancetta and forest mushroom linguine was earthy, and rich, the mushrooms strong, but not overpowering, the linguine perfectly al dente, slickly covered in a good oily sauce. The little herb crostini was garlicky a good contrast to the pasta – unfortunately it was also rather brittle and I lost a lot of it under the table when I bit into it. Luckily none of it landed on my skirt, thus saving me the embarrassment of looking like a toddler let loose in their highchair.
Keeley’s butter chicken was flavoursome and though the couscous was gently spiced, it too was perfectly cooked and there was a good level of flavour there. A little carb overload to have a flatbread as well, but as a pair of exercise enthusiasts, we’re not going to baulk at a little extra.
Unfortunately, dessert then went back the other way. Deciding to play it safe, I opted for the cheeseboard and Keeley selected the salted caramel and chocolate mousse, hoping a little chocolate would cheer her up.
My cheeseboard was also disappointing. The crackers were, to be honest a bit on the stale side, the cheddar was rubbery and completely without flavour. And the pickled grapes. Wow, they packed a punch. I’m not sure which vinegar was used, but something like a cider vinegar or white wine vinegar please. And less of it.
Keeley’s mousse, well, wasn’t very mousse-like. And she struggled to find the salted caramel – surely if it’s the lead ingredient it should be stronger?
So, poor starters, good mains, poor desserts. So incredibly disappointed.
As ever, I’ve fed the information back through to the restaurant and I’m hoping that there was a reason for it, something that will explain it. I can’t understand why I can have the best scones ever (bar my Mum’s and she’s not around any more to bake them for me) one week and this another.
I’m just hoping this bout of negativity doesn’t continue…..
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