432.Orelle.

 

  It was another murky day. The rain had not been heavy but had been mostly incessant. Dreary autumnj days merged one into the other. Good food was needed. The choice of restaurant was limited by the number prepared to open on Mondays. It seemed a relief to choose Orelle if only because it was a very short walk from the Grand Hotel where Lucy The Labrador and I were staying for four nights of pleasing comfort. Orelle was far from outstanding, I judged from previous experience, but was likely to deliver the goods.

  The murk hung about the city like a grey, damp tablecloth covering the urban table. But inside the cocoon at the top of the day the restaurant was rather pretty, lit up in the darkness.As always the front of house staff looked smart and performed their jobs very well woukd the food match the service? I was offered only an à la carte menu. The prices looked a little steep but I had high expectations that the food would justify the cost. Sadly, it did not.

  I started with Orelle’s version of the Sazerac which was a sad example of that superlative cocktail.

  My starter certainly sounded promising - “Crabe. Dressed Cornish crab, shredded gem hearts, apple gel, dil emulsion £19”. This was dismal and excruciatingly overpriced. The amount of crab was truly minimal and the dish was largely made up of the shredded lettuce. There was very little flavour, certainly not of crab. The price was outrageous. Rating - 2/10 and that’s generous.

  In contrast the main which I chose (Cabillaud. Roasted cod, mussels, pear, ratte potatoes and leek beurre Blanc) was very good. The fish was very well cooked and seasoned and the mussels were relatively plump and tasty. I enjoyed the beurre blanc and this would have been a very good dish had it not been served lukewarm. Still I ate it with a reasonable degree of pleasure but it’s clear this kitchen really does have a problem getting its dishes out with acceptable speed.

  The dessert (Noisette  chocolate madeleine, hazelnut, whipped pannacotta and salted caramel ice cream) failed on many levels. The icecream was lacking in flavour but the white chocolate which encased it was infinitely more tasteless. I had forgotten that the dish’s theme was nuts until, as I approached the end of the dish, I suddenly became aware of the flavour of hazelnut. The Madeleine was encased in the chocolate and was a cake of pleasing texture. But all in all this was a dessert that made me severely regret the £10 that I was going to have to pay for it.

  Orelle seems to have deteriorated in the food it provides and based on this particular experience there is only one reason to dine there and that is for the view of the city below it. But even that is not enough to justify the prices it charges for indifferent food.

Rating:- 🌛