Review: Castle Terrace Restaurant

A Bumpy Ride

The entrance

I was in Edinburgh with my partner earlier this week for a short city break, and Castle Terrace was intended to be the culinary highlight of the trip. Sadly, it proved to be a rather jarring disappointment and as such, I will be relatively brief with my descriptions here. 

Review: Purnell's

Wish Fulfilment

Bread from French wheat, whipped butter & salt

I consider Birmingham to be one of my homes, and so I've always been annoyed at not having visited any of its Michelin starred restaurants. I've complained about this before, but as luck would have it I was in town at a good time and got my brother and myself a table at Purnell's for lunch. First impressions during the booking process weren't great, as the website threatened me with a £45 cover charge per person for no-shows and demanded my card details. For lunch. I find these policies faintly ridiculous for reasons I won't get into here, but I wasn't worried that I'd miss lunch so I proceeded to book anyway. 

Review: Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor

Suspicions Confirmed?

And again with the bite size Michelin portions

If you've read my review of Nobu, you'll know I went in wondering if the Michelin star was worth anything. I walked out thinking that it was, but after my visit to Simon Radley's restaurant at the Chester Grosvenor late in 2013, I am reconsidering my opinion. 

The dining room

I was in Chester for work, so it was nice to have a personal distraction for an evening. I booked on short notice for a weeknight, which is what I imagine made it easy to get a table. Nevertheless, I doubt that Chester experiences the same kind of booking frenzy as London or even Birmingham. The website stated that smart attire was preferred and I went in suited up and a little worried about being overdressed. Being me, I got lost as soon as I entered the hotel and had to be directed towards the restaurant. Upon stepping into the dining room and looking around, however, I saw enough suits around the tables for me to not feel out of place. The venue is gorgeous, in the gaudy sense of word. As you can see from the photo above this is fine dining, with plush carpeting, fancy tableware and very formal wait staff.