Bistro Du Vin

Sunday lunch today was our second meal here after an excellent prix fixe dinner earlier in the week. Everything from the buffet spread to start with to the main meal and dessert was first-rate, made even more special by the fact that the expected sirloin of beef was replaced by chateaubriand! Served pink at our request it was tender and succulent. Fullmarks to the chef and to Will our genial and professional server.

Perhaps it was just the end of a busy Sunday. We had booked with high expectations based on previous experiences in Hotels Du Vin. However once we were informed that there were no more roast potatoes despite there being a Christmas special matters went somewhat downhill. A starter of mushrooms on sourdough was poor as the sourdough had not been toasted and in my opinion was not sourdough bread anyway. Similarly the croutons on a beetroot and blue cheese starter were not crisp. When brought to the attention of staff the price of these items was removed form our bill. There seemed to be a general lack of coordination among the waiting staff and overall our experience was less than satisfactory.

Lovely ambiance and decor. Service outstanding and food high quality.

The restaurant was quiet and service was poor. I had to wait 10 minutes for someone to offer me a drink. There waiter who showed me to my table said he couldn't take my order as they had a new menu and only the manager could take orders. The manager eventually came and took my order. I am gluten intolerant and she asked me to sign a disclaimer. I have eaten in numerous restaurants and never been asked to do this! The meal was ok but expensive. I will not be going back!

It was difficult to find the restaurant as we approached from the extremely dark car park, and when we did we were initially ignored. The first white wine we ordered wasn’t available, the second we were warned wasn’t chilled but was served to us so warm that we had to leave it in the ice bucket until halfway through our main course. The gnocchi was uneatably bad - not only was it out of a packet (the chef admitted it wasn’t homemade), but the sauce was chemical-tasting and unpleasant. Staff did not enquire as to why most of the portion was being sent back. Instead as they cleared the table, one of them dropped used cutlery straight down my back and having said they would remove the (warm) bottle of wine from the bill to apologise, actually took off one of the other food dishes, causing confusion and embarrassment when it came time to pay. Overall, we will not be returning to this restaurant or recommending it to anyone else.