by Bex
It's shaping up to be quite a foodie week here at The Olive Dragonfly what with Monday's review, Wednesday's Pancakes #PinItDoIt and yesterday's Food Festival fun!
Last Wednesday, Nik and I went along to sample the Early Wine & Dine deal at Hotel Du Vin in Glasgow at the delightful One Devonshire Gardens. The Early Wine & Dine runs from 5.30pm - 7pm and includes a complimentary 500ml carafe of wine (or £10 off a bottle of your choice) when you order from either the Prix Fixe or à la carte menus. We were not disappointed! It's been a while since we had dinner there, having previously been twice for my birthday taking advantage of a deal which included a stay in one of their fabulous rooms. We hadn't been back for about two years but recently tried their Sunday brunch menu, also for my birthday, in December which you can read about here. We were informed last night that since we last ate dinner there, there's a new chef and he has been developing the menu over the last couple of years. We can safely say, we definitely like what he's done :)
When I arrived, Nik was waiting for me in the bar with a beer and a newspaper, having been working in a nearby hospital that day. We went straight through to be seated at around 6.45pm in the lovely surroundings and began perusing the menus.
I liked the sound of the lamb main on the Prix Fixe menu but decided to order from the à la carte menu as I didn't fancy any of the starters on the other one. I opted for the scallop starter, followed by the pork main and Nik chose the pigeon to start and the beef main.
We were served with bread before our food came (excellent as I had avoided eating all afternoon since we were eating out so early and I was suitably hungry) and both opted for a slice each of the samphire & cheese bread and the rosemary salted ciabatta. Both were super soft and moist, the samphire and cheese one having a lovely thick crispy crust and delicious cooked cheese flavour on the bottom. They were served with butter, oil and a sweet balsamic vinegar.
Our wine (we went for the carafe, I think it was a Merlot) was delicious and much like something we would have chosen had we gone for the option of selecting one of the extensive bottles on offer.
Both of our starters were divine. Nik's pigeon was wood smoked in house with a very obvious deep woody flavour, served with celeriac, a very smooth foie gras wrapped in damson jelly, a damson sauce, fresh fig, a crispy dried fig shard and pistachios for added texture. It looked beautiful on the plate and Nik enjoyed every bite. He especially liked the sweet damson with the foie gras. I tried a little morsel of each aspect and despite not being a lover of game, I enjoyed it too and would even order it for myself.
My starter was definitely my favourite of the two. It looked like a piece of art on the plate with the black background of squid ink and celeriac puree, edible sand (a secret recipe we're told but includes very fine fishy crumbs) and little dots of caviar and fish roe amongst the seaweed and samphire. The main parts of the dish consisted of crab, halibut and a deliciously crispy yet tender scallop. All worked perfectly with the salty samphire and seaweed and the rich black sauce. I could have eaten it all again!
The mains were also beautifully presented. Nik's pulled daube of beef was served on a bed of pea puree with water asparagus and foie gras and had salsify crisps on top. We'd decided to get some fries to share as neither dish came with potatoes (although mine did have some couscous) and they were extremely crispy and easily the best fries I've ever had. The beef was very rich, especially with the pomerol sauce so I think the fries helped break that up a bit as the fried foie gras was equally rich although utterly delicious.
Again, my main was the easy favourite. You know I love pork and Nik had considered ordering the same but we wanted to taste different things, especially since we were reviewing it. I'm glad he changed his mind as I absolutely loved the pork dish. It was served as a trio of pork with a mini portion of three meals!
Dessert was amazing! Nik chose the blood orange chocolate souffle which came with ice cream and a rich caramel sauce which the waitress poured into the souffle. He also chose the suggested wine to accompany it which went perfectly with a wonderful sweet flavour against the bitter chocolate.
I had the rhubarb which was not at all what I expected - it was SO much better! It was poached in gin but was still crunchy and tasted very floral. The garnish of a miniature pansy was very pretty and orange blossom ice cream and creme fraiche were the perfect accompaniments with little dots of tart sauce for extra flavour. So pretty!
We would both definitely like to go back again soon as we'd forgotten how much we like it there and think the food is even better now. The staff were efficient, friendly and very knowledgeable about the food. I would definitely recommend the early wine and dine deal - the 500ml carafe was the perfect size for us and the wine was wonderful. In my opinion, the food from the à la carte menu is worth the higher prices but the Prix Fixe is great value if you're on a budget but want to enjoy a bit of fine dining.
Nik and I received a 3 course meal and carafe of wine as guests of Hotel du Vin in return for an honest review.
It's shaping up to be quite a foodie week here at The Olive Dragonfly what with Monday's review, Wednesday's Pancakes #PinItDoIt and yesterday's Food Festival fun!
Last Wednesday, Nik and I went along to sample the Early Wine & Dine deal at Hotel Du Vin in Glasgow at the delightful One Devonshire Gardens. The Early Wine & Dine runs from 5.30pm - 7pm and includes a complimentary 500ml carafe of wine (or £10 off a bottle of your choice) when you order from either the Prix Fixe or à la carte menus. We were not disappointed! It's been a while since we had dinner there, having previously been twice for my birthday taking advantage of a deal which included a stay in one of their fabulous rooms. We hadn't been back for about two years but recently tried their Sunday brunch menu, also for my birthday, in December which you can read about here. We were informed last night that since we last ate dinner there, there's a new chef and he has been developing the menu over the last couple of years. We can safely say, we definitely like what he's done :)
When I arrived, Nik was waiting for me in the bar with a beer and a newspaper, having been working in a nearby hospital that day. We went straight through to be seated at around 6.45pm in the lovely surroundings and began perusing the menus.
I liked the sound of the lamb main on the Prix Fixe menu but decided to order from the à la carte menu as I didn't fancy any of the starters on the other one. I opted for the scallop starter, followed by the pork main and Nik chose the pigeon to start and the beef main.
We were served with bread before our food came (excellent as I had avoided eating all afternoon since we were eating out so early and I was suitably hungry) and both opted for a slice each of the samphire & cheese bread and the rosemary salted ciabatta. Both were super soft and moist, the samphire and cheese one having a lovely thick crispy crust and delicious cooked cheese flavour on the bottom. They were served with butter, oil and a sweet balsamic vinegar.
Our wine (we went for the carafe, I think it was a Merlot) was delicious and much like something we would have chosen had we gone for the option of selecting one of the extensive bottles on offer.
Both of our starters were divine. Nik's pigeon was wood smoked in house with a very obvious deep woody flavour, served with celeriac, a very smooth foie gras wrapped in damson jelly, a damson sauce, fresh fig, a crispy dried fig shard and pistachios for added texture. It looked beautiful on the plate and Nik enjoyed every bite. He especially liked the sweet damson with the foie gras. I tried a little morsel of each aspect and despite not being a lover of game, I enjoyed it too and would even order it for myself.
My starter was definitely my favourite of the two. It looked like a piece of art on the plate with the black background of squid ink and celeriac puree, edible sand (a secret recipe we're told but includes very fine fishy crumbs) and little dots of caviar and fish roe amongst the seaweed and samphire. The main parts of the dish consisted of crab, halibut and a deliciously crispy yet tender scallop. All worked perfectly with the salty samphire and seaweed and the rich black sauce. I could have eaten it all again!
The mains were also beautifully presented. Nik's pulled daube of beef was served on a bed of pea puree with water asparagus and foie gras and had salsify crisps on top. We'd decided to get some fries to share as neither dish came with potatoes (although mine did have some couscous) and they were extremely crispy and easily the best fries I've ever had. The beef was very rich, especially with the pomerol sauce so I think the fries helped break that up a bit as the fried foie gras was equally rich although utterly delicious.
 |
| Best fries ever! |
Again, my main was the easy favourite. You know I love pork and Nik had considered ordering the same but we wanted to taste different things, especially since we were reviewing it. I'm glad he changed his mind as I absolutely loved the pork dish. It was served as a trio of pork with a mini portion of three meals!
Pork fillet served with apple sauce, creamed cabbage and carrots. This was very juicy and tender with wonderful flavours, especially in the creamy sauce against the sweet apple and pork.
Pork belly with a mini slice of black pudding, a fried quail's egg and celeriac puree. I absolutely LOVE pork belly and this didn't disappoint.
The third part was a pork meatball disguised as a sprout! This was served on soft, smooth couscous which was very fragrant and citrusy, tasting of lime and rosemary with little crispy pork rinds on the side.
I had the rhubarb which was not at all what I expected - it was SO much better! It was poached in gin but was still crunchy and tasted very floral. The garnish of a miniature pansy was very pretty and orange blossom ice cream and creme fraiche were the perfect accompaniments with little dots of tart sauce for extra flavour. So pretty!
As I ordered a latte (which was very strong so I asked for some more hot milk which made it much more to my taste), we also received some lovely petit fours; raspberry jam flavoured jelly cubes, cinder toffee and fudge. All were wonderful and I don't even like fudge usually!
After such a lovely meal, we weren't ready to go home yet so retired to the cosy bar for a couple of cocktails.
It was a difficult choice but I went for one of their iced teas - Jamaican as I like sweet drinks - which was a combination of gin, rum and vodka with grenadine and pineapple juice. Delish!
Obligatory outfit pictures outside the gorgeous buildings.
Nik and I received a 3 course meal and carafe of wine as guests of Hotel du Vin in return for an honest review.
3 comments:
It looks SO good!
Wow, that meal looks amazing! I really shouldn't look at photos of delicious food before lunch, I'm starving now!
This is a fab post blog partner! Your fabulous pictures really show off the food :)
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