Blanch House

Tony (20 March 2009)

We went with a discount offer and immediately felt unwelcome – ‘you don’t want a drink from the bar?' Although the food was excellent, the service was dreadfully slow. My glass of wine contained a lot of sediment but I was told 'What do you expect for £10?' The 'waiter' said that the restaurant was 'very busy'. We counted 22 diners. The whole thing was a very strange experience and one which we, and our friends, will not be repeating.

Chris L (5 February 2009)

We dined at Blanche House last night and had a great time - lovely members of staff and great cocktails. Unfortunately this was all let down by the food, which, despite sounding rather interesting and adventurous on the menu, was surprisingly bland. There was nothing wrong with the execution, just rather insipid and lacking in flavour. The starter of snails arrived with snails out of the shell on a small kebab skewer. They were possibly a little overdone and hence a tad chewy, with very little to accompany them to add flavour to the texture. Perhaps the expectation of plenty of garlic coloured our judgement, but we both felt rather disappointed with the dish. The mains were equally dull. A spicy chowder with fish tornadoes had no hint of spice and was simply a lump of fish atop some diced parsnip in a weak broth. The fillet was served on top of polenta, and only came alive when eaten with the large capers. The highlight of the meal was the cheese board, which we both savoured as an oasis of flavour in a desert of blandness. I would recommend the cocktail bar for a drink, with one of the best cocktail lists I’ve seen but I couldn’t recommend dining there unless the chef takes a long hard look at the style of cooking and starts providing some fare with a bit of flavour.

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