tastes

Duncan (15 February 2008)

We visited Tastes on Valentine's night for the third time - it had a special significance as I proposed to my wife there two years ago - sadly, we will not be returning.

While the starters and main courses were good, the sweets left us believing they were bought - dry and bland. However it was the service that left us most disappointed. We were shown straight to our table without any opportunity to sit down and have drink while studying the menu; this meant removing our coats in the eating area.

There was no Valentine's atmosphere - it was cold and the music was too low. After the plates were removed, we had to wait 40 minutes before anyone asked if we'd like to see the dessert menu. When we ordered our desserts, there was another 20-minute wait before they arrived - without any apology.

Again no one asked if we'd like another drink, we declined coffee as by this time we we'd had enough but no-one thought to ask if we wanted the bill. We had to get up and go to the reception area to ask for our coats and the bill.

The host was chatting with other diners in the reception area, but made no effort to acknowledge us. The staff, who prepared our bill, again didn't ask if everything had been OK - we did get two heart shaped chocolates! We honestly felt as if we were invisible, and have never left a restaurant more disappointed. We will certainly never go back.

Noel and Angela Evans (29 November 2007)

We were most impressed with the restaurant when visiting Ashbourne. The starters were delicious, you get to taste them all, and the main course was excellent, as was the sweet. We visited twice while there and can thoroughly recommend.