The hotel most of us knew as ‘The Point’ has had a huge refurbishment this past year and now flies under the DoubleTree by Hilton banner. Their ground-floor restaurant, The Bread Street Brasserie has kept its moniker but has had a make-over in the process and is looking rather chi-chi. Hotel dining has always had a tricky rep, but it must be said over the past few years, the culinary efforts available in our city’s hotels has improved immensely.
I met my buddy Rachel for G&T in the bar, before moving to the brasserie for a bite and a blether. The menu reads well, with a particularly good smattering of veggie and gluten free options and accents of Scottish ingredients as expected. I started with ‘haggis filo’ (£6), a crisp spring roll stuffed with spicy haggis and served with the classic sweet red onion chutney and well-seasoned parmentier potatoes. Rachel tucked into a warm ratatouille tartlet with a cheddar glaze (£4), which she reported had a lovely short pastry and suitably soft veggies, however to really ‘Med’ it up, it needed a bit more on the ol’ garlic and herbs front.
On to mains (both £15) , and despite being a smidge overdone, my pan-seared duck supreme was still tender and flavourful with Asian-style soy and sesame glaze and a superbly zingy radish and grapefruit salad which accompanied the meat to perfection. R’s whole baked plaice was an impressive fish, the soft sweet flesh easily came off the bone and the drizzling of sauce vierge dotted with capers kept things fresh. The side of chunky chips should have been better though, as they were disappointingly soft on the outside. Tsk tsk!
Rachel’s espresso crème brûlée was a new take for both of us, bold but sweet, silky as you like and passed the ‘tap-tap-crack’ spoon test with flying colours. My plum and ginger tart was equally proficient on the flavour front, but a dollop of simple vanilla ice cream would have been a better plate-fellow to the maple and walnut variety which appeared.
Whilst there were minor issues, some avoidable (watercress garnish on 3 of 4 savoury dishes) some not (the vast expanse required of a room that must accommodate an entire hotel’s worth of breakfast guests can never feel right for a few cosy bistro tables), there were some nice ideas on the menu made with good ingredients and well-priced.
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