Braised Beef Cheek
Auberge Du Lac

Auberge Du Lac

Brocket Hall, Welwyn Hatfield, United Kingdom

Kebab • European • Fast Food • Vegetarian


"A slightly bizarre experience we were welcomed warmly, taken to our table, and given a menu for pre dinner drinks. No food menus were brought. We ordered drinks, which arrived, but still no menus! So we asked for them. No wine list brought. So we asked for one. All rather odd. The starters were mixed a bland crab risotto, a rather vinegary tartare, an excellent parfait and a crispy egg which needed to be runnier, but was tasty, if too salty. The odd service continued: three of the four of us had finished do the waiter cleared our plates including the one of our friend who hadn’t finished, who was left holding a cracker in her hand! The mains were again mixed and generally over salty. The ravioli were excellent; the steak good but in a sauce which was heavy handed on the seasoning, the fish pleasant, again slightly salty and verging on the overcooked. We had chocolate soufflé for pudding generally well made and tasty, but again the service was odd an ice cream was pushed into it at the table by the waiter which caused a good amount of soufflé to fall inelegantly onto the serving plate; the cheese plate was an interesting but small selection of well kept cheese. Good petit fours (though we were surprised that one containing nuts was offered to us all despite one of us not eating nuts, which we had mentioned). So probably four stars over all, but only just. It’s good to see the restaurant open again but based on this experience, while it’s fine dining, it’s got some way to go to reach the standard of cooking I’m sure they’d like to aspire to."

Alston Beef

Alston Beef

Cathedral Street, Manchester I-M4 3TR, United Kingdom

Pasta • British • Steakhouse • Vegetarian


"The first time we went we age from the lunch menu with the 3 courses for £18 option I really enjoyed my starter, the short rib had a beautiful barbecue taste and the pickeled mustard seeds added a fantastic texture and a beautifuly sharp contrast to the meat. I felt like the crispy shallots didn't add much other than texture, maybe more would've helped. Presentation wise I loved the jar the ribs came in For the main course at @alstonmanchestr I opted the Tweed Valley 250g rump steak which was served with garlic butter and fries on the side. The rump was a £3 surcharge to the set menu, I could've had a flat iron steak for no extra charge but I couldn't do that to myself. The steak was so perfect, I asked for mine rare which did not disappoint. The meat was thick and tasty. I enjoyed the fries but I would've preferred chips, also if I wasn't having 3 courses I would've grabbed some veg on the side. For Dessert I enjoyed Dark berries and gin tart with almond ice cream. This was a great end to my meal, the gin undertoned the sharp Berry flavours and wasn't overpowering. The pastry was firm and sweet. and I enjoyed the dessicated almond on the ice cream provided a nice texture. Our second visit we ate in the evening from the a la carte Starter Courgette and corn fritters with chilli tzatziki did not disappoint, they smelt very aromatic and were nice and crispy. The flavours were great but the main event had to be the chilli tzatziki underneath, it tasted incredible Main I had decided a few days before that I deserved a T bone as it had been a while since I had one. This one was 500g and served with either chips, mash or veg, and a choice of sauce. I opted for chips and I decided to try the bone marrow butter which did not disappoint. All the Tweed Valley steaks at Alston are hand selected by a master butcher from the best cattle that's been fed grass and barley My steak, served rare, was perfect and in true T bone fashion got less cooked in the center so I was pretty much eating a live cow..mmmmm. The seasoning on the seared meat was gorgeous and with that bone marrow butter spread on it was taken to a next level"