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18
Sept 2021
Stray Foodie review: Lunch at West Park
Stray Foodie reviews are brought to you by Deliveree, and written by Michelin-starred chef Frances Atkins. Frances independently chooses which restaurants she will visit. This month, she sampled the aged beef at West Park, but was disappointed.
I have long since admired the position of West Park, overlooking the Stray but never eaten there, so this was a treat to cheer up a good friend.
On a sunny day this is a busy, vibrant area with pavement tables reminiscent of Parisienne café culture. With much investment, what was a downtrodden pub has now produced a sophisticated hotel, with a good vibe in-keeping with the local area.
The planning and operation of this establishment is exemplary considering the difficulties the industry has with the lack of staff. The Front of House service was faultless as we sat outside on a pavement table, albeit rather noisy.
This was lunchtime and one would assume that coffees and pastries had been enjoyed prior to lunch.
The menu
Light bites, sandwiches and salads start from £9.00 for a fish butty consisting of a Black Sheep beer battered haddock, tartare sauce in a white or brown bloomer... not for the faint hearted! Or you could have an Indian spiced pulled chicken wrap with baby gem, mango chutney, cucumber and mint yoghurt, also for £9.00.
All sandwiches come with a dressed salad and chunky or skinny fries, or as an alternative there is a feta salad with roasted peppers and croutons, also for £9.00.
The light bites include haddock and leek gratin for £10.00, benedict ham, smoked salmon or spinach also £10.00, and other similar dishes.
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Grandly displayed in front of a very slick floral entrance is a more sophisticated menu with a choice of seven starters, including prawns, scallops, and confit of duck varying from £8.00 to £10.00 each.
As a main, there are variations of aged British beef ranging from £24 to £70. The £70 option is sirloin on the bone for two to share. Also available for a main course is a wagu burger, fish & chips, cod fillet, chicken & ham pie, sticky belly pork or a plum tomato & burrata tart, all priced between £15.00 and £20.00.
It was surprising to me that on this extensive menu, all the vegetarian dishes contained cheese.
The verdict
We ordered a Mount St John courgette and Yorkshire fettle tart with ratatouille and parsley crisps. Sadly, the pastry on this dish was the best thing about it. All there seemed to be on the base was some tomato puree. The courgette was shrivelled and in desperate need of lubrication. Ratatouille contains courgette but it didn’t make another appearance, which was surprising as usually anything from Mount St John’s garden is of the highest quality.
If one boasts the quality of the ingredient on the menu, especially when it comes to rare breed aged beef, it needs to be amazing. However, the beef took 50 minutes to arrive after ordering, and we had declined a choice of sauces on the pretext that it would be well charred and full of its own natural juices. Sadly this was not to be.
Menus need to be written taking into consideration ingredient and staffing availability. In an establishment of this quality in these changing times, a humble plate of fresh, well executed food is much preferable to an overly ambitious menu that needs a lot of advanced preparation.
Stray Foodie reviews are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years. Frances now runs Paradise Food at Daleside Nurseries, alongside fellow Michelin-starred chef Roger Olive and front of house manager John Tullett.
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