Blanch House

My girlfriend and I booked an early evening meal last Friday (5th May) for 7.30pm.

Before we could even get to the front door we were greeted with a smiling face and a very pleasant welcome. We enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail before heading into the restaurant to enjoy a high quality 3-course dinner to include a bottle of red wine. The service was leisurely but on the whole attentive which was very welcome considering the ample sized portions. This provided plenty of time between courses at our request. We finished with coffee and left after a couple of hours very satisfied. I believe we paid about £100 all in.

The experience I had is not reflected by some of the previous comments made by others. I went out expecting to enjoy good food and drink and that's exactly what I received. The price reflected the overall service.

Reading some of the previous reviews it would appear there has been a considerable improvement or maybe a Harvester or Hungry Horse would be a more appropriate place to eat to satisfy their needs!
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E Bourne
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

I was just checking through the latest reviews of Blanche House as I wanted to see if it had improved before I went back. I went two years ago and actually complained about the size of the portions and got a free meal! The manager actually said to me it's good to hear someone give feedback about the food, as many people are too shy to do so - probably they feel too threatened by the pretentiousness of the place! He said he would do something about it - obviously he hasn't. So if the food is still too small then COMPLAIN. Looks like I'm not going back then
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andrew devon
Friday, April 07, 2006

I'm sorry to say you did not pick a bad night. We gave them 2 chances on that principal and they were no better the second time.
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A wilkinson
Friday, February 24, 2006

What can I say? Disappointing is the kindest comment. The old 'wait for the door to be unlocked ' gag was rather annoying - and we hadn't even got inside. OK we decided to eat early and the small bar was empty, nontheless the bar person was very friendly and cherfully served our house champagne at a fairly exhorbitant price.

The restaurant, all white leather and delicate glassware was empty...as I said, it was early, and we sat (it was my wife's birthday) in a corner of the room. Large 'for sale' artworks looked upon us more in pity than encouragement. The waiter, a very trendy French fellow materialised from various portals to serve our excellent Montrachet. Although he guarded it with proprietorial steadfastness the wine was eeked out satisfactorily. The food, hmmm, the food was nothing to write home about . My beef wellington was ok - nothing was hot, just about warm and why on earth the chef thought it might have been the height of culinary art to square whole carrots off at the base and stand them upright on the plate beats me entirely. The calf's liver my wife opted for was overcooked and she swore the vegetables had been re-heated, the potato tower was inedible. My cheese course (£2 supplement!) was plentiful. At £30 at nob for 3 courses plus 12.5% service I shan't be going back. Total bill, service included was £127.00 and they had the cheek to leave the credit card open for further gratuities. There's far better food and much better value elsewhere in the city. Maybe we went on an off night?
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Jon Dudley
Thursday, January 26, 2006

Awful. I think these guys are starting to believe their old (out of date) hype. Similar to other people we experienced the locked door (!), shuffling into a tiny room, having slow and uninterested service and tiny portions of 'okay' food. It didn't blow me away. I eat a lot of business lunches and meals so get to try a lot of difference places and I really didn't think this was worth the money at all. The decor was dated. I am sure this was quite hip and trendy at one stage, but its got stayed and rested on its laurels. Time for a change. Try Hotel du Vin mid-week, One Paston Place or if those are booked, best get a take out and enjoy your own company..
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Dr. H. James
Wednesday, January 18, 2006