40 B4 40-Gilberts Restaurant

No. 26: Grim’s Dyke Hotel-Gilberts Restaurant

The Grim's Dyke Hotel is a carefully restored country house renowned for its special musical events, and has been featured in many films over the years.

 

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Just 12 miles from the centre of London and within easy reach of Heathrow, the magnificent former country residence of Sir William Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) is set in over 40 acres of beautiful gardens and woodlands.

 

The 2 AA rosette restaurant prides itself on serving their own seasonal produce, and the Head Chef Daren Mason has a style of modern British food having trained under Gary Rhodes.

 

Our meal had been in the diary for a few weeks, as my wife & I wanted to take my Mum for a Sunday treat. Like many, I never get to see my Mum anywhere near as much as I would like. Everytime I do, it is always enjoyble and fun.

 

The Grim's Dyke Hotel is without doubt an impressive building and the welcome was warm and formal. In fact, the Gilberts Restaurant dining room was a bit of a throw back. The furniture was traditional, and the numerous waiting staff were all attired in formal black and white.

The menu looked spot on, and we went for a collection of Welsh Rarebit and Chicken Liver Parfait starters. The Welsh Rarebit was a surprise as it consisted of a brioche base, oyster mushroom and a small amount of melted cheese. Not as expected, but tasty never the less. The Chicken Liver Parfait was good.

 

We all went for the same main course, Rib of Beef with Roast Potatoes & Yorkshire Pudding. The beef looked great, and my wife loved it. Sadly, my Mum and I had asked for ‘medium to well done’, and either the waitress had not told the kitchen, or the chef had decided he knew what we wanted better than us! He was wrong. We watch a similar occurrence on to other tables, which seemed unnecessary and totally avoidable. When I asked for some more gravy the waitress was a bit lost, until she said; “Do you mean jus?”. I didn’t, but I couldn’t be bother to explain that they were the same, other than you get more when it is called gravy!

The sweets looked interesting, and I thought it was my lucky day when my wife had more or less had no option to have a sweet, due to it being a three course set lunch. However, my luck backfired, as even I could eat the duo of sweets. The Lavender & Almond Pannacotta was just totally wrong, and the Apple & Ginger Pudding with Ice Cream was sadly boring. Even I get to a stage where you consider the calorie intake not worth it. I am pleased to say my Mum’s Pistachio Creme Brulee was fine.

By reputation, and the full dining room, this was obviously a good place to eat. We had caught it on a poor day, and either the head chef was not in, or they trying just that little bit too hard.

Sitting in the lounge having a coffee, Mum asked us if ‘we watch Downton Abbey, we didn’t. “No, nor do I” she replied. Priceless!

As always, we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I am sure everyone sees their Mum as special, but I am lucky to have one who has always been there for me and I love her to bits. If only I had more time.

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Grim’s Dyke Hotel | Gilberts Restaurant
Old Redding, Harrow, Middlesex, London

www.grimsdyke.com
www.grimsdyke-hotel-harrow.com

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