T he Chester Grosvenor Hotel is a fascinating institution; it is the one true 5* deluxe hotel in any British town outside of London and Edinburgh, and quite magnificent. Of course, it features 2 elegant dining areas - the long-celebrated Arkle Restaurant, and the attractive and bustling Brasserie. As I do not regularly visit Chester, I had longed to have dinner at one of these eateries. But the opportunity arose recently; I took the view that as I was by myself, I did not want an elaborate formal meal, and so I chose the Brasserie. I wish I had chosen otherwise! This was arguably the most disappointing meal I have had in a relatively upmarket restaurant. It is such a pity when the surroundings are pleasant, and the service offered with enthusiasm, that the kitchen cannot come up to the same standard.

I started with the French-style Onion Soup, served with a cheese crouton. The visual presentation was excellent. But the after taking the first mouthful, it was apparent that something was not quite as it should be. French Onion Soup should have a natural sweetness from caramelised onions; but this concoction took me rather further along the road to tooth decay than I thought appropriate. It was so sweet, that by the time I had got half way down the bowl, it was like syrup cloying in my mouth. Had someone tipped a bag of sugar in by accident? I will never know. For main course, I made an unwise choice; a dish of foie gras, duck confit,and smoked Alsatian sausage served with choucroute. This combination of Gascony and Alsace sounded fascinating - but it just didn't work. It might have been better had it not all arrived in the same pot. But it did, and consequently the powerful bouquet of the smoked sausage dominated every other meat. But even worse, the vinegar of the choucroute permeated all the meat with a sour taste that not only destroyed all the other flavours in the pot, it also ruined the not inexpensive Beaujolais that I had chosen as an accompaniment. For dessert, I chose ice cream. Well, that was fine, as indeed were the coffee and petit fours. Next time I am tempted into the Brasserie, I will read the menu carefully, and to choose dishes that are straightforward, and not ones that are complicated to prepare, or offer unlikley juxtapositions of ingredients. Unfortunately, it did strike me that the problems I had encountered suggested that the kitchen was trying to take short cuts, in the hope that ignorant provincials would not realise anything was amiss. Don't try this in France is all I can say! Moto