Malmaison
Victoria Street
Belfast
028 9600 1405
HOTEL restaurants can be hit and miss, as Jeremy Clarkson's producer found out to his detriment.
They range from the Michelin star Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester to the Burger King attached to a Travel lodge in Wales I was once unfortunate enough to find myself staying in.
Belfast has some great hotels serving excellent food and some not so great places where you get the impression the microwave earns its keep.
The Malmaison hotel in Victoria Street has been about for a fair few years, one of the first of the newer hotels that came like a post-peace-process reward to a city reinventing itself.
Since then I've been the hotel bar a fair few times but have rarely eaten anything other than snacks.
The original decor was all very red and garish with lots of crushed velvet, a bit like a house of questionable repute, but it has since been modernised to be much more reflective of the beautiful old building it's housed in.
The dining room has been given a beachy sort of Hampton's-style makeover, making it bright and fresh with lots of bleached wood and pale blue tones.
We went early mid-week on a wet January night when most people were obviously still paying off their Christmas credit card bill because we were the only people there.
As such we had our pick of the plush and extremely comfortable booths along the wall and were seated by a very friendly waiter who seemed delighted to have company.
The main menu was fabulously packed full of all the type of things I like to eat. There were a few special offers on, though in my opinion this needs simplified as even the staff seemed confused by which offer was available at what time of the day.
Regardless, a nice bottle of Spanish white was ordered and we got down to business. My eye was immediately drawn to the Fritto Misto, tiger prawns, calamari and courgette in a crispy batter with an aioli dip. But there was also a tasty-sounding Goan Moules that could be sized up for a main or a prime steak carpaccio if feeling particularly indulgent.
Sticking with seafood theme, my mate went for the scallops with chorizo. The scallops came served in their shells with a puree I think may have been butternut squash or possibly sweetcorn and crispy chorizo. They were seared perfectly – slightly under, as they should be.
My platter was amazing, overflowing with seafood in a crispy batter with loads of fresh chilli scattered over the plate and a rich creamy aioli, packed with garlic flavour.
I was in my element.
For mains I had the cod in a mussel and clam broth with samphire. I can't over emphasise how delicious it was. The plate was packed with perfectly cooked shellfish in a salty broth, tasting of the sea. The cod portion was huge, crispy skin and soft flesh. I'd happily eat that every day of the week.
The friend, having had enough of plundering the sea, went for a Black Angus ribeye. It came pink and blushing with a great charred crust, served with a braised onion stuffed with rich onion puree and topped with crispy onions. It was almost too rich to finish and beautifully seasoned.
I'd eaten a lot of food but, giddy from the bottle of wine, thought we'd share a girly-sounding dessert between us. The Mal hot chocolate, a white chocolate ice-cream served in a large teacup with marshmallow, hot dark chocolate sauce and cream. Not the type of thing you'll find on a Slimming World menu.
It was great and I felt a bit sick afterwards, consumed by calorie-laden guilt.
The service throughout was friendly and understated. As hotel restaurants go, this was a total winner. The bill was nearly £100 but thanks to a January offer, the cheaper starter and main were free, knocking a fair bit off the price.
So all in all, a good, if not very quiet night.
THE BILL
Large bottle of still water £4
Scallops £12.50
Fritto Misto £8.50
Rib eye £25
Cod £16
Pepper sauce £1.50
Mal hot chocolate £6
Bottle Macabeo Sauvignon £22
Total £95.50 – with January offer, £71
