Top Restaurant cofee ...

[pault]

Anybody got views on this ...


I had a meal last night in Manchester's only 5* hotel - The Radisson.

They have a great restaurant where the food was excellent - then with deep misgiving I asked for a macchiato ...

the froth had bubbles the size of beach balls and beneath was insipid dishwater, stale beans and over-extracted ...

they took it off the bill when I refused to take a 2nd sip - but it struck me that the barman had made this terrible drink and the only way things will improve is if they treat the coffee as a proper part of the meal and put the coffee machine in the kitchen rather than in the bar???

it just strikes me as ludicrous that you can have a perfect meal and then a nightmare coffee and this has happened to me time after time. It really isn't me being an old grump because I genuinely loved the meal - just depresses me ...

very best,

Paul.

[Raf]

I do have a view on this: coffee in restaurants is a crying shame, for the most part. I'm eating in some fancy shmancy Parisian boîte this weekend (Pré Catelan, two stars in Michelin) and I'm very curious as to what they'll serve after dinner. Espresso costs a whopping 24 € there, so it must be excellent (btw, if you were wondering if I sold a dotcom to afford a restaurant like that: we're invited )

[aloening]

Could not agree more - it always struck me a strange that the last flavour (other than the obligatory mint!) that you taste is the coffee. With all the care and work that goes into food in the best restaurants (despite what Mr Chirac thinks) the chef is almost never involved in the coffee purchases or production.

When was the last time coffee was discussed by any of the TV celebrity chefs!.

[simonp]

Every coffee I had in Paris a while back (always espresso) was terrible. Great food, terrible coffee.

We have a great Thai restaurant near us, fantastic food, but I will never try the espresso again, Yeeuchh!!

[Gouezeri]

Always try to avoid coffee in "coffee bars" and they are meant to be the specialists, see little reason for restaurants to be any better! On the subject of TV, you need only check out the current UK TV thread to see how bad that is.
These days, I prefer drinking either wine or coffee at home (where I know the quality is better) rather than paying expensive prices for poor products when out.
D

[wallisj]

Same thing ... went to Hart's in Nottingham on saturday night for a meal ... This is one of the top restaurants in nottingham, superb meal, delicious food, great wine and beer....then i asked for a double espresso.....

Got a large cup, 1/2 filled (talking about 6 - 7 oz) of weak crema-less strong coffee ... not really espresso

Such a shame that coffee is treated that way....it boils down to what the Coffeegeek and portafilter podcast guys talk about the "5* coffee experience" or lack of it!

[kingseven]

I think the reference to the 5star coffee experience is more to do with how from every day coffee shop life competitions are, that in competition everything is massively exaggerated etc.

As for restaurant coffee - the coffee is usually bought by the head chef who has drunk rubbish coffee his whole life, and its simply down to price - as they have so many other things to worry about. Its brown, it looks like coffee, it smells a bit like coffee - it must be coffee. What's the difference anyway?

[pault]

It's Mr Grumpy again!

I can't find the bill to give the name of the restaurant but today I had a quick lunch in a French place just round the corner from the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square. It had lots of stickers on the windows suggesting it was in various good eating guides and sure enough the food was great ...

I had wild boar - cooked rare just as I asked - beautiful

and then .... (it will never happen again x 10) I asked for a cappuchino ... I couldn't see it being made but they had what looked like a good machine and grinder and what seemed to be a designated barman/coffee man

the drink - let's forget the drenching of unasked for chocolate all over the top (1 complaint at a time), the milk was scalded - you'd need an asbestos mouth to drink it and underneath - insipid coloured dishwater ...

why oh why don't these places make the most of their equipment? - once again a great meal followed by the final taste of atrociously-made coffee

aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gouezeri]

It's Mr Grumpy again!

Just when things were nice and quiet

I had wild boar - cooked rare just as I asked - beautiful

If it really was a "French" restaurant, I'd be surprised if you got anything else! Go on, dare ya, ask for well cooked next time and watch for the look of total incomprehension..

and then .... (it will never happen again x 10) I asked for a cappuchino

so there's your problem... ask for a cappuchino and you'll get some foul neswell or maxcafe drink made with powdered milk... just think what they might have served you if you asked for a cappuccino instead
could have been worse, could have been an expresso

... I couldn't see it being made

I have a little rule of thumb that says if I can't see it being made, I probably don't want to know how it was made.

How about this... next time, if you have the time... complain... but offer to show them how to make a proper espresso using their equipment... with any luck you'll get to play with a fancy machine and have a free, decent and drinkable beverage! Worth a try! Or otherwise just ask for a Chicoré and wait for the waiter to start humming... at the very least this will infuriate him/her for the rest of the day!
D