Gazette Restaurant, The Westin, Montreal

Setting

Gazette Entrance.

As a hotel restaurant, the entrance was located down at lobby level, set back slightly be a long coridor.

Tables.

It was fairly large and well lit, but the decor rather generic.  Tables of varying sizes were available, all with standard hard chairs.

Bar.

There is also a long bar, ideal for solo diners (or drinkers) in the evening.

Breakfast

The breakfast a la carte menu is quite extensive, however, I did not order from it.

Canadian Breakfast Table, $24.

I went for the "Canadian Breakfast Table", or, what I'd call ... "the buffet".

"A full selection of natural ingredients including breads and an assortment of Viennese pastries, smoked salmon, Quebec cheeses and cured cold cuts, fresh fruit, berries and low fat yogourts, cereal, oatmeal and a selection of hot meals including made to order omelets, fresh fruit juices, Starbucks® coffee and an assortment of Tazo® herbal teas"

It did indeed offer all of these things and I really enjoyed my meals.

Setting

Breakfast Buffet.

The breakfast buffet space was pleasant enough, plenty of open space, and not a cookie-cutter "butter" assembly line style.

Drinks

Drinks were available at the buffet, but are also available a la cart.

Fresh Juice.  $4.

The juice lineup was orange, grapefruit, apple, cranberry or pineapple for fruity option, or tomato or v8 for vegetable juices.  All available by the cup for $4

Smoothies.

In addition to the juices were smoothies, a choice of orange-banana or blueberry-pineapple-strawberry.  These also were offered a la carte, at a whopping $9 each (presumably larger portions!)

Regular Coffee. $4.75.

Coffee was Starbucks, regular or decaf, and needed to be ordered from the staff.  If not part of the buffet, a single cup of coffee was $4.75!  Clearly, if you were planning to get numerous drinks, the buffet was the way to go.

The coffee really wasn't very good. Starbucks brand, yes, but harsh and acidic.  The first day I thought it may have been old, but it was no better the next day.  I struggled to drink it, and required sweetener.

Interestingly, got a decaf to go both days, and it was far better.

Food

Food is mostly self-serve, so I was able to put together lovely sampler platters each day.  And yes, platters, the plates were quite large!

Breakfast, Round One, Day One.

The first day I went for a little of everything, sweet and savory, plus of course, all the baked goods.  I was blown away by numerous dishes, particularly the muffins.

Breakfast, Round One, Day Two.

The next day I had a slightly different first round, but still a bit of sweet and savory, and another omelet, as I really kinda liked this rolled, crepe-like, style. 

Breakfast, Round one, Day Three.

The third day was no different, and as you can see, every day featured the rolled omelets, not normally something I go for, but quite well done and unique here.

Cereal.

Cereal was all Kellogg's.

The boxed selection was Raisin Bran, Special K, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies.  There were two types of granola in twirl dispensers.

Ugh, the twirly dispensers for granola.  My least favorite things ever.  And these were no different.

I tried to get granola the first day, no luck.  I banged on it, tilted it, etc, no luck.

I tried to get granola the second day, same result.  I wonder if anyone noticed that they NEVER FILL IT because no one can get any??!!  I ended up taking the top off and scooping it out.  I didn't touch it in any way, and used a clean bowl as a scoop, but I'm sure I was breaking every rule.

And, not sure why.  It was just generic, stale (likely cuz it was there FOREVER cuz no one could get to it), Kellog's granola.

A basic bowl of cereal will set you back a whopping $10 a la carte, just the cereal with your choice of milk.  Oooph.

Yogurt.

I didn't try them, but there were individual low-fat yogurt, plain or flavoured, $4.00 if a la carte.

Whole Fruit.

Standard whole fruit offerings of apples, oranges, and bananas were available.

Cut Fruit & Berries.

I went for some of the berries instead.

The strawberries and blueberries were both fine, toppings to jazz up my french toast, but not particularly flavorful on their own.

Cured Cold Cuts.

The cold cuts platter basically always looked like this.  Not just what the offerings were, but how much  was there.  The pate always plentiful, proschuitto non-existant or a single piece left.  I think they took their time refilling the premium products ...

I tried the pate.  It was fine, good flavors, textures, all sorts of bits.

I also tried the proschuitto, which was fine, but not better than average.

Quebec cheeses / Smoked Salmon with capers, lemon, red onion, cottage cheese.

I tried all 3 cheeses.

The round edge one was extremely bland.  It tasted like ... the most generic cheese imaginable.  Not good.

The square shaped one was cheddar though, and it was quite good.  Nicely aged, sharp cheddar.

Last was a triple cream, ripe, but the rind didn't have much flavor, no nuttiness nor funk, and the cheese itself was a bit boring.

The smoked salmon was consistently good.  Oily in the right way, not fishy, nicely smoked.  Great drizzled with some lemon and paired with capers.

Toast, Bagels.

Basic bread and bagels for toasting were provided, along with butter and jam, and a conveyor style toaster.

Homemade Pastries: Day One.

Finally, the part of a buffet I can never resist, a favorite section of mine: the baked goods.

The first day, the top row contained only cinnamon rolls, the middle row had assorted muffins and chocolate croissants, and the third, butter croissants.   The next day, pecan braids were added to the top row, and the muffin varieties changed (the berry one now raspberry/blueberry, the carrot one topped with pumpkin seeds, and the bran no where to be seen).  My final morning cranberry custard twirls were introduced, and the muffins changed again (blueberry, raisin bran, banana).

The muffins were shockingly good.  The other pastries? Standard buffet meh.  But those muffins were excellent.

A pastry "basket", e.g. your choice of any three, is available a la carte for $10.

Day 1 Muffins: Strawberry/Blueberry, Bran, Carrot Walnut.

The first day, in "ZOMG, breakfast buffet" mode, I selected all 3 muffins.  Did I have a dining companion?  No.  Did I need 3 muffins, alongside my french toast, omelet, and sausage?  Absolutely not.  Did I expect to try them, nibble a bit, and feel bad discarding them, but, dislike them all?  Absolutely.  Did that happen?  Nope.

The muffins were good.  Clearly freshly baked from frozen at least.

The berry muffin was my favorite.  Crazy moist, loaded with not only blueberries, but also large juicy chunks of strawberry.  An extremely flavorful and satisfying muffin.

Next favorite?  The one I thought the muffin was a banana nut muffin, with a walnut chunk on top.  It wasn't banana, it was ... carrot!  Much, much better!  Another moist muffin, loaded with shredded carrot, nicely spiced, chunks of walnut on top for crunch.  Good moisture, good spicing, good texture ... check!  You easily could have added some mixed whipped cream and cream cheese and turned it into a cupcake.

Last was the bran muffin.  It was a fine bran muffin.  Denser, heartier, a nice healthy choice.  If I had not just devoured a giant plate of food, and 2 other muffins, I would certainly love it, particularly with a little of the jam and butter.

All were good, all worth getting again.  I immediately knew I had to get the croissants and other pastries the next day!

Day Two Muffins: Raspberry Blueberry, Carrot Pumpkin Seed.

The next day, I very gleefully snatched up one of each muffin.  Maybe it is good there were only two kinds this time.  They both were different from the previous day, slight tweaks on the berry and carrot offerings.

The berry one this time was raspberry and blueberry, and again was excellent.  Really moist, loaded with juicy fruit, quite flavorful.  A sweet muffin though, almost boring on a pound cake style.  Which ... is probably why I liked it?  I probably preferred the strawberry, but only because I like strawberries more than raspberries, and the bigger chunks of fruit provided even more pockets of sweet fruit.

The carrot one this time was topped with pumpkin seeds, which was a bit odd.  I again looked at it and thought that it might be banana or morning glory or something, but, it was the same excellent carrot base, moist, spiced, quite good carrot cake, just, with pumpkin seeds on top for some crunch.  I preferred the walnuts as they were a better match for carrot cake, but the pumpkin seeds were fine.  And this time ... I did whip up some sweetened cream cheese and just turned it into icing for a carrot cake.  Yes!

Overall, berry slightly better than carrot, both wonderful.

Day Three Muffins: Raisin Bran, Banana, Blueberry.

The final morning there were only a few muffins in the basket, a single blueberry, two of one kind (banana) and two of another (bran with nuts and raisins).  I snatched one of each, but was sad to see no carrot muffins this time.

The banana was the least interesting, just a simple banana bread muffin, but moist and fine if you like banana bread.

The bran was loaded up with juicy raisins and nuts, far more interesting than the bran from several days earlier.  A nice hearty muffin, and I enjoyed it warmed up with butter and jam for leftover breakfast the next day.

And finally, the blueberry.  I was sad it was just blueberry and didn't have strawberries, raspberries, or some other fruit, as this was just most of a simple blueberry muffin / pound cake, but, it was fine.

Pecan Braid / Chocolate Croissant / Cinnamon Roll.

After the success of the muffins, I went for ... all the other pastries.

None were good.  Classic buffet danishes, really.  The pastry wasn't very flaky nor buttery, but at least they weren't soggy, or stale, or dried out?

The little chocolate croissant was the worst, barely any chocolate inside, and what was there wasn't of high quality.  The pecan braid was the second worst, basically just disappointing, since I've had similar ones that were good so it had some promise, but alas, not much pecan filling at all, just a boring danish.  Which means the cinnamon roll was the best, but, it too was low end mediocre.  Eh to the pastry, and the cinnamon goo filling wasn't particularly generous or interesting.  Even the very center wasn't gooey or special.

Don't bother with these.

Cranberry Custard Twirl.

One day I'll take my own advice.  I grabbed one of these the final morning, when the entire middle basket was filled with them.  If they were going to take over, they must be good right?

It was actually the best of the non-muffins.  The top was crispy in a good way, the custard added some moisture, and overall, it was fine, except for the fact that I don't like dried cranberries.  Still dramatically better than the others.

Oatmeal & Toppings.

I did try a bite of the oatmeal, literally just a couple spoonfuls, just for completeness.

It was ... buffet oatmeal.  Gloopy, thick, strange film on top, not good in any way.  At least they had lots of toppings, including another container of real maple syrup, nuts (walnuts, pecans), fruits (dried cranberries, raisins, blueberries), seeds (pumpkin, flax), and brown sugar.

Oatmeal is available a la carte with sliced bananas and pecans on top, drizzled with honey, for $8.  I can't imagine that is much different, and, it isn't as customization.

Eggs: Scrambled, Daily Omelet.

Every day featured two egg dishes.  One always scrambled eggs, one always an omelet.  No poached, fried, or other styles, no whites only.  Certainly no fun things like benedict, although these are all available on the a la carte menu, and the "breakfast table" did say it included made to order omelets, I just never saw them, nor a sign or anything indicating that these truly exist.

The scrambled eggs seemed to be a crowd favorite, which confused me greatly, but it was nearly always empty, and was constantly being refilled.  Maybe people just take big scoops of that compared to other items?

From the a la carte menu, you can construct your own three egg omelet, with a variety of fillings, for $16.

Scrambled Eggs.

Yeah, I don't like eggs, but I tried the scrambled eggs when it was a fresh batch, taking just a tiny tiny scoop.  If everyone else was gobbling these up, I didn't want to miss out!

They were just generic scrambled eggs (from a powder? a liquid?), nothing interesting at all.  Not creamy nor rich.  No idea why everyone wanted these.

Omelet Day One: Spinach, Mushroom, Cheese.

The rolled omelet however was actually quite nice, for an omelet.

One amusing quality that I liked was the fact that the top and bottom were slightly crispy, from being in a hot box.  I liked the texture it added, almost like a crepe!

I'm not really an omelet girl, but the rolled style is certainly something I prefer to American style, as I like the thin layers and texture changes.

Inside was a generous stuffing of spinach, mushrooms, and cheese.  The spinach was nicely wilted and not soggy, the mushrooms soft but not mushy, and the cheese stringy, gooey, and nicely melted.

A very decently executed omelet, not what you expect from a buffet at all.

Omelet Day Two: Asparagus and Cheese.

After the near success of the omelet the first day, I was happy to take one the next day as well.

But it was far less interesting.  No crispy top, thicker layers of egg, just, a standard rolled egg omelet.  Which was fine, if you like eggs, I'm sure.  It was nicely made.  But not crepe-like as the day before, the part of it that I liked.

The filling too wasn't as fun, just asparagus, and a tiny bit of cheese.  Barely any cheese, not nearly as gooey as the previous day.

Meh to this, but, again, I don't like eggs, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this, I was mostly just surprised the previous day.

Omelette Day Three: Denver.

Don't ask why I kept trying these.  Particularly this one, that was sitting in a visible pool of water.

But it turned out to be my favorite, and I devoured it.  I selected the most dried out looking piece, intentionally.

It was back to the thin, almost crepe-like style that I liked.  Inside was again tons of perfectly melty cheese, cubes of ham, onions, and colorful bell peppers.  It was the filling that made this.  While I didn't really care about the ham, the veggies were remarkably well seasoned, and whatever cheese it was, clearly the same one as the first day, was delicious.  I loved the filling, and the thin layers of the crepe, er, omelette, really were tasty.

I may have drizzled (ok, dunked) this in maple syrup, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Poached Egg (with Hollandaise).

The last day, I also asked for a poached egg, once I found out I could order eggs any way (including a different variety of omelette if I wanted).  I hesitantly asked if I could have a little hollandaise added, as I know they have it for the a la carte benedict.  I was told it would be extra, but my server brought it with my egg, saying he asked for it anyway, but not to count on it in the future.

This was fine, a standard poached egg, kinda runny whites still inside.  The hollandaise was decent, not broken, but more lemony than I like.

Fine, but eh, go for the omelettes!

Breakfast Meats: Bacon, Ham, Sausage.

Every day had the same trio of basic breakfast meats.  All are also available a la carte for $4.50.

The sausage type never changed, and it was never revealed what the actual protein is.

Sausages.

Well huh.  I'm not sure what inspired me to take a sausage the first day, I guess a "hey, you should have a meat protein", was a fleeting thought as I walked by?  And sometimes I do adore sausage.

And ... I really liked this sausage.  I'm not sure what kind it was, I think perhaps pork, perhaps chicken, perhaps turkey.  I really have no idea.

The skin was snappy, it was really well seasoned, the interior texture was just right, not grisly nor strange.  Perfect with some drizzled maple syrup!

Grilled Cured Ham.

After the success with the sausage, the next day I went for the ham.  Do I like ham?  No.  Did it look like just sliced deli ham?  Basically.  But ... I was drawn in by the grill marks!

I should have listened to myself.  It was ... grilled sliced deli ham.  Lol.  Yes, it was grilled, it had grill marks, but it wasn't magically smoky or interesting in any way.  Fine if you want ham, probably nice inside a breakfast sandwich you construct, but, uh, not for me.

Canadian Bacon.

On the third day, for completeness, and, a real desire for something salty and crunchy, I took a little piece of bacon.

It was ... bacon.  Super crispy, not flabby, not oily, fine bacon.

French Toast (pain doré): Day One.

Much like the muffins, the french toast was a huge surprise.

I love my breakfast carbs, but french toast is at the bottom of my list.  Soggy eggy bread? Eh.  And from a hot tray in a buffet?  Ha.  It didn't even look fresh.

But I was in "Buffet day #1 mode", e.g. "TRY ALL THE THINGS!", and took a piece, slathering it with maple syrup.  Points for having real syrup, from Quebec.

Soggy eggy bread this was not.  It was nicely moist, slightly crisp, and definitely not eggy.  It was sadly also not very warm.  If I hadn't slathered it in syrup already, I would have gone back to the toaster and given it a ride there to warm it.  The cold quality did lower this a notch.

I know this still doesn't sound great though.  Sure, not *bad* french toast, but it was still cold, what was good about it?  The bread they used!  This was clearly a rich broiche, perhaps even pound cake.  Great flavor, very rich, sweet even.

I wanted whipped cream so badly though.  And I wanted it hot, or at least warm.  There was so much potential here though.  If you get the french toast from the a la carte menu, it comes with syrup, or whipped cream, or berry compote.  I was tempted to do that the next day.  You also have the choice of regular or cinnamon glazed french toast!

French Toast: Day Two.

The next day ... the french toast, labelled the same, was totally different looking.

The slices were now larger regular sandwich bread slices.  It looked lightly battered in traditional egg dunk.  Classic french toast, which is something I never really like that much.

I still tried it, as it was a fresh batch, and I almost adored it the previous day, but ... yes, just traditional french toast, made with regular bread, no real cinnamon spicing, slightly eggy, decently moist, but entirely boring for me.

No additional toppings showed up either, just the maple syrup from the previous day.

French Toast: Day Three.

The third day, the french toast changed yet again.  Croissant french toast?  It was promising, but looked soggy.

And it was soggy.  Nothing really good to say about this.   Good re-purposing of leftover croissants?

Tomatoes / Potatoes.

The veggie sides were always seasoned colorful mixed little tomatoes, and some kind of fried potato.  Both available a la carte for $4.

I tried both the first day.

The seasoned tomatoes looked amazing, and were fine, but not particularly flavorful nor blistered.  Not super awesome summer tomatoes as I was hoping.

The potatoes were just tiny chunks of crispy potatoes.  Again, fine, crispy, not too oily, but not really my thing.

Potatoes: Day Two.

The next day, the potatoes were larger wedges, clearly with some kind of seasoning on them.  The label was again the same, simply, "potatoes", and I didn't try them.

Potatoes: Day Three.

The final day they were again wedges, this time, no seasoning.

Tapas

In the evening, the space is a full restaurant, featuring a regular menu, but also extensive tapas lineup.  Tapas are also available at the bar area, where I dined for a bite and a drink one night.  I sat at the large beautiful bar that first night, but just grabbed a glass of wine to take back to my room the next.

Bar Pretzels.

The restaurant was essentially empty, save for one large (very loud) party, but the bar had a number of folks having drinks and snacks.  The bartender was fully bilingual, and service was good.  I was provided with pretzels the moment I sat.

Tapas Menu.

The tapas menu is quite varied, with nibbles like cheese platters and charcuterie, standard bar favorites like chicken wings and ribs, but also far more exciting options like lobster rolls, salmon poke, and a smoked sausage dog!

Salmon Poke & Sauvignon Blanc.

I was drawn in by many choices, I almost went for the lobster roll, but, it had sriracha tartar sauce, and, often I'm just not so into sriracha.  I almost went for the crispy calamari, wanting something salty and fried.  Even the fried pork dumplings sounded appealing.  And that smoked sausage dog ... topped with cheese, slaw, and crispy lardons!

But the poke got my vote.  I know, an odd choice on the surface, but I had seen photos of it, and I knew it had some serious crispy tempura goodness.  Since I was getting seafood, I opted for white wine.

It was all good, the poke very unique, but I wouldn't call this a destination restaurant.

Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand.

My bartender recommended three different whites to pair with the poke, a riesling, chardonnay, or sauvignon blanc.  I went for the later, described to me as "aromatic" and from New Zealand.  It was fine, not to dry nor harsh nor acidic, but a sweeter style than I prefer, and not particularly great.

Pinot Noir.

The next night, I just took a glass of red wine back to my room, as I wasn't really up for dealing with the people, and needed to pack up anyway.  The options were Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and an Italian varietal I forget the name of.  I went with the pinot.

It was fine.  Not too tanic, not acidic, but also, really just a table wine.  Nothing complex going on here at all.  A fine wine, but, not remarkable.

Poke: Marinated Salmon. $15. (No avocado).

"Sesame - fried rice - tempura - green scallions - tobiko - homemade wafu sauce." 

Now do you see why I ordered this?  Yeah, not your standard poke!

On top was chunks of salmon, normally mixed with avocado, and topped with a big mound of fresh slaw.  On the sides were tempura bits, and the whole thing was drizzled with their own wafu sauce.

The drizzle of sauce was awesome.  Creamy, sesame flavored, delicious.  I believe it was also the base of the slaw, which was fresh, crisp, a mix of cabbage and carrot, with tobiko in there for some pops.  The tempura bits on the side added some crunch.  An amazing combination, really.

I really enjoyed the slaw and sauce and tempura bits.

The base of the poke was of course the most fascinating part, and I knew exactly what to expect.  A huge crispy tempura fried, nori wrapped, sushi rice patty.

Crispy Tempura Nori Wrapped Sushi Rice.

The base was as fun as I hoped it would be.

Crazy crispy.  So so crispy, so well coated.  Held together perfectly by the nori, which also gave a slight fishy taste (in a good way).  Inside was standard sushi rice, a thin layer, sticky, warm.  So fun, and a really unique presentation.  I did find that the large size was a bit much, while I liked it, it grew to be too much.

I really enjoyed the crispy component, plus some slaw, plus some dressing.

Plating Fail.

The slate, while nice looking at some level, was totally impractical.  The moment I cut into the crispy tempura rice on the bottom, the top piece of salmon fell off onto the shiny bar.  I really was careful, but it was unavoidable, without just dissembling the dish.

Also not practical?  The size of the chunks of salmon.  They were huge, far bigger than bite size.  My creation contained 4, but of course, I lost one, a 25% loss!  Which I didn't mind in any way, as the salmon wasn't great.  It wasn't bad, not fishy, but also just nothing special.

So overall, a good dish, unique, but the plating, cut on the fish, and the size of that fried rice patty all made it a bit impractical.

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Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, Heathrow

Um, wow?  That is what I have to say about the experience of flying Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow.  What an experience this was.

The lounge itself is in the top 5 of lounges I have visited, coming in behind the amazing Qantas First Lounge in Sydney and the amazing Cathay Pacific lounges in Hong Kong, but ahead of any other Heathrow lounges I have visited (including the BA Galleries Business or First Class lounges, even the Concorde Room), and most other international lounges.

But, the arrival experience is what sets flying on Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic apart.  You ... regular Heathrow check in and security, entirely.  I've never experienced anything like this before, and honestly, seems like the closest I'll ever feel to being a celebrity.

The food and drinks are ... ok.  The made-to-order dining plates look stunning, but I didn't actually find the food to be great (particularly compared to SFO, where I really did enjoy the food).

Arrival

I'm glad I did my research about flying with Virgin Atlantic.  Yes, I got an e-mail about arriving at the airport, but really, who reads those?  If you are flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, um, you should.  Because you have access to a private check-in and security.  And it is entirely non-obvious, as in, you don't even start by going to the regular drop off location at the terminal.  And you have pre-work to do.  But, wow, it is worth it.

First, you must check in online in advance.  Easy-peasy.  Then, you call a special number ahead of your arrival, and provide the details on the car you are arriving in, plus all passengers in the car, and how many bags you will check.

Once you near Heathrow, you turn off before the regular Terminal 3 drop-off area.  You proceed to a gate.  You drive onto some speed humps, wait for them to verify your car, and then proceed through.  You go up a long ramp.  At the top is a circle, vacant when we arrived.  We pulled the car up, and immediately, the place swung into action.  Not one, not two, but three people were immediately at our car side, ready to take our bags, and lead us inside.  It was surreal.

Lobby.

We were lead into a bright, open lobby, with a mini model plane.  It was empty.  In front was a desk, with a beaming receptionist.

She looked at our passports, and handed us our boarding passes.  Wait, what?  We were checked in.  No ticket counters, no lines, no other people ... that was ... it?

In the two seconds she was looking at our passports, someone tagged our bags and took them away.

I couldn't really believe what was going on.  Is this what it is like for celebrities in normal life?

Security.

My amazement continued as walked a few steps to security.  That is, a vacant hallway, with literally no one in it.  It lead to a belt with trays to put our things on, and a metal detector.

Besides the folks working the checkpoint, again, there was ... no one.  No line, no people.

I've never had such a calm security experience.

Once we stepped through the metal detector, real life resumed again, as we were in the regular terminal at that point.  People, noise, crowds.  Duty free.  A bit of a walk to the lounges.

So, this could be better, if the security opened directly to the lounge.  But seriously, what a check in experience!

The Elevator.

The lounge entrance was on the second level.  Since I had a rolling bag, we opted for the elevator.  Even that was ridiculous.  It had, I'm not joking, a bench seat.  Note that this elevator goes exactly one level.  Ojan tried it out.

The Spa

Once inside the entrance of the lounge, I had 4 priorities: ditch my bags, bathroom, book a spa treatment, explore the food options.  In that order.

Dropping my luggage was easy, right inside the door, and I was handed a tag to reclaim it later.  They asked which flight I was on, and assured me that it would be ready for me once the boarding call was made.

Bathroom.

The bathroom was broken into individual little rooms, not really stalls.  Each had its own sink, cloth wash clothes, nice hand soap and lotion, etc.

Hair Salon.

And then, to the spa I went.  The selection of complimentary treatments was a bit different from other lounges, as, well, a haircut was one of them.  And all sorts of shaving options for men.  You could also pay for a extensive range of other services.

Unlike the BA lounge, availability was wide open, so I opted to make an appointment for 2:15pm, so I could do my massage right before needing to leave, and could use the immediate time to explore the lounge.  Ojan was able to book a treatment at the same time.

It was really rather amazing to see someone getting their hair cut there ... I can't imagine trusting a random stylist!

The salon area was all branded by Bumble & Bumble, and really did look like a real salon.

Treatment Area.

On the other side is the area for other sorts of treatments: massages, facials, hand and feet, etc.  Sadly, body massages are not part of the complimentary service, not even a chair massage.

My first visit, in 2016, I opted for the scalp and neck message, which was a 15 minute treatment in a massage chair.  I had my choice of products to use (one oil based, another tonic, which I went for) and my choice of "inhalants" (lavender or lemongrass).  It really was amazingly relaxing.

The next year, I went for it again.  I was offered lemongrass or lavender scents on my hands to start, and had a deeply relaxing mostly head massage, with a bit of neck at the end.  I'd still prefer an actual back massage, but this was more relaxing than I imagined it could be.

Seating

The lounge is ... well, huge.  It is arranged into distinct areas, so there really is something for any mood.  The areas are all connected and open, but the overall feel is quite tranquil, not loud and chaotic.  There is light music playing throughout.  While the lounge did have plenty of patrons, it also wasn't crowded, you had your choice of virtually any space to pick from. 

Reading Material, Seating.

Right when you enter, there is a large table with assorted newspapers and magazines.  I didn't peruse these options at all.

This also gives you a bit of a view of the main center of the room, with assorted seating, and gleaming wooden floors. 

Bar.

The very center of the space is the huge, huge bar.

There are many seating options right close to the bar, including comfy leather loungers, and other wing chairs, arranged around round tables for four.  At the bar itself is counter seating.

The Den: Game Area.

Another area features carpet flooring, and a pool table.

This is the start of "The Den", sports and hangout inspired, seemingly appealing to the "man cave" sort.

The Den: Couches.

Adjacent to the game area is large couches, that looked perfect for taking a nap, or hosting a large group.

The Den: Leather Armchairs.

Huge leather armchairs, and chaise lounges, offer other "bro" style seating options in the Den.

The Den: TV Zone.

The Den also houses a large screen area, with sports on TV and video games available.

The Den: Candy Jars.

The final element of the den area is a row of candy jars, with mints and sweets.

Sadly, these no longer existed in 2017.

Play room.

The other play area is designed for a younger audience, a colorful play room.  Interestingly, I didn't see any children in the lounge, anywhere.

The Library: Book Wall. 2016.

A completely different experience awaits in the Library, the only area that did have doors to close it off.  This space had a huge wall of books, and, abundant power chargers, for every style of device.

This space was crazy quiet, not that the other areas were loud, but it did not have soft music playing, and, due to the doors, you couldn't hear any noise from the dining or bar areas either.

The Library: Seating.

The library has several styles of seating, including big couches.  It is a large area, and, while we were there, only one other person was seated in the entire space.

The windows in this area are more normal windows, making it feel a bit more like a library/den in someone's home.

The Library: Workstation.

The library also has individual work pods, some that come with laptops if you dont' have your own.

The Library: 2017.

They did renovations.  And they tore down the wall.  And, well, removed the library entirely, replacing it with more standard dining tables.

I'm not sure why they did this, as the lounge has never been crowded when I visited, and in particular, people don't seem to tend to choose the dining seats.  This area was marginally quieter than the main lounge, but, just barely.

Strange Blue Chairs.

Back out in the main room, along the big light filled window area, is a slew of different seating styles.  Some ... were more practical than others.

Like these, totally uncomfortable blue quasi-chairs.

Window Seating.

I took a seat in one of these chairs, and was shocked by how uncomfortable it was.  Still, there really were options, and plenty of spaces to plug in devices as well.

The Loft.

But that was just the ground floor.  You could go up a white marble staircase to reach "The Loft".

This space was incredible, under a cieling of glass, with views of the airport in action.  It was incredibly tranquil, and I couldn't believe that there was no one in this space, besides me!  I had my own level to myself!

Viewing Deck.

But if you really wanted to see the planes, you could climb up two more flights of stairs, to the viewing deck, an outside area.  Yes, outside.  Fresh air.  In an airport.  What!

The Drinks

After taking a quick stroll through the lounge, it was time to set myself up with a drink.

There are absolutely no self-serve options, besides a water station on the bar.  While I understand the feel they are going for, I really would have preferred to be able to pour my own sparkling water, make a coffee, etc.

I started with a glass of pinot, as my server said it was light and not tannic, but, I didn't care for it at all.  It did have too much tannin for my taste.  I moved on to a cocktail.

Cocktail Menu.

Cocktail menus are located on every table throughout the room, and you can order from anywhere from a server, or just walk up to the bar.

Cocktail Listings.

The first page of the cocktail menu is a mix of some signature Virgin Atlantic drinks you can find in most of their lounges, like the "Virgin Redhead", plus a bunch of classics, like a Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Margarita, Daiguiri, Bloody Mary, Martini, etc.

Opposite that is the "Spririt of the Clubhouse" selection, speciality drinks just for Heathrow.

Modern Botany Cocktails.

The final pages of the cocktail menu are a collaboration with the "International Bartender of the Year", with a bunch of botany inspired cocktails.  I'll admit that some sounded interesting, but, I'm not really into floral elements, so I didn't try any.

Mexican Greyhound (2016).

"James Wyld Patron tequila, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, black peppercorns, agave syrup. Shaken."

My cocktail was quite successful.  I really was in a tequila mood on this trip, I'm really not sure why, but it was a theme throughout.  I ordered the Mexican Greyhound hoping it would remind of the really amazing, also Mexican named cocktail I had at The Blind Pig (review coming soon).

I liked it.  It wasn't as amazing as the Blind Pig cocktail, but it was very balanced, a bit tart, a bit sweet, and had a great tequila flavor.

Concrete Sazerac from Dandelyan, London. (2017).

"Stone washed Dewar's 12 scotch, fermented biters, absinthe, chocolate stones."

I ordered this to get the opportunity to try out a cocktail from the famous Dandelyan.

It was pretty fascinating, and no light drink.  At first it looked like a small cocktail, but, I assure you, it did the trick.

Whiskey forward, as, well, there wasn't anything to make the booze, unless absinthe (!) counts?  The bitters gave it even more a touch.

Nice to sip on, and I liked it, but I think I'd prefer it as an evening drink.

In the base of the cup was the chocolate stones.

Three stones.  I thought they were just whiskey stones, that had been soaked with chocolate perhaps?  It didn't occur to me that they would be something I could eat until one of the spa members asked me, "are they edible?".

Well, huh.  I wasn't sure.  And I certainly didn't want attempt to bite into an actual stone and chip my tooth right before a flight.

It made me want to drink my cocktail even faster to reach them, but, with this cocktail, that was not the right thing to do.

Chocolate Stones!

Finally, I got to them.  I very, very tentatively bit into one.  Yup, chocolate!  Hard candy coated chocolate.

These were fairly remarkable, and looked very realistic.  All three stones were a different style.

I liked the shell on the chocolate stones, but didn't particularly care for the mediocre chocolate itself.  I'm also just not sure how they enhanced the cocktail?  I don't think much chocolate got through the shell in order to actually infuse the drink.  Fascinating though.

Decaf Americano (2016).

Later on during my stay, when I ordered dessert, I also opted for a decaf Americano.

It was actually pretty good, and didn't seem instant.  It wasn't as hot as I'd like, mostly likely due to the time it took for someone to make it, a server to come collect it, and then to come find me.  Again, a self-serve option for basic coffee really would be nice.

Decaf Americano (2017).

The next year, I again opted for a decaf americano alongside my dessert.  It was fine, unremarkable, and like many things, lukewarm.

The Food

Of course, this is Julie's Dining Club, and you are likely wondering about the food, right?  I'll get to that soon, I promise.  There are two main food options, made-to-order meals, or, a "Deli".  Neither are self service.  Besides the candy jars in the Den, there is actually nothing self-service.  Again, I sorta wanted an option to grab a bag of chips or a bowl of snack mix.

Dining Area.

I appear to have not taken a photo of the dining room, but, there is a whole section with standard dining tables of assorted sizes.

Place Setting.

Tables in the dining area came pre-set with plates, napkins, and silverware, plus salt and pepper shakers, sugar, and fresh flowers.

You can also opt to order food from anywhere else in the lounge, where servers are constantly roving, and they will bring you silverware and everything you need.

Each table has a number on it, in the dining area and throughout, so that other servers know where to bring each food or drink item as it is ready.

Ojan and I choose to sit at a regular table for our first full meal, but I sat in the library for dessert, and had another snack and cocktail up in the Loft.

Dining

Besides the deli, the food is all made to order, like a regular restaurant, and you order from a fairly extensive menu, ranging from tapas, starters, mains, salads, and desserts, plus a few items for children, that I'm sure adults can order too.  The first page of the menu is breakfast, but, alas, breakfast is only served until 11:30am, so, all I could do is drool over the thought of pancakes.  The menu also contained the Afternoon Tea selection, served from 3-5:30pm, with finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and a large tea selection.

Ojan wasn't feeling well, and was in a rush to order some food in hopes it would calm his stomach.  As such, we ordered quickly, which meant I really didn't have time to think through the options.  I do blame some of my dislike of the meal on my ordering choices, as they were made hastily.

Overall ... I didn't really like any of the food.  It was beautifully plated though, truly, "restaurant quality".  The food in the SFO Clubhouse was far more enjoyable.  That said, the Deli was great, I just didn't realize it until too late.

While the food looked like fine dining, the service experience wasn't that.  Ojan and I ordered hot tapas, two hot starters, and two entree salads, and they all arrived at once, which isn't exactly what we wanted.  Our table was quickly filled with food that was lukewarm when it arrived, and it got cold quickly.  If I was in a rush though, I would have appreciated how quickly the food all came.

Tapas

"Our Menu of small bites.  We suggest two for a snack, or four as a main meal."

Tapas Menu (2016).

The first section of the menu is Tapas.  How these are really different from the starters I'm not sure, I guess slightly smaller portions?

Anyway, this section had a number of interesting items, really something for every palette, ranging from a warm sausage roll, chicken wings, and chips for more bar food style dining, to hummus and veggies, smoked salmon and avocado salad, and squash soup for the healthy diners, and crispy cockles, confit duck, and gyoza to go a bit more upscale.

I did want to try the sausage roll, but, alas, I was only there for one meal, so, it got cut.  If I had ordered just one more item, that would have been it.

Steamed vegetable gyoza / dark soy sauce. (2016)

The gyoza came in a small steamer basket, served with metal chopsticks on the side.  A nice presentation.  The order contained two gyoza.

The gyoza just ... weren't good.  The wrapper was slimy but also dried out and hard on the edges.  The filling was just veggie mush.  I did not like these at all.

Credit for the serving vessel though.

Tapas Menu: 2017.

The next year, the tapas menu was entirely different, no dim sum, and this time some interesting choices like breaded olives with truffle honey and harissa mayonaise.

Crispy Squid / Chili and lemon salt (2017).

This came from the tapas menu.  Crispy fried squid.

It was ... fine.

It arrived very quickly.  It was lukewarm.  Fairly oily

Not particularly seasoned, and not served with any dipping sauce.

Lackluster really.

Main Menu

Starters / Main Courses / Salads / Desserts (2016).

Next was the main menu, containing starters, main dishes, salads, and desserts.

There were only 3 starters: the same soup as we saw on the tapas menu (perhaps a larger portion?), a chicken bao bun, and smoked haddock fish cakes.  I opted for the fish cakes, Ojan for the bao.

Next were 3 mains: an indian chicken curry with rice, raita, pickles, chuntney, pappadom, and naan, steamed mussels with fries, or the Signature Clubhouse Burger.  We skipped all of these.

I had read many amazing reviews of the indian cuisine served in the Clubhouse, but, alas, it was chicken.  I clearly read through the menu too quickly though, as I didn't notice the fine print until much later: "a vegetable curry is also available".  Doh.  I would have loved veggie curry, particularly since it comes with naan, chutney, pickles, and more.  Next time.

I also missed the fine print under the burger: "a field mushrooms, brie, and truffle burger is also available".  I didn't really want a beef burger, as I assumed it wouldn't be cooked to my liking, but, brie and truffles?  Yes!  I was clearly too excited to read the menu closely.  I wished it was available online so I could have made my decisions in advance.

Then, 3 salads: a Greek salad, a Caesar, and a French bean salad.  These were all large entree salads, and none were standard at all, as in, the Caesar came with bacon and a poached egg, the Greek with tapenade.  I opted for the caesar, trying to at least have some vegetables, and Ojan went for the Greek, just as he did in the SFO Clubhouse.

The dessert menu was a bit sad, Country & Cream ice cream in assorted flavors (you had to ask what they were, and the ice cream was just packaged ice cream), fruit salad (also on the tapas menu, and totally not a dessert), a lemon tart (boo, lemon), and a strange sounding strawberry & cream option (which I ordered, later).

Starter: Smoked haddock fish cakes / pickled cucumber and fresh lemon. (2016).

My starter was the fish cakes, served perched on top of pickled cucumber, and with a lemon wedge on the side.  Like the tapas, it came two to an order, so I really don't understand why they are in different sections of the menu.

The fish cakes were only marginally better than the gyoza.  For one, they were lukewarm.  The cake was a bit crispy on the outside, but mostly just mushy and and a bit fishy inside.  One cake had a dollop of something creamy on top, but there was no aioli or other sauce for the other.  The cucumber was very pickled, crazy tangy.

So, uh, cold, mushy fishy cakes with no sauce?  Yeah, not for me.

For his starter, Ojan had the "Crispy chicken bao bun / spring onion, coriander, and wasabi mayonnaise", but, he got into it before I could take a photo.  He knows better, but, he wasn't feeling well, so I forgave this transgression.  I also wasn't intending to try it, because it was chicken.  But, shockingly, he offered me a chunk at the end, saying I needed to try the sauce.

The bao was warm and fluffy, but it didn't have a bit of sweetness I usually like the bun.  The wasabi mayo however was indeed tasty, creamy, and with a bit of kick.  I see why he offered it to me.  Of all the prepared food we had, the bao with wasabi mayo was the tastiest bite.

Salad: Caesar / anchovies, crispy bacon, poached egg, and parmesan. (2016).

This was a very interesting interpretation of a caesar salad, and certainly not what I was expecting.  Remember when I said I didn't read the menu very carefully?  Yeah, I didn't.  A poached egg on my salad?  Meh, I don't like eggs!

 So, what did we have here, besides the poached egg?

Huge chunks of little gem lettuce.  Crispy parmesan chips.  A huge long crispy crostini.  A long crispy slice of bacon.  A handful of anchovy filets.  A tiny drizzle of dressing.  Micro greens to garnish.

Uh ... caesar salad?

I didn't like this.  The lettuce was fresh and crisp at least, but, the large chunk format was a bit annoying to deal with.  It would have been fine, if it had some dressing, but the salad was entirely undressed, save the little drizzle of dressing on top.  Plain lettuce is not my thing.

Instead of croutons, there was the long, crispy crostini, again, an element that was a bit annoying to deal with. Instead of shredded parmesan, there was two crispy parmesan frico.  They were crunchy, salty, and intensely parmesan, so they were ok.  The bacon was also crazy crispy.

The egg was actually decently poached, the yolk ran out nicely, the white wasn't under, but, I didn't really want a (cold) poached egg in my salad.  I ate it, and some anchovies, to ensure that I had enough protein.  Had I known how great the deli was though, I certainly would have just abandoned this.

Overall, yes, it was beautiful, yes it was a fun play on a caesar, but, it just wasn't what I wanted.

Salad: Greek / broad beans, tapanade, and crispy red onion. (2016).

Ojan went for the Greek salad, which, was only a Greek salad in name.  Yes, it had lettuce (very little), cucumber (mandolined and rolled up), tomato (sundried), olives (as tapanade), and a couple large pieces of feta.  It also had chunks of green pepper in addition to the broad beans and crispy red onions mentioned on the menu.

Ojan wasn't really into this, and wanted a regular Greek salad.  I tried the crispy onions and a sundried tomato, both of which were fine, but nothing special.

Main Menu (2017).

The menu in 2017 was entirely different for the main dining as well, although the signature burger and curries remained.

I skipped the starters, since I started with tapas instead, but my companion had the tuna poke.  I was at my spa appointment when it arrived though, so I wasn't able to try it.

Butter Poached Cod / Mashed Potatoes / Spinach / Caper and Parsley Hollandaise.

Well, this was a lovely plate.  And it was fine.

A bed of raw spinach, topped with mashed potatoes and a piece of cod, smothered in hollandaise, and garnished with crispy capers and some kind of micro green.

The raw spinach was a bit odd of an accompaniment.  Rather hard to eat.  But fine, baby spinach.

The cod was decently cooked, although not as delicate as I'd like.

The mash was crazy rich.  Like way too rich, and over whipped, almost glue-like.

The hollandaise was fine, likely the same as they use on the eggs benedict, but the plate was smothered.  I love this kind of sauce, but, on the already too rich mash, it was just too much.

I did love the crispy, salty, fried capers.  They were great.  

Dessert

The dessert menu was always meager, fruit salad, cheese, and ice cream, and 2 other items.

Strawberries and cream / strawberry jelly, clotted cream and shortbread ice cream. (2017).

Well, this is not quite what I was expecting.  That said, uh, I guess it was what the menu said.

Yes, a cocktail glass full of ... strawberry jello, topped with a few strawberry halves, a sprig of mint, and a scoop of ice cream.

I was expecting clotted cream somewhere, but I realize, it did say "clotted cream and shortbread ice cream".  And I guess I thought that the strawberry component would be, well, something more than just jello.

Anyway, the jello was, jello.  Um, yeah.  I didn't want it, but, Ojan, who wasn't feeling well, actually gobbled it up.  I guess that is what they serve you in hospitals, so, why not?

The strawberries on top weren't particularly good, they were red, but, didn't seem particularly ripe nor flavorful.

And finally, the ice cream.  This was ... ok.  I am pretty sure this was the "Cream Tea" flavor by Cream and Country, as they provide the other ice cream options.  The description of that ice cream reads "Our indulgent clotted cream ice cream receives a luxurious swirl of strawberry compote and is finished with shortcake pieces. This is not your average scone and jam."  This sounds like what I had, and kinda matches the "clotted cream and shortbread" description from the menu.  Anyway, it was ice cream, fairly standard, and yup, it had bits of biscuit in it.

I can't say I was satisfied by this dessert option.

Warm dark chocolate fondant / Chocolate and cherry ice cream. (2017).

The dessert menu again failed to inspire.  Lemon tart or chocolate fondant?  MEH!

Still, I'm not one to resist a warm dessert with ice cream.

Just like the main, it came plated beautifully, garnished with a crumble of some sort, mint, and powdered sugar.

The ice cream said it was going to be chocolate and cherry.  This was not chocolate and cherry.  This was salted caramel.  Way too sweet.  Way, way too sweet.  But decently creamy.

Warm dark chocolate fondant: Inside. 

The dark chocolate fondant was ... fine.  Are we noticing a theme here?

It was a classic molten chocolate cake, nice liquid center, but, the cake was very dry, and the entire thing didn't have much flavor at all.

Very lackluster, and served only lukewarm at best.  I guess it was a nice pairing with the way too sweet salted caramel ice cream?

Deli

The deli area is separate from the main dining area.  At a glance, it looks like a self-serve station, but, like everything else in the lounge, it is not.  Most items are not labelled in this area, and the staff seemed annoyed and somewhat unwilling to tell people what the items were.  Nearly every person I saw go to the deli asked some question, and got back a slightly surly response.  "What is that salad?", someone would ask, pointing at one of 6 salads.  "Salad", was the response.  Um, thanks?  Some signs would really help here.

Deli Menu.

The main menu mentions the deli, and we had walked by it on our way to the dining area, but it just said that at lunch time the deli has cheeses, smoked salmon, charcuterie, salads, and chutneys.  It didn't sound particularly exciting.

It undersold itself.

I honestly wished that I had just chosen to eat from the deli rather than the made to order menu.

Breads, flatbread, cookies (2016).

The first section of the deli is fresh baked breads, in all assorted varieties.  If you want any, the staff member behind the counter slices it to order for you.  None are labelled though, so if you care to find out what they are, you have to ask.

I tried a walnut raisin bread, after hearing another guest rave about it.  It was fine, yes, fresh bread, but, not particularly notable.  Still, much better bread than you normally find in an airline lounge, for sure.

The flatbread/crisp things were loaded with seeds of all types, far more exciting than standard crackers.

The cookie options were oatmeal raisin and chocolate chocolate chip.  I tried the oatmeal raisin, after not being satisfied with my jello dessert.  It was ... fine.  A large cookie, buttery and sweet, not too crispy but not super soft.  But you know I don't tend to love cookies.

An idea for the future though: get cookies from the deli, and order ice cream, and make an ice cream sandwich.  That has potential.

Deli: Breads, Crackers, Cookies. (2017).

The lineup was about the same the next eyar, although the cookies were oatmeal raisin, and chocolate chunk).

My companion had a bunch of the breads, and he enjoyed them, sliced to order.

Cheese, Charcuterie, Chutney. (2016).

"British farmhouse cheese, fine charcuterie from France and Italy, pickles and chutneys."

I didn't get a great angle here, but, this section had several types of cheese in huge blocks, sliced to order, plus a number of different types of charcuterie, and a bunch of pickles, spreads, and chutneys in jars.

I tried the triple cream, and I was rather blown away by how good it was.  Super creamy, great flavor, nice bloomy rind.

I also tried the onion marmalade, and it too was quite tasty, super flavorful.

I realized at this moment that I would have been far happier with these selections rather than the meal I had settled on.  Doh.

Cheese, Charcuterie, Chutney. (2017).

I really liked the brie last time, and I certainly would have gone for it again, but, there were too many things to try, and I never got to this section.

I admired it though, a nice looking selection of both cheese and meat, and some tempting spreads.

Salads (2017).

Next were a bunch of salads, none labelled.  Some were greens based, others grains based.  This is where I heard many others asking for explanations of what the salads were, and getting totally unsatisfactory responses.

I didn't try any salads.

Salads (2017).

The salad line up was different, this time with:

Back row: roasted carrot with cream (not pictured, it was being replenished), a ceasar-ish kale salad, cabbage slaw.

Front row: Orzo salad, cous cous salad, plain greens (no dressing), cucumber and tomato salad.

Shrimp salad, Smoked Fish (2016).

This is where things started to get interesting.

In the little glass jars in front was shrimp salad, lightly dressed with mayo.  I didn't try it because I really wasn't hungry at this point, but I really wished I had that instead of the proteins from my salad!

There were other firm, smoked fish here too, not really sure what they were, I didn't try them.

Assorted Smoked Salmon. (2016).

 Well, geeze.  They weren't messing around here.  4 types of smoked salmon, on wooden boards.

The red one caught my eye, it looked sorta like tuna.  I asked what it was, and I was told "beetroot".  Clearly, it wasn't actually just beetroot, it was some kind of seafood.  Confused, I asked, "like, marinated with beetroot?"  "Beetroot", was the only response.  "Is it salmon?", I asked, again, trying to figure this out.  "It is good, try it" was the response.

Uh, ok.  So, I said I'd try a little.  It turned out to be crazy delicious.  This was seriously good smoked salmon.  Firm, smoky, wonderful.  I tried a bite of one other as well when Ojan got a plate full, and, yup, it too was great.

So if I were to do the lounge again, I'd make some major changes.  Perhaps I would have ordered that veggie curry, or the mushroom/brie/truffle burger.  But really, I would go straight to the deli, load up on excellent cheese, spreads, and smoked salmon, and just call it a day.

Smoked Fish & Prawn Cocktail (2017).

The smoked fish lineup was again impressive.

Nothing labelled, and again really unhelpful staff, I heard several people ask about the beetroot cured salmon, and be told simply "Beetroot", and then be very confused.  "But, its not just beetroot right?  Its fish?", they'd ask.  "No, beetroot, Americans call it beet."  Um, thanks?

Still, a beautiful lineup.

Raisin walnut bread, onion chutney, brie, seeded flatbread, beetroot smoked salmon. (2016).

My hodgepodge platter, assembled not due to hunger, but mostly just out of curiosity, which turned out to be the most delicious stuff from the lounge.

The cheese and smoked salmon in particular were just top notch.

Beetroot Smoked Salmon, Kale Ceasar, Slaw, Prawn Cocktail (2017).

One drawback of the deli is that you can't just get a little of anything, since the servers make your platter for you.  They didn't know that I already had a starter and main with sides, and that when I said, "Please, just a little" of each thing, I really meant it!

Thus, I got a full plate of food.  Sigh.

Since I liked the beetroot smoked salmon last time, I had it again.  And I again liked it, the beet flavor, and color, were great.  It was much better than the salmon.

I also got to try the prawn cocktail that I had wanted to try last time.  It was in a cute jar at the deli, but the server dumped it onto my plate, a pile of shredded iceberg, tiny prawns covered in louis-style dressing, and a lemon wedge, now covered in sauce, and hard to actually use.  This too was just fine.  Not fishy, but again too much dressing (and believe me, I like this kind of thing!), standard ice berg.  Fine.

The thing that looked like kale ceasar certainly didn't seem to be.  Yes, it was frilly kale, it was large shreds of parmesan, it was croutons, but ... the dressing was way too tangy, and just lemon.  No anchovy, no parmesan in the dressing.  Meh.

And finally, slaw.  It was ... just cabbage and carrots, crispy enough, but not particularly interesting, nor dressed.

So overall, this platter was a bit lackluster.

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