dee_Stockport
Member since May 2014
The Upper House
Stoke-On-Trent | Hotel Restaurants
17 May 2014
Misleading menu descriptions; Vegetarians - avoid
1
I was with a party of five dining at the Upper House on 15 May 2014. The other four persons seemed happy enough with their meals; so I should state that my one star rating is only my own evaluation. Also I want to say that the waiters and reception staff were pleasant and mostly efficient.
Starter:
The “vegetable” soup starter was the most edible item – similar to something you make at home by popping in various leftover veg into a food processor then adding stock – I would describe it as nondescript (i.e. dull).
Main course:
The main course was “The Upper House homity tarte”. Online websites describe homity as a “traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese.” So what did I get? - a small pastry case with about 3 tablespoons of smooth white sauce (it may have been cheese sauce, but couldn’t taste any cheese) covered by what seemed 3 tablespoons of chutney (which could explain my not tasting any cheese!). I should add that the menu description included veloute sauce (which is a white sauce made with chicken, pork or veal stock) but the meal was vegetarian so the “veloute” I guess was just some French added to make it sound posh.
Dessert:
For dessert I ordered “Whole cherry cheese cake. With chocolate crumb and vanilla cream made by our own Head Chef”. What I got was a slice of plain cheese cake (ordinary biscuit crumb – no chocolate crumb), the appearance and solid-ish consistency of a cheap supermarket cheesecake. There was a small dollop of ordinary cream on it and three cherries (from a tin) decorating the plate. (Beware: if their menu says “Clotted cream cheesecake”, that will probably mean a slice of plain cheesecake with a dollop of clotted cream to the side decorating the plate!)
Summary:
The food was somewhat disappointing, but the major factor leading to the one star was the misleading menu descriptions. I call it “misrepresentation of goods”, and certainly do not expect this at any restaurant. And also irritating is the fact that I didn’t want to complain to the restaurant at the time and probably spoil the celebratory atmosphere of the diners. Perhaps they count on the fact that many middle-class English people don’t like to make a fuss. A friend and I go for lunch weekly to a wide selection of pubs in our town – and the great majority has food more than twice as good as at The Upper House, at less than half the price.
Starter:
The “vegetable” soup starter was the most edible item – similar to something you make at home by popping in various leftover veg into a food processor then adding stock – I would describe it as nondescript (i.e. dull).
Main course:
The main course was “The Upper House homity tarte”. Online websites describe homity as a “traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese.” So what did I get? - a small pastry case with about 3 tablespoons of smooth white sauce (it may have been cheese sauce, but couldn’t taste any cheese) covered by what seemed 3 tablespoons of chutney (which could explain my not tasting any cheese!). I should add that the menu description included veloute sauce (which is a white sauce made with chicken, pork or veal stock) but the meal was vegetarian so the “veloute” I guess was just some French added to make it sound posh.
Dessert:
For dessert I ordered “Whole cherry cheese cake. With chocolate crumb and vanilla cream made by our own Head Chef”. What I got was a slice of plain cheese cake (ordinary biscuit crumb – no chocolate crumb), the appearance and solid-ish consistency of a cheap supermarket cheesecake. There was a small dollop of ordinary cream on it and three cherries (from a tin) decorating the plate. (Beware: if their menu says “Clotted cream cheesecake”, that will probably mean a slice of plain cheesecake with a dollop of clotted cream to the side decorating the plate!)
Summary:
The food was somewhat disappointing, but the major factor leading to the one star was the misleading menu descriptions. I call it “misrepresentation of goods”, and certainly do not expect this at any restaurant. And also irritating is the fact that I didn’t want to complain to the restaurant at the time and probably spoil the celebratory atmosphere of the diners. Perhaps they count on the fact that many middle-class English people don’t like to make a fuss. A friend and I go for lunch weekly to a wide selection of pubs in our town – and the great majority has food more than twice as good as at The Upper House, at less than half the price.