I’ve written previously about the
Deer Park, more specifically about their Sunday lunch option. I mentioned in my
last post that I have eaten at the Deer Park a few times but had never blogged
about it. The food has always been relatively expensive for what it is
especially when ordering the lamb dish (as I normally do) which costs near to
£20. The previous head chef is a friend of D’s and whilst under his care I
never had a bad meal here. We returned last weekend to have one of the worst
meals I’ve had since… well probably since Bar Soba if I’m being honest.
We visited Friday night desperate
to relieve the burdens of work over a glass of wine whilst not having to worry
about cooking dinner or washing up afterwards. A takeaway was mentioned but the
pub was favoured. A bad experience at the Roundhay Fox and an even poorer roast
dinner has left us to resign the Fox to a drinks only pub. The nearest other
pubs (without public transport or taxi) are the Thomas Osbourne and The Deer
Park. The Thomas Osbourne resembles a large Wetherspoons or whacky warehouse
without the kids so I’ve never felt inclined to go. The Deer Park it was.
We arrived approximately 6.30pm and
asked if there was a table for two available, a rather moody greeter/waiter
pretended to look on the computer and fanny around not really doing anything
before saying yes and walking off. I guess we were to follow him, something he
made apparent half way down the restaurant (side of the pub) when he turned and
gestured at us with his hand.
Once we were seated I began to
examine the tired looking drinks menu contemplating whether to have a glass of
wine or something else entirely. The waitress appeared eager to take our drinks
order, not knowing what I was going to eat and therefore couldn’t decide which
wine to pick I chose a ginger beer to refresh me in the meantime. D asked what
was on the taps and the waitress checked her little electronic notepad and
reeled off all the lagers, seeing his face she asked whether he meant the ales
to which he replied yes and ordered half a Leeds Pale.
When my drink arrived I was
presented with an alcoholic ginger beer which I had to send back for a
non-alcoholic version. One should never assume!
The menu at The Deer Park changes
regularly and I was struggling to over what to order, there wasn’t anything
that was particularly grabbing me. I noticed something new and quite risky (for
a local pub) on the menu, and being the food blogger I am, I couldn’t resist
ordering it and seeing how they handled this challenge. That challenge being
confit of duck bedded on a waffle with sweet potato fries. So much could go
wrong with this dish, so much could go right. I’m almost certain you can guess
the outcome already.
Before I dissect the mains let’s
start with the starters. D and I both ordered the deep fried brie, I’ve had
this before and it’s a pretty fail safe option. My only criticism about this
dish is I preferred the condiment that was served before, the mango marmalade
was okay but I much prefer a berry paired with my brie.
D ordered the pork belly (without
the scallops) for his mains. It wasn’t great, with a lot of fat present. I know, I know pork belly is fatty but this
was half meat half fat maybe a touch over on the fat side. The top of the pork
belly was without crackling and we presumed this had been removed to make
smaller pork scratching that was present beside the pork.
If you follow me on twitter or
Instagram you will no doubt know that I have recently purchased a waffle iron,
following this acquisition I became slightly obsessed by waffles making all
sorts of concoctions from sweet to savoury dishes. D noted that it would be a
true test of DP’s culinary skills if they could impress me with their waffle. I
dug in spooning duck and waffle in to my mouth. I almost spat it back out
again. The duck was cooked slowly in thick gravy and the waffle was incredibly
sweet. I could taste the sugar granules within it and the slight preserved
taste you get with pre-cooked food. I know many chefs have successfully
succeeding in pairing savoury and sweet dishes, the most obvious example being
sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese. This did not pair; I’d go as far as to
say this combination was divorced on unamicable terms. I ate the duck from atop
the waffle trying to pretend that what I had just experienced was but a bad
dream. I had much better duck leg at French restaurants (perhaps the more
sensible place to have duck leg) and even in the chain Giraffe; I wouldn’t be
surprised if this was a prepacked dish that was warmed up to serve. The sweet potato fries had potential to be
good as I suspect when freshly made they were crispy, however by the time they
reached our table the thick gravy had seeped in to them and they were starting
to cool and congeal.
There was a lot left on my plate
when the waitress came to take it away, I looked at her expectantly waiting for
her to ask me how it was but she avoided my gaze and quietly removed our plates
saying nothing at all. I can only presume this happens too often so they have
given in asking whether everything was okay with the meal.
We’d ordered a bottle of Malbec to
share between us (£20) and so set about making our way to the bottom of it.
Finding myself feeling quite drunk from the lack of food consumed we grabbed a
waitress and asked for a dessert menu. D joked that I had already had my
dessert it had just come mashed up with my main. Ha di hah.
I ordered the sticky toffee
pudding. Surely you can’t go wrong with sticky toffee pudding even if it is
vacuum packed or comes in a tin? Wrong.
There was a skin layering my toffee
sauce and the middle of the pudding was cold with only the outer edge being
warm. The ice cream was fine. I still ate it, I was famished.
When we requested the bill, now the
longest standing (sitting) customers due to trying to finish off the bottle of
wine I was shocked to find that it was just short of £80. Granted we had three
courses and a bottle of wine but for food that was so substandard I could
barely stomach it this was not the price I was expecting to pay. To compare, a
few days later we dined at The Reliance where we ordered three starters, two
mains (steaks), two additional sides and two glasses of wine the bill came to
£70 and the food was far superior in quality. I felt robbed by The Deer Park
and it’s fair to say I won’t choose to dine there again.
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