Three years ago I set myself the challenge to do 30 things before I turned 30. The list comprised of some adrenalin filled activities, new experiences and mini breaks. It also had a few quieter, relaxed, ideas on it such as enjoying a meal in a celebrity restaurant, which is how I came to be dining at Marco Pierre White in Chester with my husband.
When I added this to the list I didn’t have a particular chef or restaurant in mind, any would do, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Surely these restaurants can’t be that much better than ordinary restaurants. I mean they’re basically just named after a chef who has managed to get his/her mug on the TV – they don’t even do the cooking!
So for my 29th birthday my husband surprised me by taking me to the Marco Pierre White in Chester which is based inside the Double Tree Hotel. When he told me I was so excited, but totally freaked out as I had nothing suitable to wear and no time to buy a new dress – such a girl! I eventually settled on a little black dress and classic black heals, in case you’re interested.
Our experience of dinning in Marco Pierre White Chester
We arrived at the Double Tree hotel in Chester and followed the signs round to the restaurant, I must admit I was a little nervous as wasn’t sure I was “posh enough” for this restaurant but we were greeted by staff who either didn’t question our “posh” rating, or were too polite to say, showing us straight to the table. The first thing we noticed about the restaurant was the décor, very elegant in blacks and greys with half the wall covered in a mirror making it seem a lot larger than it was. There was also a huge, rather disturbing, image of Marco Pierre White looking slightly demonic with a knife in hand on the wall – no forgetting whose restaurant you’re in that’s for sure.
We were seated on the first table entering the restaurant and I must admit I felt a bit on the edge, unable to soak up the atmosphere of the place and also very cold from the open doorway leading into the hotel.
Our waitress gave us our menu and everything sounded amazing. We finally chose (after sending the waitress away three times!) a crab cake and a smoked salmon starter, followed by sea bass and risotto for me and steak for my husband, a cheese cake and cheese board to finish, along with a bottle of Rose.
We enjoyed our wine, and child free conversation, whilst waiting for our food. The starters were amazing, the best smoked salmon dish I think I have ever tasted, absolutely lovely.
Then came the mains. I don’t eat beef but my husband assures me that this was the nicest steak and I must admit there was a lot of it, none of this three peas for £300 rubbish, they were both decent portions by anyone’s standards.
I was expecting a small amount of sea bass but I had two big pieces as well as several prawns throughout the risotto, it was utterly exquisite. I’m no foodie but I can tell you that the sea bass was cooked to perfection. Crispy on one side and soft and full of flavour on the other. By the time we finished our mains I think it’s safe to say we were both in food heaven and absolutely did not need desert, but when in Rome and all that.
Anyway it was probably a good thing we were full by this point as in all honesty the cheese cake was a bit of a disappointment. I love cheese cake and order it wherever I can, so maybe my expectations were just too high, but this was more like a chocolate mousse with a strong creamy milk taste to it, not to my liking I’m afraid, but it definitely did not ruin our night.
When I added this to the list of things I wanted to do before my 30th birthday I wanted to know if celebrity chefs could actually cook, well as far as Marco Pierre White is concerned, HELL YEAH he can cook, or at least he can train chefs to cook for him (he just needs to work on his cheesecake and tell the staff to crank the heating up a bit).
Overall review of Marco Pierre White in Chester
I would highly recommend a meal at Marco Pierre White Chester. The food is out of this world – just wear an extra cardigan and avoid the cheese cake. If you aren’t local then I would highly recommend you book a night in the hotel too as the rooms are lush and the spa is amazing!