When the temperature goes up to a glorious 20 degrees Celsius in October, it feels like my 'last chance saloon' to wear a summer dress I have been wanting to wear all summer but just never had the right opportunity! Outfit sorted ... Where to wear it? Went through my restaurant wishlist. (Yes I have one of those.) Matter of fact, I have a wishlist for most things travel related.
Wishlist of hotels to stay at; Wishlist of travel experiences to experience; And the wishlist list goes on! But these are for another blog I suppose. As how else am I to write a post every seven to ten days? So I go through a quick elimination process of my restaurants. Too fancy. (For me that is and the dress felt the same way.) Too far a journey. No reservations available until January 2019. Seriously?
Seriously.
A day and a half later and I decided on Ametsa with Arzak Instruction. Except I arrive an hour later than reserved and can no longer dine in Ametsa with Arzak Instruction. With that my my first Basque dining experience ended before it even started. As I am already there I take a seat in the bar area. I am greeted by Penny, my waitress for the afternoon. She tells me I can sit where ever I feel comfortable! So I sit facing a mirror to remind myself to sit upright like a lady. (Something my great grandmother would be pleased about.) She hands me the bar menu and talks me the pages. Then leaves me digest what she said. Instead my eyes and ears wander around to take in the atmosphere and the décor. The bar area is a simple white palette of cool, contemporary decor. Matter of fact, if my dress was any less a summery white I would have blended into the furniture. Later, I am told the bar had just been refurbished. Except for the chatter of a few business meetings it was a relaxed atmosphere well suited to my dress. A five minute peruse of the menu and I settled on - A glass of passion fruit crush (temperance) (Passion fruit, lime, mint and sugar. Muddled, top with soda) - slow cooked lamb shoulder served with crispy chickpeas a side order of rocket and cherry tomato salad - Passion fruit waffle with roasted fruit and basil sorbet All for the gram of course Before I started blogging my phone camera ate before I did and now that I do blog, well the entire universe seems to eat before I do.
As I am snapping away the smell of the lamb kept wafting up from the plate. I gave in with trying to get the best angle and tucked in. I take my first mouthful of lamb and it melts away in my mouth. A second mouthful with a dab of humus gives it an interesting twist. I look for the crispy chickpeas but could not see any. I enlist the help of Penny who advises it is the chip like items on the plate. (I raise an intrigued eyebrow). Not what I expected it to look like, neither did it taste like what I had it expected it to taste like. It had a rather meaty texture and a taste I can liken to nothing I have tasted before.
On a warm day as it was the ice cold and fresh passion fruit crush was a real treat!
With the last of the lamb and the cherry tomato salad eaten, I found that the I barely had room for desert. But the passion fruit waffle with roast fruit sounded intriguing so I tried that also.
I could not quite get the taste of the passion fruit in the waffle and neither were the fruits (melon, pineapple, kiwi and mango) roasted.
Whilst my menu choices offered some interesting flavours, I was not blown away. If I were to dine in the Bar again, I think I would choose mains and no side order, especially if I were to have dessert as this was quite filling.
But The Bar At Halkin by COMO is an ideal place to unwind with the drink of your choice and idle the day away!
