Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,025
13 October 2010
10:2174786#1
Last evening I enjoyed a very good meal at The Allotment High Street Dover .Food that tasted like real food .
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
13 October 2010
11:3474789#2
First class place - I was last there Saturday night with clients, their prawn starter is to die for and as for their 21 day aged steak.......
Guest 684- Registered: 26 Feb 2009
- Posts: 635
13 October 2010
13:1574803#3
The Allotment is the best restaurant in Dover by a country mile and the best in the area.
Glad you enjoyed the meal, Sue. And you too, Barry. Dave Flynn is a fantastic restaurateur with a great staff - and great service and food!
Cheers all,
Andy
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
13 October 2010
16:4774829#4
I also enjoy Dave's food and often recommend the Allotment to our guests, although 'er indoors would like to see more vegetables and green stuff served.
The first time we went I ordered Blanquette of Lamb. Blanquette is a beautiful and delicate French dish of meat simmered in a clear stock, thickened with flour and butter, then finished with a liaison of egg yolks and creme fraiche. What I got was a classic sauté of lamb in a tomato sauce. Delicious and I would still have ordered it had it been correctly described on the board. Still, these things happen and I am sure I have been guilty of far worse.
PG.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
13 October 2010
18:1374842#5
Im sorry but have you seen the prices? i would want it served on a gold plate at them prices
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
13 October 2010
18:5674866#6
my thoughts entirely mel, out of my price range.
i am surprised that it survives so well, a very high quality establishment(recognised far and wide) but the dover demographics suggest that it would be out of the reach of the majority.
Matt Bristow- Location: Whitfield, Dover
13 October 2010
19:1774873#7
Have to agree that Daves food and service as well as his quite incredible wine list is worth every penny. Mel/Howard I always think that dining out is one of those things that you pay peanuts you get monkey food not quality.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
13 October 2010
19:3574881#8
That is a very sweeping statement Matt. Quality food does not have to cost a vast amount, what you pay for are the surroundings, staff, their excessive waste.
So many think high cost equals good food which is rubbish, BTW I am not implying anything about the above venue I have never been there.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
13 October 2010
19:3674882#9
take your point matt, but it is still out of the price range for most, i wish them well though.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
13 October 2010
21:2274921#10
Melissa - A three course meal for four with two excellent bottles of wine with a £15 tip - £140 total paid on Saturday night. That is not expensive unless you compare it with junk food prices that is. We all had the prawns, the most expensive starter, I had the steak, the most expensive main! - oh, we had coffee too....
I have had many an inferior meal for a lot more than that in my time. I shudder at what I once paid for a second rate meal in the Oxo Tower some years ago....
His excellent (and by no means ordinary) burger is only about £9 incidentally, that plus a dessert for a few pounds is affordable for anyone who enjoys a good restaurant meal.
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,931
13 October 2010
21:4674924#11
Affordable for you maybe, for many £140 is more than they have to spend for a whole week. Most people in Dover do not have money to 'waste' on such an expensive meal and as I said previously not all cheap food is junk. I know a pub where I can get a very well cooked main meal for under £4.
I buy a wonderful 1/2lb burger from the Charton Centre butcher for 99p much better value.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
13 October 2010
21:5374931#12
Jan - that was a meal for four, it did include a big tip and whats more we had two rather nice bottles of wine. They were very important clients too.... You can eat a lot cheaper there and though it may not be somewhere everyone can eat regularly, for a special occasion it is perfect....
Matt Bristow- Location: Whitfield, Dover
14 October 2010
19:5475045#13
A sweeping statement perhaps however is eating out not a treat, experience and something special?
Yes maybe certain eateries only appeal to the purses of some people and IMHO they usually earn the prices they charge. You will normally find that new eateries will charge less and then start to gradually increase their prices as they gain a loyal following. I don't think they charge much more per dish than some of the 'motorway service' type pub that Dover seems to have an abundance of.
However I am of the opinion that Dover and the surrounding area needs to have quality eateries, not just good pubs that serve food but proper restaurants as this will attract people in to the area and thus bring much needed business to Dover.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
14 October 2010
21:1875063#14
For those of you fancy a quality, value for money meal, I've just got back from a stomach groaning curry buffet at my local, the Hope Inn in Lydden. Poppadums, homemade Beef Madras, Chicken Korma, vegetable curry (all not too hot), indivdual bowl of flavoured rice and nan bread, as much as you can eat for £7.95. Every Thursday and the No 15 from Pencester stops outside if you want to drink as well
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
15 October 2010
05:2875078#15
Matt - I tend to eat out a couple of times a week. It is not always anything special, often a cheap mass eatery. It is only special when it is at a quality venue such as The Allotment. Thinking back I have eaten there about 6 or 7 times over the last 18 months - once twice in a week.
Matt Bristow- Location: Whitfield, Dover
15 October 2010
18:3875140#16
Barry - I completely agree we eat out a fair amount as well especially at the moment as I have 9 months of free taxi services
Guest 691- Registered: 24 Oct 2009
- Posts: 45
17 October 2010
22:0375344#17
Dad alerted me to this thread. I have come on specifically to agree with Barry!!
I first went to the Allotment not long after it opened, following a reccommendation. I had Thai Beef Salad and creme brulee (out in the garden) washed down with Kir Royale. Yes it cost more than a McDonalds, but it was first class.
I always have the prawns when I go there now and normally whatever pork or duck he has on the menu.
It's our family's favourite restaurant. My 22nd, my 23rd, Dad's most recent birthday, my graduation, Mum & Dad's Anniversary have all been held at The Allotment. There has to be a reason why I keep going back.
Barry is right. For what it is, it's actually not that expensive.
"In this world there are 10 sorts of people - those that understand binary and those that don't."
18 October 2010
08:2175370#18
But the kittiwake, the plough, the duke of yorks all offer excellent food and resonably priced as well . I did once look at the menu and noticed a bowl of soup for £9 i think it was , sorry for under £1.50 i can have a tin of tomato soup heinz make
18 October 2010
08:2375371#19
Barry heres what i would spend £140 on, £60 male stripper a friend of mine so i get discount, then the rest out on the tiles.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
18 October 2010
08:4775376#20
No Melissa, soup is not £9, nothing like it. The most expensive starter is the prawns, a bit over £6.
The Duke of Yorks is OK, I have ate there though the service is appalling. You cannot compare the quality of food, chalk and cheese, distinctly second rate.
As for what you would spend £140 on - well all to their own. I prefer a good meal with good company.