I went a couple of weeks ago on my birthday for the Sunday brunch. Looking at the name I thought it would have more of a cafe atmosphere, so I was a bit disappointed that it just looked like an ordinary hotel restaurant. There were cook books, but not really for reading more for decoration. The wooden table (which looked really nice and I expected all tables to look like that) with the food selection looked great and I was happy with the speed of my eggs and pancake at the life food counter.Overall the food was very good and it is good value for money if you also keep drinking the Bellini's, although there could have been more bread selection or rolls as it was brunch.

I ate here last August (2010) and I have to say was very impressed with the food and service here. The restaurant was reasonably busy on the week night I visited and the staff were happy to accommodate even though I had not made a reservation. The food was fresh and cooked to perfection from the starters through to the main courses. The waiters were happy to make recommendations from seasonal menu which we also found helpful. Would definitely eat here again and thoroughly recommend it.

I’m very sorry to say, it was quite disappointing.



We were very impressed with the restaurant on entering. Very stylish; if not a little sterile. When it came to service however; things went downhill. The waiter seemed unaware of what was going on and it was very difficult to communicate with him as his English was very limited. Not only that, we actually had a total of four waiters during the course of our meal – very unusual in my experience. I should add at this point, that it was not at all busy that evening, with only a few tables occupied.



Our Entrees did not arrive simultaneously – one being a full ten minutes behind the other! Our wine order was forgotten and we had to ask for it again, only to find the waiter didn’t know what we had ordered. This was when the ‘multi waiter’ act seemed to kick in.



Not once during our meal were we asked how things were - by anyone. Something which was a first for us. The waiter also attempted to fill our daughter's wine glass – she’s a minor!



The food was mediocre at best. The steak was undercooked. Medium-well was requested – rare was received. To be fair, apart from this, it was quite a nice steak.



The “Lobster Risotto” looked sloppy, and seemingly thrown into a bowl with no thought to presentation at all. It was bland, tepid, and the rice was overcooked. The mushrooms accompanying the steak were extremely salty. The fries with my daughter's club sandwich were quite clearly frozen. Sacrilege in a quality restaurant, especially at that price! In fact, some of the fries still were quite literally, icy cold! The only saving grace was the dessert buffet which was “ok”.



We came away from that evening, feeling that The Cookbook seems to focus only on image, and is probably carried along by the prestige of the Hotel in which it is situated. If that same focus went into the service and food, it could be a great place.