The nightmare before Christmas….
Posted: 21 December '09 by Kelly
Christmas dinner at The Holiday Inn
Right, I am now going to have a moan!!
Friday night was my works Christmas party at the Holiday Inn in Belfast. We had it planned for months and we had all been really looking forward to it. So, early in the day, we went to our room to get into our party dresses and enjoy a well deserved glass of champagne.
Now I know that Christmas work party dinner isn’t usually a culinary delight, however I think that’s it’s only fair to expect the food to be edible – especially whenever you pay £35.00 for the ‘pleasure’ (and believe me it was FAR from a pleasure).
To start we had melon with forest fruits. Now I know what you are thinking… ‘you cannot go wrong with a piece of fruit can you?’ Well you would think not, but apparently so. The melon had not been cut properly and I ended up getting a mouthful of melon rind… nice!
The melon was followed by what I thought was vegetable soup while others were convinced that it was pea… we were later informed it was potato and leek!! Anyway whatever it was I just couldn’t stomach it so I had a crusty roll (which turned out to be the highlight of my meal).
We then were served the traditional turkey and ham with stuffing in which the meat was so thin I could of sworn they had mistakenly substituted it for parma ham (I wish it was!!). Another odd thing were the vegetables… we got the usual (cooked to within an in inch of their lives) carrots and brussel sprouts, but with the added bonus of ONE mange tout, random! The last component of this repaste were the potatoes which brought back the horrors of the school canteen from my childhood – they had obviously been cooked earlier in the day and re-heated in a microwave or under the salamander.. Not a taste that I ever wanted to experience again! The only good thing about the meal was the stuffing – in truth it was nothing special, but I like most stuffing so it stood out from the rest of the ingredients…
I doubt that many others at the party could identify with my description – the make-up of most plates seemed to be very different with some getting no potatoes, others getting no carrots, and a few others being handed their main course after the majority of diners were served their desserts.
The dessert, meringues with berries and cream, was actually OK. The meringue was gooey inside, just the way I like it. However the strawberries were hard and sour and were pushed to the side of my plate.
As I said, I know that the meal served at a works Christmas party isn’t going to be spectacular, but I honestly believe that there was no excuse for what the Holiday Inn served to paying guests. It was sub-standard and at times completely inedible – when it finally arrived.
Our verdict:
From my point of view I would never ever darken their door again!
Our rating: 1 out of 5
Holiday Inn
22 – 26 Ormeau Avenue
Belfast,
Co. Antrim
BT2 8HS
W: www.holidayinn.com/belfast
E: reservations-belfast@ihg.com
T: (028) 9032 8511
F: (028) 9062 6546
You can also find The Holiday Inn Belfast (Ormeau Avenue) on Google Maps.
Tags: belfast restaurants, christmas, restaurant review, review, where to eat in belfast
Categories: Restaurant Reviews
