Hotel restaurant dining sometimes gets a bad press because of the competition of plentiful dining options outside to challenge your demanding taste buds, but there are exceptions to the rule and at Dock 37 Bar and Kitchen, you may enjoy a sense of dining and discover the majestic wooden interiors that draw inspiration from the grand ships of the past.
Dock 37 Bar and Kitchen has a wine cellar that is a walk-through gantry suspended above the bar with over 500 wines for selection, which looks impressive and quite a eye-catching architectural space on the whole, but somehow not terribly exciting at the ground level with the choice of furnishings and layout to at least reminisce and be nostalgic about the cruise ship style dining experience but lacking the slick vibe ambience.
The black and white carpet has a reference to water streaming through the aisle, contrasting some sconce lights in a cylindrical design that emit light at both ends together with striped cushions banquettes and streamlined with tables in straight lines.
Despite the nearly floor to ceiling windows that were installed, the flow of natural lights from outside are partially blocked by the convention centre that limits maximum lights to brighten up the interior and ambience. However, the main dining area looks out onto a pedestrian thoroughfare adjacent to the convention centre, adding a bit of life outside with passing traffic and some external vibrancy.
While the restaurant and bar is also being used as a breakfast place for hotel guests, the ambience may lack some creative vibe of a signature restaurant, yet it offers an approachable and relaxed all-day dining experience, but then it is all about the food. The food menu hinges on offering quality, locally sourced fresh produce from the land and sea as well as house-made specialties that are cooked with honesty flair. The menu is pretty much straight forward with some classic favourites and easy to navigate and it didn’t take long for us to decide on what to order.
From the Piccoli Piatti - Small Plates section, we opted for three very plump and juicy scallops with a quite unusual combination of ingredients that was a little on the sweet side and it was a tad lukewarm rather than uniformly hot, but overall it was quite enjoyable and well executed for a comfort dish that made for a great start to the evenings culinary journey.
On Primi - First - Pasta section, The linguine was incredibly tasty, although it was a tad overcooked to our liking, but with four big prawns and not stingy with the amount of garlic used and a hint of chilli, this was absolutely delicious and quite authentic in taste. A must order!
<Hamburger al Formaggio, onion, parmesan, giardiniera, pomodorini, secret sauce, potato bun>
The next order from the Main was the good size meaty, juicy and flavoursome burger yet somehow lacking that indefinable something. We are not too sure about the potato bun, as it seemed sort of strange in flavour, compared to what a bread bun would have, but worth trying as an alternative. The burger sits on a specially designed newsprint paper, but as it was juicy, the paper started breaking up. You needed to be careful when cutting the burger and you were not cutting and eating the paper. The thick cut fries were the champion of this dish and couldn’t have been better but instead of tomato sauce, a sweet chilli sauce was offered from the classic usual.
<Half Grilled Chicken, salmoriglio, olive oil, sea salt>
From the Grill section, we started with half grilled chicken. The presentation may seem a little too casual with a canteen style serving approach and the chicken was a little overcooked and lacked that “WOW” flavour which would have just been the pinnacle of what this dish is about. Nonetheless, it was well marinated with the classic herbaceous salmoriglio sauce inspired from Sicily and Calabria which was quite tasty and still tender and juicy inside.
To further pursuit from the Grill section, the 200g Chef’s cut tenderloin steak was perfectly cooked medium rare with no blood and was so easy to cut and a great taste on the palate. It was served with crispy potatoes and salsa verde, which we very much enjoyed. The salsa verde sauce and house mustard was just the right compliment to the steak that was well seasoned. No extra seasoning needed.
The evening was quite enjoyable, albeit nothing that was “WOW”, but more comfort style food done very well. The plating was safe with nothing to elevate the food, as it were, and given the number of tables dining it was clear that the food resonated with a wide demographic, even on a school night. Our servers for the evening were led by Avishka and her team Tony and Dani and they made us feel very welcome. With attentive and prompt service and a classic menu that is pretty much everything and everyone’s comfort food on the carte, you would be hard pressed not to find something that you love and to raise your glass to cheer.
Design & Decor: 4/5
Food & Beverage: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Experience: 4/5
Reviews are based on actual day of visit and experience. mylifestylenews reserves the right of final decision in case of any disputes. All images are photographed by mylifestylenews team without any photoshop enhancement and are the property owned by mylifestylenews unless otherwise stated.
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