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| Main courses were the best dishes on the menu by far. |
I was invited to the launch night at Coast to Coast a few
weeks after it’s opening. Coast to
Coast is Gunwharf Quays new American Restaurant and Bar. This is always the best time to try a new
restaurant; once they have settled in.
Coast to Coast is a small chain with Gunwharf being the fourth to open,
and others to come. The whole
restaurant was filled with other invited guests and members of the public who
had won the chance to dine for free, so there were absolutely no paying
customers. The atmosphere was energetic
due to the live band and Radio DJ Steve Power hosting. They had a neat P.R stunt upon arrival;
snapping everyone on a red carpet before they entered the building, and during
the evening issuing us all with the OK! Magazine Style photograph covers.
So what about the reason I was there for – the food! I’m usually not a fan of American
Restaurant’s in this country, as they offer little resemblance to the
authenticity of true American food. But
Coast to Coast claims to be different than the rest, and created out of a
desire to put this right. I'm only three months back from an epic food fuelled trip to Orlando, Florida, so was this the case?
I purposefully chose dishes that you find in most American
restaurants to see how they were better here, and I also chose dishes that I
feel to be more authentically American.
However the outcome was mixed.
I couldn’t praise the cocktail menu enough – the Red Berry
Cheesecake and French Martini (£5.95 each) were drinks most of us girlies take
one sip out of and immediately fall in love with. It is well worth just nipping in here on a night out to the bar area
only with cocktails this good, and cocktails certainly not found anywhere else
in Gunwharf like this.
The bread and olives board (£4.95) was average. With fresh
vibrant green olives such as Castelvetrano now available in supermarkets and
other chain restaurants, it was disappointing to see jarred, pitted and
marinated dull green olives arrive.
The appetiser menu hosted the usual suspects, so we opted to
test out the Calamari (£6.55) which is often a poor show in many restaurants,
and blue cheese mushrooms (£4.95), which too can be a let down. Sad to say these did not hit the right
notes. The ‘lightly fried calamari’ was
heavy in batter, chewy and over greasy, and the mushrooms with blue cheese had
far too much blue cheese. It was sickly even for a blue cheese lover
like me.
I was looking forward to the main courses ordered. Burgers, steaks, hot wraps and sandwiches,
fajitas, pizzas, pasta’s and salads can all be found on the menu at Coast to
Coast. Uber trendy pulled pork featured
on the menu a few times, so this was a must, and we also ordered a classic
steak. Suddenly the meal was redeemed!
The pulled pork dish I ordered was in the form of a burger, and sat on top of a
6oz beef patty – a pure meat feast. It was
delicious (although very sweet), and I have not had that combination together
in a burger before, as you usually find one or the other inside the bun.
(£11.95). The steak was an 8oz, 28 day
matured fillet steak (£21.95). I’m glad
we ordered it as it was beautifully executed to medium rare, and the sides of
‘homemade slaw’ and sweet potato chips were every bit contemporary American and
elevated the dish. We opted for the 5 grilled prawns as an extra with the
steak, but they were flavourless and a little superfluous.
Desserts were lacking in creativity and the choice was as you
would expect to find in American restaurants. The cherry crumble came with a scoop of
ice cream and custard on the side in miniature bowls, but the ice cream was
unpleasant and very manufactured in taste, as was the crumble. I’m not actually sure what flavour the ice
cream was supposed to be, and the cheesecake too was just ok.
The service was sharp and the staff very pleasant, always
willing to engage in conversation. They
were more than happy to change the dishes I was not overly keen on – and although
I stuck with what I had ordered, this was refreshing and nice to see.
I would recommend a visit though.
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| Calamari |
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| Blue Cheese Mushrooms |
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| Cheesecake |
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| Cherry Crumble |
