Dock Kitchen

Had dinner there again on Saturday and was really disappointed. The quality of the food has deteriorated rapidly since I had been there last time. Starters were dry and tiny portions and the main was under seasoned. The service was unprofessional and very slow. We literally had to get up from our seats to drag a waiter to our table as they were clearly understaffed. It took ages for us to order, we did not feel welcome at all and every drinks order took about 20 minutes! What a shame, the location is still very cool. The Value for money is not really given anymore. I won't be back.
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Kathy
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Monday, March 04, 2013

This is a really cool restaurant. Both the food and interior are pretty buzzy. Bold international flavours, unusual set menus and great stone/copper/brass/concrete design by Tom Dixon. It's not cheap, but food and service match a classy restaurant and you can taste the quality of food and wine.
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KATHY
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 11, 2011

went back there last week and sadly standards have slipped. the set menu was very disappointing, and really not good value for the price. it wasnt very authentic for lebanese cuisine and the main course was an abject disaster. billed as beef stew, it appeared as a mound of soggy rice with the remnents of the previous courses strewn across it. i counted two small pieces of meat amoung the heap of unexpected carbs. we got half the money off for food and the manager was ok, but cant say i will be returning.
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kedi
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, April 01, 2011

I am definitely going back to Dock Kitchen. It was a fun and interesting experience. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as when i looked at their website there were no menus but they do themed nights. We chose provencal night and the food was excellent. Well sourced ingredients cooked competently without all the fussy presentation that really leaves me cold. There were 2 paper menus on the table when we arrived, and I instantly fell in love with the calves liver starter on the a la carte menu, while my 2 companions wanted to go for the set menu, which was 4 or 5 courses and a bit too much food for me. The manager explained that everyone on the table was meant to order from the same menu, otherwise it's difficult for the kitchen! We all found this a little odd, and rather amusing, as there was nothing about this on the website and why would they put out 2 menus if everyone has to order the same? I stood my ground and said I didn't want artichoke, chickpea soup and then quails (I think they were quails) but wanted liver follwed by fish. My companion then jokingly gestured to an empty table for two and said i could go and sit there and eat my dinner on my own. The manager laughed and after that was very accomodating. As predicted the calves liver was delicious, delicate and not too 'livery' if that makes sense! I followed that with Seabass but proabably should have gone for the brill (which I have not tried before) as the bass was a little disappointing. Cooked a tiny bit too much for my liking and served with a couple of olives and preserved lemon. The lemon did little for the dish which I felt was a tad bland, but the barman did not bat an eyelid when i approached him with a request for lemon for my fish!

The set menu was really delicious, so I apologise to the manager as he was correct when he suggested I should have had that, but it was definitely too much food for me and one of my friends who has quite a small appetite. I tried the artichoke saled with walnuts and though I have never been a fan of jerselem artichoke these ones were mild, creamy and just a little tangy- divine! The qualis (2 of them) were tender and juicy, and erased my previous bad memories of my own disasterous experiment when I cooked the poor little things in a low oven for 2 hours, then nearly broke my jaw trying to eat them!

All in all this place is lovely design wise and would be even nicer on a spring or summer day out on the terrace overlooking the canal. The cooking was impressive but simple and the manager could not have been nicer, despite us being slightly awkward customers. Definitely recommend!
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kedi
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, February 17, 2011