Would you pay £18 for this as a main in a posh restaurant?

[Flowerwinter]

Ordered what I thought was a salmon fillet from the mains, this is what arrived…it was £18. I’m gutted.

I think it's the whole food industry working in concert with one another, Posh restaurants serve tiny portions so you have to buy a kebab to fill yourself up on the way home

Haven’t read the full thread (sinful I know), but I’m guessing this is the Cavendish. It’s a three AA rosette restuarant and the food is exceptional. You are being very unreasonable. Don’t you look up the place you are booking before you go? Two seconds on tripadvisor would have given you an idea of what you were getting.

Looking at the venue. It's absolutely what I'd expect and I'd have been happy with it.

...but @NCnotmyusualone even if she did Google it first first would have seen the pics that show more generous portions than hers anyway...

Trip to Maccies on the way home I assume?

This thread is no longer about personal opinion on whether £18 is acceptable. Ops meal looks nothing like photos on the website or a recent blog post therefore she should query it with the restaurant.

God people are daft. It’s not a dirty plate, it’s rustically glazed. 🙄 it looks like massive hunks of raw sushi-grade salmon. Delicious. And expensive due to the way it is treated to make it safely sushi-grade. Some people on here, honestly. Embarrassing. Are you only happy with quantity over quality? If you want masses of food, go to a chain pub.

It would be nice to eat off a plate that looks clean seeing as it's a naice expensive restaurant and not to have to call at the chippy on the way home because you're still hungry.

My cats would have complained about sharing that amount of fish!😹

...although at least it wasn't served on a piece of roofing slate or a shovel...

@pussycatlickinglollyices

...although at least it wasn't served on a piece of roofing slate or a shovel...

Don't get me started on slate or wooden chopping boards.....

Don't get me started on slate or wooden chopping boards.....

I've always wondered if they put them through the dishwasher..?

@SiobhanSharpe

The only way they could get away with prices like that was if it was wild salmon, fished from Royal Deeside by the late QM herself.

And if that were the case the restaurant would be buying it on the black market as it's illegal to sell rod and line caught salmon. (It's bloody lovely stuff though - I'm lucky enough that DF fishes the Tay)

@GCAcademic

That’s a starter, not a main.

Hardly even a starter!

Don't get me started on slate or wooden chopping boards.....
You need to listen to this!

The restaurant's own website has a picture of the dish which looks NOTHING like what OP received. She prob got 1/3 max of the salmon in the below picture.

I would definitely contact the restaurant, show them the two photos and query it as it's false advertising.

Part of the experience of going to nice places is perusing the menu before you go and thinking about what you might order. Here the reality was nothing like the impression given on the website.

Um. I had a gastric sleeve. I can eat 100g at each meal. I order a starter whilst out for a meal
That would just about do me, I think.

So for a normal person, no I wouldn't say a main.

£18 for a main is what I'd expect to pay in an above average pub, not a michelin starred resturant, that and the fact it's salmon wpuld lead me to expect a very light dish. The plave does look lovely though, I hope you asked for bread and it didn't ruin your evening. I think the menu is steering you towards the sharing platter which looks the nicest and best value thing IMO.

£18 is usually the price of a starter at a posh restaurant. I would expect a tiny portion for that price.

@Flowerwinter

It’s a hotel/champagne restaurant in Derbyshire. It was on the menu as a main course for £18. I understand it’s sushi grade etc but I’d expect at least a piece of bread with it or some salad?! I did query if it was a starter and he said ‘it’s a main, as it’s on a big plate’.

I would send it back and say 'main vs starter refers to portion size not plate size'

This thread will not do the restaurant any favours

True, but I'm not sure why someone said that "wasn't fair"; if that's what was served then facts are facts

FWIW I live in the general area, and among locals the place has long had the reputation of having ambitions beyond its capabilities (and pricing accordingly). It works for those who believe a few fancy names means a quality experience, but luckily most of us aren't fooled

@BarbaraofSeville yes, I’m aware of how restaurants work. There is clearly a difference in costs between something like a wholesale chicken breast for £1 and a high welfare, organic one for £6 though isn’t there.

It was me that said it wasn't fair and I stand by it.

If this all blows up in the Daily Mail/general media (and they would LOVE this) in a time when catering/hospitality is struggling to get back on it's feet one bad review on MN about one dish (of many) could be very damaging.
As for 'facts are facts' this is MN after all.

I expect a mistake was made (it was a starter) and the server didn’t want to admit it or had it wrong themselves

There is clearly a difference in costs between something like a wholesale chicken breast for £1 and a high welfare, organic one for £6

Yes, there definitely is, but unfortunately the blurb on a menu doesn't guarantee that that's what you'll get on your plate

It's possible this could have been "sushi grade salmon", but just as likely it came from an Aldi pack

It's possible this could have been "sushi grade salmon", but just as likely it came from an Aldi pack

An expensive restaurant with a reputation to lose doesn't pull that kind of shit.

If this all blows up in the Daily Mail/general media (and they would LOVE this) in a time when catering/hospitality is struggling to get back on it's feet one bad review on MN about one dish (of many) could be very damaging

Definitely agree with that, and it's certainly true that places are struggling, but isn't that exactly the reason to at least serve what's advertised - or better still to dump the high-flown claims and offer some good honest food at appropriate prices?