Thursday, July 16, 2009

Bistro Thierry (Malvern) 09

There has been some discussion recently about the ethics of food bloggers. Some apparently demand favours or special attention from restaurants and some write damaging reviews after only one visit to a venue. We often frequent restaurants but only rewrite reviews if there is a change worth remarking. Restaurants such as Ripples, Imperial Kingdom, France Soir, Oliviers, have barely changed for ages. There are comparatively few changes at some of the high end places that we favour such as Jacques Reymond and Vue de Monde but they do continue to surprise. Matteo's has reinvented itself several times and guest chefs can add an extra dimension. When we offer a review it is a description of our experience on that occasion. I think it can be generalized and, with exceptions such as meals destroyed by unusually ear splitting diners at adjacent tables, provide a fair idea of what you might expect. These are personal views and there are times when readers strongly disagree, or support what we have written. We have eaten at Bistro Thierry several times in the last few months. Since we reviewed it some years ago it is very little changed. It looks the same, it feels the same, the service is similar and largely, so is the wine list and the menu, except for the far right hand column. For starters we tried the scallops,



which were lightly seared delicate and sweet. Lamb brains, wrapped in prosciuto was less successful,


the best thing about it being the size of the serve! The beef daube was also just OK but I've had much better.
It was a little dry and lacked that essential quality in good food namely flavour. The fillet steak was cooked as requested and served with extra Bernaise sauce.

Definitely the best choice. We finished with a cheese platter which was pleasing with three good size pieces of French cheeses that vary from time to time. The Brie was too cold and not quite ripe, the Roquefort particularly good. In all it remains a good example of French bistro dining with plenty of atmosphere though I prefer the food at France Soir. About $50/person for two courses. Score 13.5/20







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