The Royal York Hotel, The Fifth, Susur, Eigenseinn Farm and the final two years of his journey as the Sous Chef at Oro Restaurant before opening Blacktree. Now that Blacktree has o...more...See more text
There is a part of the culinary world that values presentation, new combinations of ingredients, and the avant-garde over good flavours. I have heard it said as almost a criticism on cooking shows that the chef “just” makes really delicious food. Blacktree definitely belongs to that school of thought. I found the meal to be a tour de force of form over substance. The presentations were beautiful, I could see that a lot of work went into the dishes, but the flavours were disappointing.
Like Patricia below, I found the flavours did not complement one another. The actual proteins on the entrees were wonderful in and of themselves because they were of the highest quality and expertly prepared. But in each case the rest of the dish as a whole left all three of us flat.
I can’t be quite as kind about the desserts, they were simply not good. The fig upside down cake was actually inedible.
The service was excellent, we enjoyed our waiter and he was very attentive. But we found the pacing of the meal very slow. Sometimes this might be exactly what you want, but for us it was a work night and we didn’t like having to wait about an hour between the courses.
It was a culinary experience that I enjoy having once in a long while, but there are so many restaurants that “just” serve delicious food that it will be a long time before I go back to Blacktree.Read more