The boss of a restaurant that has held a Michelin star for more than five years has hit back at a restaurant that called the food ‘tasteless’. Peel’s, at the Hampton Manor Hotel in the West Midlands, also holds four AA rosettes.
But that wasn’t enough for one customer, who took it to Tripadvisor, where the restaurant holds a 4.5/5 rating and has a “Traveller’s Choice” badge. Posting to the review site, the hapless restaurant said there was “no way” Peel deserved its praise.
The person, who wrote under the username Wanderer794463, said they visited Solihull restaurant with three other people, all of whom were disappointed with the experience. The person said that Peel “was well below the norm”, BirminghamLive reports.
The reviewer wrote: “There were a few highlights – the amuse-bouche was delicious, as was the carrot mousse. The beetroot dish [was] frankly supermarket level [and] the tasteless gray and greasy slice of beef, the far below average cod with sliced raisins and the frankly almost rubbery and tasteless monkfish were so below Michelin standard that it was so disappointing.
The guest went on to say that the apple pie pudding was “not so tasty” and blasted the “poor” coffee. They added that the wine pairings were “not to our liking at all”.
The review ended: “The noise level in the dining room was so loud it gave you a headache. The ambience just wasn’t there. The staff were lovely. We would not return to Peels.”
While the number of rave reviews far outweighs reviews, Peel general manager James Hill often writes lengthy responses to those who leave critical comments. And on this occasion, Mr. Hill did not hold back.
He apologized to “Wanderer” for not liking the food and said he regretted getting a headache at a busy restaurant. But the restaurant boss explained that the Longhorn brisket was “fat by definition” and came from a specialist low-intensity farmer focusing on rare breeds in Hereford.
Mr Hill wrote: “Slow cooked for 48 hours and served with an intense mushroom broth, it’s very hard to understand how you see this as flavorless. By nature fat gives flavor and for me personally it’s is a delicious part of the dish.
“It completely melts in your mouth due to the cooking time. I’m not saying there isn’t variation within any given batch and if you had informed us at the time that there was something ‘unsatisfactory in the course, we would gladly have changed for you.’
Mr Hill went on to say it would have been ‘great’ if the mystery reviewer had contacted Peel’s directly.
He added: “As you are not a regular TripAdvisor user, it would have been great to hear these comments directly rather than in a public forum. We are a family business and appreciate feedback and would have done all we could to recover your experience if you had reached out to us. The door is always open.
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