Last Updated on July 19, 2024
I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside…
Sitting between the sea and the chalk downs of Beachy Head, The Grand Hotel Eastbourne maintains respect for its Victorian and Edwardian heritage but with a contemporary twist.
Built in 1875 I love its old-school elegance and charm. It’s where the composer Debussy finished his classic composition La Mer in 1905 and more recently, Dame Helen Mirren was a visitor.
We have been invited to review the hotel’s Garden Grill – there is also the fine-dining Mirabelle – which is set in a gloriously old-fashioned ‘grand hotel’ dining room featuring proper silver service, a rarity these days. With pale grey walls, wallpaper featuring painted woodland scenes, green and grey foliage pattern carpet, and a high ceiling with long windows with period hanging drapes and chandeliers it’s a vision of muted elegance underscored by the gentle chatter of satisfied customers.
The menu is traditionally structured and there is a substantial wine list. Whilst giving it a peruse, we start with two glasses of Louis Roederer Collection with its elegant mousse and honeycomb and pastry notes.
Our first starter is a surprisingly subtle dish of plump juicy little Spanish-style prawns ‘Al Ajillo’ (with garlic) in a light, buttery chilli and flat parsley sauce. The respect shown to the prawns by the kitchen, allowing their natural delicacy and flavour to come through bodes well for the rest of the meal! The crunchy disk of Rösti on top adds crunch!
Similarly well-constructed is an asparagus and quail egg salad. Crisp, slender sticks of tender local asparagus come with soft-boiled quail eggs, with the saltiness of Parmesan shavings and a light saffron aioli adding extra excitement.
Yearning for some summer sun we headed to the South of France and ordered a main dish of a lightly seared herb-crusted tuna steak, with a well-dressed Provençal salad, fine beans, new potatoes and sun-blushed tomato. It almost compensated for the British summer! The light blush colour and white berry notes of a glass of Famille Sumeire, Rosé de Sophie, 2022, Côtes de Provence was a great match for the tuna salad.
From the Grand Classics menu, I chose the Dover Sole Meunière on the bone. There are few things in life more satisfying for me than filleting a Dover Sole. The fish’s springy flesh doused in a butter, lemon and caper sauce created a dish that was rich and satisfying and a full-bodied glass of Baron P. de Rothschild Chardonnay from the Languedoc had a refreshing acidity that complemented the richness of the dish as well as white peach flavours. Our side order of Rösti fries with a siracha mayo was a decadent exercise in calorific indulgence with the fried grated spuds being given a hint of spice from the siracha.
I’m ashamed to report that I ate every last morsel of my sticky toffee pudding. Served with a classic rich toffee sauce and a dob of Chantilly cream, it was delicious, and the chocolate and berry notes of my accompanying glass of Californian Andrew Quady, Elysium Black Muscat 2021 was lovely.
A healthier option was the Asian-infused poached pineapple, sweet and juicy, plated with a textured, creamy coconut ice cream, washed down with a luscious glass of Domaine des Baumand Carte d’Or Côteaux du Layon, full of honey flavour.
The Garden Grill offers all-day dining, with breakfast served from 7 am – 10:30 am daily, plus lunch and dinner served from 12.30 pm – 8.30 pm daily. With a fun-looking Children’s Menu and a Plant-Based Menu, it caters for everyone with a choice that encompasses a more casual dining approach to something much grander. I shall be back for a drink in the hotel’s newly refurbished Cocktail Bar and to try the Grand Fruits de Mer for two.
The Garden Grill, The Grand Hotel, King Edward’s Parade, Eastbourne BN21 4EQ, UK
Leave a Reply