OOH, I love a good hotel, me. I like the anonymity, the sense of possibilities, the mystery, the transitoriness. I like the idea that you could be anyone, making a brief visit to a foreign place, colliding like atoms with strangers before careering back to normal life.
But some hotels are as much for locals as they are for visitors. They have a certain quality which draws people in when there’s an occasion to mark, or when you want a special time with people who matter to you. It’s a quality that’s hard to define but easy to sense, and the best place to look for it is the bar on a Friday evening.
It was definitely there in the bar of the Bishop’s Gate Hotel. There was a nice mixture of locals and visitors, all in their gladrags, all chattering and excited, all with the sense that this was a special place to be, a go-to venue if you had something important to celebrate, a place you dressed up for, a place where you pushed the boat out.
We’d booked for three, but my wife, having a proper job, had texted to say she’d be late and to start without her. My brother and I were reluctant to do so but five seconds of concentrated mulling convinced us it was what she would have wanted and headed into the dining-room, which had just as nice a buzz as the bar, and you could still hear the pleasant rattle of ice cubes in the mixologist’s cocktail shaker.
We kicked off with the duck arancini and the seafood cocktail. The arancini were crisp and fulsome, but the duck was a bit lost in the filling. I really liked my seafood cocktail – beautifully fresh prawn, crabmeat and warm scallops, full of flavour. Not perfect, mind, as there was a bit of shell in with the prawn, but good, nevertheless.
My brother wolfed down his chicken supreme. The texture of the chicken skin was perfect, the fondant potato was well-cooked and the carrot puree was rich and sweet. The meat was a little dry, however, although that certainly couldn’t be said for my duck. This was done just right – pink, tender, rich, with lovely, earthy celeriac and sweet-sharp apple.
One issue, mind. The black pudding came in the form of microscopic crumbs. Now, that may be all well and good for southern softies, but I’m a northern boy. Black pudding is a thing of beauty and should be celebrated in hearty chunks, not in a fancy soil.
That daintiness didn’t extend to the Caesar salad, which my wife ordered when she finally arrived. The bacon came in proper slabs, rather than the lardons you might have expected. That’s not a bad thing, though. She made short work of it, and was very impressed with the oozing, soft-poached egg.
Puddings! Fantastic! My brother’s trifle came in one of those jars you can get for making your own jam – with the rubber seal and clip top. It looked good fun and was so great to eat that for a while the cocktail shaker was drowned out by the clacking of spoon against glass as our kid excavated every last morsel.
My pannacotta was presented just as beautifully, in a tallish glass, with a layer of jelly swooshing through the middle. A couple of issues again: I might be wrong, but I don’t think the biscuits were home-made; also, I’m not sure this was a proper pannacotta, as the texture seemed a touch creamy. Taste-wise, though, no complaints whatsoever. It was yummy, and that’s not a word I use lightly.
I think they’re on to a winner here. A good hotel can earn a place in a city’s heart – the Shelbourne, the Merchant, the Midland, the Adelphi. With its attentive staff, friendly bar, and excellent – though not faultless – food, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Bishop’s Gate Hotel becomes a fixture in Derry’s affections.
THE BILL
(Prices, for three)
Starters
Duck arancini
Seafood cocktail
Mains
Chicken supreme, fondant potato, carrot puree
Duck breast, celeriac and apple puree, black pudding, roast celeriac
Pudding
Strawberry trifle
Vanilla and blackberry pannacotta
Three courses – £23.50 x 2
Caesar salad, poached egg, smoked bacon, Parmesan shavings – £6
Side dishes
Chunky chips; bubble and squeak (included with mains)
Seasonal vegetables – £2.85
Drinks
Sparkling water – £2.40
Lager shandy – £4.10
Total: £62.35
