The Waterfront Steak and Seafood Brasserie, York

Wednesday 4th July 2001

Marg and I are taking a couple of days off, and end up in York. The weather is very hot so we decide to stay overnight. We find a hotel and later head back into the town centre to find somewhere to eat.

There are many establishments near the centre, around the Shambles, but, as I am always drawn to water, we gravitate to the river, and spot the Waterfront Brasserie. The blackboard offers freshly caught fish, and the location is superb, overlooking the river where, coincidentally, the Fire Brigade RIB has just been deployed to rescue some poor couple who needed to be towed back.

The Waterfront is fairly small, and sparsely decorated. It was empty save for a couple in the main room. Normally, I would take this as a negative sign, but the friendliness of the waitress impressed so we took a table next to the other couple because Marg wanted to be next to a window as it was so hot. Luckily, the window opened, and the other couple didn't mind the breeze.

Marg doesn't really like seafood, so ordered a steak. I took the opportunity of sampling Lobster. As it was so hot, our appetites didn't stretch to starters, so we proceeded to the main course directly.

When the meal arrived, we first noticed that the vegetables looked rather more enticing than we'd expected: there was a selection of cauliflower, broccoli, boiled potatoes and a potato and turnip? mash. I usually find such vegetables to be lacking in flavour and texture, but these were spot on - especially the mash. Marg's steak was fine, and she enjoyed it, but a steak is, generally, a steak. My (half) lobster, on the other hand, looked exquisite, accompanied by a couple of large prawns in their shells and scallops. The sauce was beautiful, tangy and flavoursome and a perfect accompaniment to the meal. I have noticed in the past that some sauces tend to have a "shiny" appearance and quickly form an unsightly skin. I have heard that the "shininess" is, by some folk, prized. I don't like that sort of presentation, and this sauce did not skin over - lovely.

We engaged in conversation with the other couple (by now another couple of tables had been occupied) and found that the gentleman had also had the lobster, and also enjoyed it as much as I had. They were locals and had been to the restaurant in the past, and explained that the site had suffered badly from the flooding last year, and previous to that as well - which I suppose explained the decor?

A bottle of the House Red, a couple of rounds of Cognac, and coffee brought the bll to £67.75

We all thouroughly enjoyed the meal - and the overall experience of dining there.

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