Posted: Wed 16th Feb 2011

Rendezvous in Yale College Wrexham Food Review

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 16th, 2011

Rendezvous in Yale College was suggested as the venue for the inaugural Wrexham.com food review by Mike as he had never been, and I had never even heard of it.

Being an internet type I had a quick nose at the website, which is a sleek affair with lots of stars and good reviews. The only downsides were that the Christmas menu was still present in February and the location map was quite general for those who don’t know the town that well.

We parked up in the Wrexham Swimming Baths car park, paying our £1 for two hours of parking and walked towards the Library. This is where the map on the website could be clearer, as you turn right onto the Yale campus, and have to go ‘around the back’ to find it. A sign outside and few spied tables pointed us to the right place.

Rendezvous seems to be in a multi-use ‘space’, with a bar at one end, dining area set to another yet when we went there was a middle section arrange for a lecture.

The setup is clean and tidy, with pre-laid more formal dining preparations. The website suggested ‘light bites and snacks’ but the initial feel was for something more serious.

Apart from a couple in already we were the only other diners throughout lunch, which is a shame as I couldn’t help wonder about the students walking past outside who are happy to spend a few quid on sandwiches and subways yet for a little more (or in some cases the same!) they can have decent dining!

After a welcome we were given a drinks menu, which was suitably varied with a decent mini wine list. Our waiter offered bread, and a choice as well which was a pleasant touch. The bread itself was warm and fluffy.

The food menu had four starters, five mains and three sweets plus a section for quick snacks if you were just popping in for a quick lunch. Although it may strike you as a small choice, there was certainly a discussion about what to go for due to the choices.

I decided to opt for the brown onion soup with garlic croutons, with the honey and ginger glazed duck with earl grey infusion and onion marmalade for a main. Mike decided to forgo the starter and sneak a sweet in afterwards, so just ordered fricassee of chicken with tian of rice.

Sadly the brown onion soup was off, but replaced by a delightful winter vegetable soup. There was an odd hint of pesto glaze, and some onion garnish! Overall very nice.

While I was eating Mike remarked on the atmosphere, which we both agreed was quite relaxed. A chilled out version of Everything But The Girls ‘Missing’ was playing, which we decided was obscure enough but also ‘fitted’.

Moving on to the mains, Mikes fricassee of chicken looked fantastic. fricassee is a method of stewing meat, which must have been done correctly as he said it was ‘beautifully cooked’. The sauce though had a hint too much of onion for Mike, but the dish was devoured regardless!

My duck was presented well, and had a base of a half a baked potato, onion marmalade , with a sliced duck breast on top. The duck was moist, but not pink, with the accompaniments of the marmalade and deeply flavoured jus fitting well. Yummy.

Bizarrely a side dish of vegetables appeared a couple of minutes into our mains, and place by Mike’s dish. We were unsure who they were meant for, as the collection did not overly ‘fit’ either order. I tucked in any way! There was an almost fishy anchovy stuffed tomato , creamy mash, roasted cubed veg, and fried crispy mushrooms. I would call this ‘normal’ side-veg fare, nothing outstanding apart from the stuffed tomato for its bizarre taste which didn’t fit with either of our main dishes.

The service was very good, with trays being supported while clearing dishes, and small touches such as warmed plates being noted as well as the menu offered for deserts having the brown onion soup crossed out. Rendezvous’ website mentions it is staffed by students to a ‘silver service’ level, and although I wouldn’t normally mention things like leaving empty glasses on the table or cold milk for coffees, it is the small touches that make a service er, silver.

Such details may be missed and probably are elements the students are learning, likewise I would imagine the business element of catering is covered on the course. This is one area where ‘upsell’ was both enjoyably missed as there is nothing worse than a pushy waiter, yet tellingly not there as there was no attempt to entice Mike into a starter or myself into a desert.

Speaking of deserts, Mike’s citrus sponge with custard and curd ice cream was again presented in a fantastic manner, and was ‘very very filling but very nice’. It must have been as Mike then repeated, ‘I am massively full now’.

While he was gorging himself on custard and cream, while telling me how he is going to lose weight via a fitness drive, I had a coffee. I like my coffee and ordering a ‘black coffee’ can sometimes be a trip into a black hole of tepid filth. I was very pleased to see a nice large (3-4 cup) cafetiere turn up with two separate choices of sugar and some milk!

While chatting away at the end of the meal a group of students came into the ‘lecture area’ of the room, and a small presentation took place. Quite an odd scenario, which could unsettle some diners. It was at this point we were asked ‘would you like the bill?’ rather than asking if we wanted more drinks or the like, so we were unsure if we were being moved out or if it is the ‘business’ inexperience showing through.

With the bill came confirmation of one of the main selling points for Rendezvous, really great food at a cracking price. The mains alone could retail at over double the price in some places around town and probably not be as good, yet people would pay it!

Nutshell: Cheap hidden fine dining, with food outweighing any minor snags.

Overview
1 x starter
2 x mains
1 x sweet
2 x cokes
1 x coffee
1 x small cab sav.

Bill Total: £21.95

Rendezvous, Yale College, Grove Park Road, Wrexham
01978 316457
http://www.rendezvous-yale.co.uk

Review date: 9/2/11



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