Dinner, La Sala, Gibraltar
Sunborn Super Yacht Hotel is located in Ocean Village, Gibraltar. As you may have guessed from the name, it is a super yacht that has been converted into a hotel with has 2 restaurants, La Sala and Barbary.
Initially, my plan was to book into Barbary restaurant for dinner, located on the top deck. However, this restaurant is closed on Mondays (which is when I was planning on going), so thought I would head down to La Sala on the 3rd Deck. Not a problem, I'm sure that the experience would be just as enjoyable as this is a 5* Hotel.
When I first arrived, I decided to enjoy a cocktail on the deck outside before heading in to eat. I ordered one of the signature Raspberry cocktails and enjoyed the warm weather and some relaxing music. Blissful.
After my drink, I headed through to the dining room. At first, I was presented with an amuse-bouche of cold potato on a toasted piece of bread. It was delicious. Now I was feeling excited for my main to arrive.
I ordered a 200g Rib-eye steak for my main with a glass of house red. Whenever I order a Rib-eye, I tend to order medium rather than medium-rare. At a 5* hotel, this should be a breeze but unfortunately not here. The first steak was extremely well done, so I sent this back to the kitchen. A staggering 30 minutes later I received my second steak, which was also overcooked. Given that I had already waited 30 minutes for this to arrive, I wasn't going to take my chances and wait for a 3rd attempt at cooking a steak. Luckily, as the meat was high quality, it wasn't too tough...however it was simply not how I enjoy a steak.
As an apology, the restaurant offered me a dessert on the house. Great, who doesn't love dessert? The Coated Peanut Chocolate Brownie with Banana and Coconut Sauce called to me. I love the combination of chocolate and peanut and also chocolate and banana, so I was rather excited when I saw this combo on the menu.
But that excitement didn't last long. Although it was beautifully presented, the flavour of the brownie was lacking and it was a little dry too. The Banana and Coconut Sauce was extremely tasty though, so I will give it that.
On another positive, the house red was also very good, so not all bad.
It is a real shame because I was hoping for so much more from La Sala. I appreciate it was a Monday night, but there was only one other table ordering food at the same time as me, so to get a steak so wrong, twice, when the kitchen is that quiet, is poor.
Based on the above, I would say if you are looking for somewhere to enjoy a drink, head down to La Sala, but if you are looking for food...maybe you should look elsewhere. I would love to try the Barbary Restaurant as the menu looks great, but I'm just not sure I want to risk spending money on a meal that won't be worth it...
Sorry Sunborn Super Yacht Hotel, La Sala doesn't get our seal of approval.
Initially, my plan was to book into Barbary restaurant for dinner, located on the top deck. However, this restaurant is closed on Mondays (which is when I was planning on going), so thought I would head down to La Sala on the 3rd Deck. Not a problem, I'm sure that the experience would be just as enjoyable as this is a 5* Hotel.
When I first arrived, I decided to enjoy a cocktail on the deck outside before heading in to eat. I ordered one of the signature Raspberry cocktails and enjoyed the warm weather and some relaxing music. Blissful.
After my drink, I headed through to the dining room. At first, I was presented with an amuse-bouche of cold potato on a toasted piece of bread. It was delicious. Now I was feeling excited for my main to arrive.
I ordered a 200g Rib-eye steak for my main with a glass of house red. Whenever I order a Rib-eye, I tend to order medium rather than medium-rare. At a 5* hotel, this should be a breeze but unfortunately not here. The first steak was extremely well done, so I sent this back to the kitchen. A staggering 30 minutes later I received my second steak, which was also overcooked. Given that I had already waited 30 minutes for this to arrive, I wasn't going to take my chances and wait for a 3rd attempt at cooking a steak. Luckily, as the meat was high quality, it wasn't too tough...however it was simply not how I enjoy a steak.
As an apology, the restaurant offered me a dessert on the house. Great, who doesn't love dessert? The Coated Peanut Chocolate Brownie with Banana and Coconut Sauce called to me. I love the combination of chocolate and peanut and also chocolate and banana, so I was rather excited when I saw this combo on the menu.
But that excitement didn't last long. Although it was beautifully presented, the flavour of the brownie was lacking and it was a little dry too. The Banana and Coconut Sauce was extremely tasty though, so I will give it that.
On another positive, the house red was also very good, so not all bad.
It is a real shame because I was hoping for so much more from La Sala. I appreciate it was a Monday night, but there was only one other table ordering food at the same time as me, so to get a steak so wrong, twice, when the kitchen is that quiet, is poor.
Based on the above, I would say if you are looking for somewhere to enjoy a drink, head down to La Sala, but if you are looking for food...maybe you should look elsewhere. I would love to try the Barbary Restaurant as the menu looks great, but I'm just not sure I want to risk spending money on a meal that won't be worth it...
Sorry Sunborn Super Yacht Hotel, La Sala doesn't get our seal of approval.
(All pictures taken & owned by SistersDineOut unless otherwise stated)
