When visiting the Grand Canyon, there are literally only a handful of places to stay. This means that there are only a similar number of places to eat. These range from quick turnover canteens, bars and saloons to the El Trovar fine dining room. With this in mind and because I was celebrating my birthday in the Grand Canyon we booked into the latter for dinner.
Located in the historic El Tovar Hotel, the dining room is rustic and traditional. It is candlelit with plenty of wood panelling. Aparently those who have dined here in the past, include Teddy Roosevelt, President Bill Clinton and Sir Paul McCartney. I would urge caution in interpreting anything by this, bearing in mind that this is the nicest restaurant in the village, but you would have to travel some way to find anywhere else to eat. The menu is described as traditional, integrating both international and local Southwest influences.
We arrived, not quite dressed up as it was cold outside, but dressier than many in the restaurant. We were seated, but unfortunately not by the window so we could not enjoy the view. Gipsy Spread had informed them it was my birthday and he was told they did not do anything special for birthdays.
The bread was brought over by our friendly waitor and we got stuck in, starving from our hike around the rim of the Canyon during the day. Luckily for me there were a few vegetarian options. It was therefore to be the mozzarella roulade sampler for my starter whilst Gipsy Spread opted for the plum chilli glazed sea scallops with jicama slaw (the first time in a long time as he had a bad experience last time).
The food came out relatively quickly and was perhaps larger than at home; our chefs preoccupied with the number three for presentation. The only issue was (and I didn't take a picture!), that the starter I received first was the fish cakes. Whilst receiving two, this was a good sized portion, but it was not my portion. Where the error happened, I don't know (waiting staff or kitchen), but I do know I did not order incorrectly, not having eaten fish in 20 years and having had a lengthy discussion with the waiter about the mozarella roulades. I would also have been really upset if I hadn't realised and eaten a mouthful of it. When mine came out, it was huge. Again, I refer to only expecting to receive about three slices at home. It was good though.
For my main course I opted for the vegetable stuffed mushroom and I asked for the polenta cake rather than the rice it came with. This was a vegan offering so there was no cheese a-top the mushroom. This was fine however as I had just eaten a lot of mozzarella. The mushroom was tasty and I enjoyed it. I make stuffed mushrooms at home a lot, so it did not feel particularly special.
Gipsy Spread had chosen the pork steaks with sundried cherry jalapeno demi. Unfortunately, he also experienced a problem with his meal. The pork was pink inside, which whilst desirable for beef, is not so much for pork. When informing the waiter, he agreed the pork was not cooked and told us he advised the kitchen he would not want his pork like that. So, another plate arrived very quickly.
We decided against any dessert, having had a few issues with the previous two courses. The food was tasty enough, we drank sparkling wine from New Mexico, however, this was not fine dining as I know it. The service from our main water was friendly and efficient when we informed him of some of the errors with the food, but a junior waiter almost spilled a glass of water over our table whilst de-crumbing. Finally, to add insult to injury, there was no accommodation made of the errors on our bill nor was there any offer of complimentary digestivs. In fact, the fish cakes which had never been ordered, were still our bill and we had to request they be taken off.
This is most likely the best place to eat in the Grand Canyon, however it did not live up to my expectations which was a shame on my birthday. I think Gipsy Spread fared a bit better with his meal. It might just have been that they had a bad day, which is a real shame if the case. A bit more attention to detail would not go a-miss, which is the definition of fine dining. If you manage your expectations when dining here, you may not be disappointed as I was.
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