The Gallery Restaurant is located in the Hotel Holt.  It is a medium sized place that is named because of all the artwork that is in the restaurant as well as the hotel itself. The dining room is elegant with long table clothes, sparkling crystal, soft background music, dark wood ceiling and formally dressed waiters.  Some half wall partitions further divide the well spaced tables.  Service was helpful and efficient but definitely no chatting in the dining room however the bartender was much more friendly and enjoyed showing us around.  There is a large a la carte menu that also offers a chef’s tasting menu.  The wine list is on the pricey side but large.  Be aware though, since the wine is printed rather than electronic, the year may not be as listed and you will not be notified.  

 

While enjoying some martinis from the art-adorned bar we received the amuse bouche of a salted cod salad mixed with coriander and vinegar.  The spoon contained nice size chunks of fish and lots of other ingredients, all well seasoned.  It reminded me of crab meat salad because of the shreds of meat and the nice blend of components.  It was a great amuse – very tasty.

 

Bread was like a baguette and the softened butter had a bit of tang.  It was just fine.

 

For a starter we split the Cured salmon “Holt” with honey-mustard sauce and toast.  It was beautifully shaped into a rose and tasted just as good as it looked. The salmon was very tender with a bit of smokiness.  The honey-mustard sauce was dotted on the plate as well as having an extra container of it with the toast and it blended perfectly.  I liked it just as well with the baguette bread as the toast, however it was just good on its own.  It was listed as a kitchen classic and you could see why – a nice and light appetizer.

 

We chose another kitchen classic for a main course, Slow cooked Ribeye steak, aged 12 days “Premier Cru” served with crispy potatoes and Béarnaise sauce.  As it was a slow cooked meat there was no very rare available but the cooking amount turned out to be fine.  Parts of it tasted like pot roast probably because of the long cooking as opposed to searing over a hot fire.  The sauce was lovely and the meat was very tender.  The crispy potatoes were exactly that – very crispy and really tasty.  They seemed to be coated with something which probably helped the crisp factor.  It was old school, but a totally satisfying meal.

 

We ended with a glass of Brennivin, an Icelandic spirit that had a caraway flavor.  Very good! I end with photos of their huge after dinner drink selection.