Stunning surroundings, not so stunning food (Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant (Harrogate))

Member Name: degsy70

Product:	Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant (Harrogate)
Date:	15/04/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decor, architecture

Disadvantages: Food, price

Well I can honestly say that you will never eat chinese food in a more stunning environment. The Royal Baths building in Harrogate is a beauty to behold and congratulations must go out to the designers who were responsible for the re-furbishment. It's quite inconspicuous from the outside and gives little hint of what awaits. I had heard that nearly a million punds had been spent on turning the old function hall into a restaurant but I had no idea it was to maintain such character. As you sit and eat you can't help but look up into the dome 70 feet above you admire the architecture.
There is a lovely mix of modern with traditional, the bar area being quite trendy and upmarket and the main restaurant being more grand and victorian.
Eating and drinking in a restaurant however isn't just about the décor and sadly this is where the Royal Baths Chinese lets itself down massively. On arrival we were shown to the bar area where I proceeded to order a pint of chinese beer for myself and a half a diet coke for my partner. The bar has no till and therefore the barman has to disappear to the other side of the restaurant to get your change. That round of drinks costs me £5.70 which in anyones book is overpriced. Nevertheless I figured that you pay for quality and hoped that the quality of the food would make up for the prices they were charging, alas I was disappointed. The food was bland and only slightly better than I would expect to get from a back street takeaway. Service however was excellent and as a one off I was very glad I went.
If I was to go out for chinese again I would defintely stick to Horoscopes in Harrogate (I'll review this shortly!)

Summary: Worth going once