{Review: The Mal on Sunday}

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I was delighted to be asked along to try Malmaison's new Sunday Lunch menu - The Mal on Sunday. I loved the little newspaper that was at each table setting instead of a menu. Really well done and rather amusing!

I've stayed in a few of the Malmaison hotels before but have rarely eaten in the restaurants. I do love the Aberdeen Malmaison, my home town!, and have enjoyed the odd G&T in the MALBAR ;-)

Anyway, back to Sunday Lunch...

The Mal on Sunday is the "king of Sunday lunches" and guests can start with an unlimited hors d'oeuvres table featuring a selection of cheeses, ham, smoked salmon and individually prepared omelettes, eggs, pancakes & waffles. And that's just to start!! There is then a selection of main courses which include huevos rancheros, swordfish, steak frites and the traditional prime rib or chicken roast with all the trimmings, followed by desserts such as Crepes Suzette, Creme Brulee, sticky toffee pudding and the Mal Sundae.

My sister, @the_grey_house, and I arrived at The Mal shortly after my daughter's 2nd birthday party ended and we were looking forward to enjoying a proper catch up before she had to drive back to Aberdeen later that afternoon.

The impressive Malmaison building in Glasgow

On our way down to the Brasserie

We were shown to our table and invited to help ourselves to the Chef's Table. We did go and have a look at the table, but the chef wasn't there and the area wasn't lit very well so it wasn't easy to see what was going on and without someone to tell me what was what, I wasn't sure what I was doing!

The Chef's Table

We both opted for the soup of the day anyway as we loved the sound of apple & celeriac... and it didn't disappoint. Yum!!

Perusing the menu!

Decisions, decisions...

Apple & Celeriac Soup

The soup was creamy & delicious. It wasn't served with bread (probably just as well when you see what's to come!!) but perhaps this was on the Chef' Table and we didn't spot it. Portion wise, the bowl was massive, as you can see...

Enjoying the starter :-) 

(I think I look a bit frazzled, but that's a result of entertaining six under 5 year olds that morning!!)

We then moved onto the main course. Seeing as it was Sunday Lunch, I chose the traditional roast prime rib of beef with all the trimmings and Ali went for the wild mushroom risotto with tarragon and mascarpone. 

The plate was wider than me!!!!

The beef was beautiful although for me there wasn't enough gravy with the dish and as a result the Yorkshire pudding and potatoes were a little dry. I was going to ask for more, but didn't manage to catch the attention of our waitress. As you can see from the portion size, I struggled to finish it... I had to leave two of the three roast potatoes! Ali on the other hand demolished her risotto.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

For our final course, I had to choose the Sticky Toffee Pudding (I'm on the search for the best sticky toffee pudding!) and it was delicious. Ali ordered the Creme Brulee.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Creme Brulee

The atmosphere in the Brasserie was relaxed which I really liked. I could imaging sitting reading a book or catching up with friends over a long lunch. I also liked the music that was playing in the background (so much so that I wrote a few of the tracks down - Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Mary Wells, The Spinners...).

The newspaper wasn't wrong... by the end of the meal I was ready to pop!! 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I wish now that I had tried a cocktail, but there's always next time!

I loved my starter and dessert, but the main course for me was average. I think I possibly could have made a better selection as I'm loving the look of Briony and Graeme's mains in their review (which you can read on The Glasgow Food Blog here). I think next time I'll be having the burger thank you -  it looks amazing!

I received this complimentary Sunday Lunch for two in exchange for an honest review. Opinions as always are my own. The Mal on Sunday is available from 12 noon - 4pm and is £19.95 per person (kids under 12 are £7.95 each).