JapesUK

This is a really rather pleasant restaurant/bar and I am glad I decided to take a wander. Just looking online and the hotel rooms price in at well above the waterfront Radisson Blu.

Menus today





I’ve decided to stick to the lighter side and have opted for the Gravalax and the ballotine of chicken accompanied by a stroll down the white wine list.

The dishes of the day were sea bass and pork with jumbo cous cous which was a real contender for main course.

JapesUK

First up was the Gravalax with a tempura king prawn. The prawn was perfectly executed and delicious, I wanted more The Gravalax was also very tasty and a nicely sized portion. The various splodges around the plate added nothing to neither the salmon nor the prawn, they may have enhanced the salad but that will have to remain a mystery, you probably know what a salad dodger I am.

JapesUK

The ballotine of chicken was next. It was a well executed plate of food, my only minor complaint is that the potato and onion croquette had picked up a bit too much oil and was somewhat sloppy in the middle, but this really is being picky, not ashamed to admit I cleared the plate.

JapesUK

Last but by no means least was the Jersey Black Butter pudding. This was like no butter pudding I have ever eaten before, more akin to a sticky pudding than a butter pudding but delicious nonetheless and accompanied by a small glass of sauternes



I’d definitely eat here again, very well executed and tasty food, good service, nice ambiance. It feels like a bit of a treat yourself destination, most of the other
diners are exceeding well dressed and clearly out on a special night.

Its now time to retire to the bar for a coffee and that whiskey I promised myself earlier.

JapesUK

Retired to the bar area and this is the proper size for a coffee



A large French press and a large Muckle Flugga - let’s be honest, if it tastes bad it still has a cool name - and it is time to kick back and digest that excellent meal and do a bit of people watching.

JapesUK

Back to the hotel at 10pm, sated and satisfied. That was not a cheap dinner but the quality was worth the price point.

Give that the alarm goes off at 4am I may have enjoyed their hospitality for a little longer than I should have but it was a very pleasant evening.

I had a brief chat with the receptionist on the way out and he tells me the rooms are equally well appointed, maybe we’ll find out next summer.

And with that it is time to hit the sheets and, with six hours before the alarm goes off, it is self inflicted wounding this evening!

atcodave

Hotel de France are a good chain, better than most. But as I’m sure Uncle T will profess there is better in Jersey, IMHO.

VorelNaCestach

Not sure if it is the lighting but the coffee colour doesn't look the best. It's too light. Hope it tasted better that it looked 😁

JapesUK

It really was that light but the joy of the French press, a little manual intervention produced a better brew. The lad that made it was clearly new on the job and I have a suspicion the plunger was down before the water went in.

JapesUK

Day three and with 480 tier points in the bag it’s time to add another 240 to the running total. With the joys of time zone changes it is a full day of travel today.

Arrived at a still closed Jersey airport at 05:22 for the 07:05 flight. It seems the airport opens at half past five.





I am sure that there is some strange time anomaly that happens immediately after getting out of bed as, despite getting up at 4 am, I still had to hustle at the end to get down by 5am for the taxi.

Coming down into reception I was met by a locked front door and a perplexed taxi driver standing outside. A little bell on the reception desk was ineffectual in both the quality of ding it produced and its ability to summon staff, however one did finally appear after I had walked the full length of the hotel and found an emergency exit to escape from!

JapesUK

Jersey airport is all on one level with arrivals to the left and departures to the right. The arrivals hall is fairly basic




Jersey has the new scanners in place and have had them for a few months now. It was straight through security and into the departures area





And this closed duty free area



The lounge is located beside gate 2






And is closed



As I had some time to kill I took a wander along the gates and have to award Jersey the prize for the most ill-conceived airport floor



They can certainly hear you coming as you roll your case over this!

JapesUK

Lounge opened up a couple of minutes early, by which time there eight of us eagerly awaiting the pleasures within






A door at the back of the lounge has a view out onto the airfield and what I assume is our conveyance this morning



The f&b offering falls into the basic range








I also noted that despite the wide range of spirits and beers available there is no wine or fizz in sight, seems and odd omission, maybe it appears later?

Whilst waiting for the coffee machine to take its leisurely time dispensing the morning brew I counted the various bottles. There are no less than 18 different bottled beers and 36 different spirits and liqueurs!

JapesUK

Boarding commenced bright and early and we are on G-EUOF which I was last on around six months ago from Newcastle to Heathrow.




Same crew as we flew out to Jersey with yesterday and the IFL seems particularly chirpy for 6:40 am

Seat 1C today and 1A is free so I’ve switched into that for takeoff and hopefully there’ll be a picture or two as we depart from Jersey as the sun is rising.

Doors are closed and we are ready to go a full twenty minutes before schedule.

I’m told I’ve ordered a Muslim meal this morning. I don’t believe I have had the Muslim breakfast special before so this could be interesting.

Next stop, London Heathrow

JapesUK

Shock, horror, gasp, we have ATC restriction this morning and will be sitting on the stand for the next 25 minutes. That’s five out of five for delayed departures.

Captain stated that we should be able to make up the slight delay in flight and is expecting an on time arrival.

JapesUK

There was one quick opportunity for a picture during takeoff before we were above the clouds




Muslim breakfast was this potato and cauliflower spiced roll. Trying a piece of the potato, it had a nice spice but an overbearing flavour of cauliflower throughout which I am not a fan of.



Luckily there were spares of the bacon roll which was crisp and tasty.



With a glass of fizz and an orange juice to wash it down and we were on our descent into Heathrow