There are two kinds of hotel restaurants. The kind which are stunning in their own right, with food to tempt diners from far and wide who aren't staying at the hotel, and the kind that rely on their residents being too exhausted to bother venturing out to forage for food and therefore don't put much effort into their menu or the food they serve. Coliseum, based at the Grand Hotel in Kenilworth, firmly falls into the former camp. The menu is packed with dishes featuring fresh in-season produce, making dinner a tempting experience, albeit a slightly mind-boggling one. The one problem is that even the simplest of dishes has an elaborate range of garnishes - some of which sound complementary and lovely and some of which sound like they've been put together by someone doing a Ready Steady Cook style amalgam of random ingredients. I started with the south coast crab fish cake, served with citrus fruits and lemon oil (£7.50). A pleasant if slightly bland beginning perhaps, although to be fair it came off worse in comparison with my companion Alan's carpaccio of cured and smoked beef loin, parmesan shavings and balsamic glaze (£7) which was beautifully presented and tasty. For the main course I requested my roast rack of Cornish lamb pink and it duly came served with a pistachio crust, fondant potato, broad beans and lamb sauce (£20). Once I'd got over the idea of lamb with lamb sauce it was lovely. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the portion size was really good. Alan had plumped for what was quite possibly the most complicated dish on the menu - Magret duck breast, confit of leg, seared foie gras, salsify and fruit tea sauce (£22.00) - and declared the duck itself was lovely but the complex variety of other flavours distracted from it. So having had one course each so far that we'd really enjoyed and one we were less enamoured by, there was all to play for as dessert rolled around. I plumped for the Valhrona chocolate soufflé with pistachio ice cream (£7.50) which I was warned would take a little while to prepare. It did. But it was definitely worth the wait - the best soufflé I have ever had. £7.50 might sound expensive but it was so wonderful I'd pay it without hesitation. In fact I'd return purely to eat the dessert it was that good - so chocoholics take note. Alan was pleased with his tonka bean crème brûlée (£6) - although he was more impressed by the wine list which produced some stunning drinks for great value, although arguably the price of the food offsets that. With a tasting menu due to be launched shortly and a lovely veranda for outside dining, the Coliseum is definitely worth a visit if you've got money in the bank. Just don't forget to order the soufflé. Grand Hotel, 95-97 Warwick Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 1HP, 01926 863100 www.grandhotelkenilworth.com
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