Bistro 1871 - Eden

Good hearty food with big flavour in a casual setting.

We had dinner at Bistro 1871 as part of a weekend getaway at the Appleby Manor Hotel. It was a much-needed break after the lockdown during Spring and Summer. The food was excellent and the service was attentive. The hotel itself is charming and full of old-world character. We are planning to return for my wife's birthday in October and will dine at Bistro 1871 again, as well as trying out the gourmet restaurant for our second night.

We had an overnight stopover for a birthday party and had pre-booked a table at the restaurant. The restaurant was almost full and it took about 25 minutes before we could order and receive our drinks. The food was good overall, but the portions were very small considering the price. For example, the goulash main dish was around $15 and came in a small round dish without any salad or bread. While I don't mind paying for quality, some of us left a little hungry. The hotel itself is a lovely period property and I would recommend it for a stopover, but I wish the kitchen would provide larger portions. The staff were friendly and nice.

We dined at the Bistro on the second night of our stay and it was just as good as the first restaurant, with a completely different menu. I had tagliatelle pasta with chicken and it was very tasty. Great wine and delicious desserts.

After an excellent spa day last year, courtesy of a TravelZoo deal, my friend and I decided to treat ourselves again but to stay overnight this time. Despite some problems (entirely self made on my part with the booking! , the staff could not have been more helpful, changing things round for us before we arrived in order to suit our needs. Our twin room was a decent size with plenty of space for stuff and two chairs to sit on (so much nicer than always perching on the bed , a kettle and plenty of tea, and a local guide. The hotel guide in the room is a little dated though... We were given a brief tour of the facilities on arrival, and decided to eat in the bistro for dinner advised to book, we were fairly surprised to turn up at the alloted time and find it almost empty, but no matter! The food was tasty and well priced, and the service was good. The dark chocolate tart was to die for! After dinner, we made ourselved at home on the sofas and played our version of trivial pursuit, drawing several other guests into the fun! The waitress came through from the bar to sort us out some drinks, which was a nice touch. When we wanted extra hot chocolate to make in our room, Mark on reception was able to sort that out for us. A good night 's sleep, a great breakfast, and we headed to the spa for our TravelZoo day (yes, another one. We like a deal! . Some reviews seem to suggest that being on a deal leads to subpar service. This was genuinely not the case at all. There was no point where we were made to feel less because we had paid less. Lunch in the bistro was delicious again; our massages were great; we left happy. Our only mistake was not staying for longer. We 'll work on that.