George V at Ashford Castle - Congleton

Staying at Ashford castle is a special occasion demanding a special dining experience, and George V lives up to it. Food and service were impeccable from beginning to end. Having eaten at Adare Manor’s Oak Room just days earlier I would say George V deserves the Michelin star more than the Oak Room.

TL/DR: Bland, ‘old’ food. Interesting history. Sits on gorgeous castle grounds. NOT worth the price. Service team beholden to old ideas and traditions inconsistent with the needs of the modern dining experience. Let me admit a few things: 1) I’m an American and due to our history, I have developed a more sensitive radar to help recognize when my white privilege and colonialism are being put on a pedestal. 2) I don’t know a lot about the history there, why certain traditions have been preserved at George V, and I don’t pretend to know how the staff feel about working there. I bought a book on Ireland’s history to better understand the complicated relationship between Ireland and the crown. 3) I get it, it’s a restaurant review, not a history book. But when you name a place after a former king, we naturally get here. The quick and dirty becuase I have minimal characters left: the grounds are gorgeous the restaurant was built for George V and man does it feel and taste like it is deliberately maintaining old preparation techniques and ideas yikes the food was not good. It just wasn’t. It’s not the service team’s fault, but someone in charge who is choosing to hold on to a boring, outdated menu catering to old, rich white people (small changes could have made the meal interesting and like it belongs in 2022) the only diversity present was among the service team. It’s cringey as a diner. multiple people served us in a disconnected way: the person who sat us took our order (which confused another person), someone else spoke to us about wine and couldn’t answer other questions, someone else served it, and none of those were our main server I left this experience feeling disappointed and confused. How much of my experience is white guilt vs real restaurant problems? Should a restaurant rooted in royal history consider their representation of colonialism in 2022 a real restaurant problem? I absolutely think so.

An amazing experience, incredible food and service. All in a truly memorable setting

I had an 8 course menu with corresponding wines-The wine has harmonized very well and the food was tasteful and high quality. The service included Sommelier were perfectly matched!

The ambience and the service were exquisite. I particularly commend the floor manager, very gracious and helpful in advising on selections the venison was indeed wonderful). After dinner, we retired to the drawing room, where he brought us beautiful petits fours. An elegant dining experience.