This is one of the most expensive places to eat in Mumbles and certainly the priciest restaurant on the 'strip' of bars and restaurants along the front. Is it worth the price? We felt it was worth a go. This decision was taken because on a previous visit to Mumbles we had experienced a couple of dodgy Chinese meals, not to mention the most appalling and unforgettable Welsh cheeseboard, ordered at the Mermaid a couple of years ago: we had been eagerly anticipating some mouthwatering farmhouse specialities but instead got a 'dartboard selection' of grim cheddars dyed in vivid oranges and greens, robustly flavoured with Mexican chilli, sage'n'onion, etc. Grooh!
Anyway, back to the matter at hand: Patrick's. On arrival we were seated in the very pleasant colonial-style bar area where we enjoyed a gin & tonic with complementary char-grilled monkey nuts. We visited the toilets which were clean and extremely pleasant, furnished with unguents and soft hand-towels. Then we moved to the main dining area, light and decorated with modern paintings and arty light fittings. We were surprised that the wine list seemed a bit limited and unadventurous, although perfectly reasonably priced. We chose a low-priced Rioja that was decent enough. We were encouraged to order a round of home-made breads with oil. They were fine, but a bit damp and uninspiring. For my starter (around £7) I chose an imaginative rissole of Welsh beef on black pudding, with a poached egg. It was quite a substantial dish and very tasty. The egg seemed slightly overdone, although the yolk was still partly liquid, but I suppose everybody likes their poached eggs to be different. Thinking about it, they might have asked me how I'd like it cooked. Mr B had pork belly on a bed of haricot beans in a garlicky sauce that was, again, tasty although there was a touch too much 'char' in the char-grilled pork. These were good starters, so we felt a bit let down by the main courses when they arrived. Mr B had a nicely cooked fillet of salmon with juicy king prawns in a sweet and sour sauce with Asian salad. It was a shame that the bed of salad was fridge-cold as opposed to room temperature. I ordered a large grilled Portobello mushroom in pastry, topped with a Welsh blue cheese. For £15 I was expecting something pretty special, but it wasn't. Actually the whole ensemble was super-salty and super-garlicky. I love salt and garlic, but this was overpowering. The blue cheese on top was an enormous wedge of such pungency that nothing else on the plate really stood a chance. The pastry, too, was undercooked. By contrast to the main dishes, the accompanying vegetables carrots, courgettes and cubes of potato were bland. Unfortunately, because we'd filled up on the bread, we had no room for puddings which looked very tempting on the menu. So to sum up, this was a good enough meal with very pleasant service, but on this occasion not worth the premium we were being expected to pay. read more
