Dockmaster's House

Disappointing birthday meal!

It's difficult to know where to begin with this restaurant so let's get the good bits out of the way first. Good cocktails and excellent Cava for a bargain price of £23, friendly staff and a very nice setting but totally lacking in atmosphere and only just warm enough on a cold February evening! My wife opted for the set (Prix-Fixe) menu and I decided to eat from the A' La Carte. Problem one – we were not allowed to take advantage of the £20 Prix-Fixe menu unless we both ate from it! So, two from the A' La Carte it was. Starters were average – scallops and squid was under seasoned while the Mumbai Chaat Platter was not as good as your ‘real’ street food. Mains were a disaster! The Malabari Monkfish was tasteless and totally lacking in texture. It was as if the fish had been frozen and then thawed out leaving it with the same texture as ‘mush’! The prawns cooked with ‘rare’ pepper were well cooked but the pepper must have been so rare as to be non-existant on the night and the sauce was tasteless and thin. Rice was bog-standard and the plain nan good. The side dish of baby aubergines turned out to be a huge, glutinous aubergine impossible to seperate in order to eat. I ended up scraping some of the sauce off in order to add some more flavour to the dish! When asked if I had enjoyed the meal I replied that it had been a rather disappointing experience and the manager was duly summoned. He promised to pass my comments on to the chef! A curtesy car with a friendly driver took us home but all-in-all a very poor meal and somewhere we will not be returning to!

The service was very slow, the foods bland and overall overpriced. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. It the worst curry ever tasted and food came out over hour and half.

Gita

Wide variety of choices and the food was excellent. Will dine here again.

Dockmasters is firstly, THE ONLY Indian in Canary Wharf itself, so a big plus already! Apart from this, I can honestly say that the food is amazing, and the building is beautiful. The only sadness I have with this venue is that it is never really busy and so missing an atmosphere… But if you go in a group that is probably perfect as you can make your own! The staff are friendly and there is a lovely garden outside for a nice day.

Definitely not an enjoyable experience. The food was not that great and the environment, not what expected.

Management not very professional. Too many people running round while we were trying to enjoy our meal.

I have heard very bad news about Dockmasters since visiting and the problems financially are worrying when so many people are talking about that instead of the service and food.

I have been to many renowned restaurants and would definitely not rate this place at all.

Dockmaster's House is a stunning venue, with a colourful history dating back 200 years. Purpose built by ‘The West India Company’ as the excise house which served West India Docks. In 1846 it was converted into ‘The Jamaica Tavern’ which also doubled as a hotel mostly occupied by merchants. Tales of Opium scandals and ill repute plagued the building, until 1926 when the building was adapted to provide office space for the Dock Superintendant and his staff. So in fact its current name 'Dockmaster's House' is somewhat inaccurate, but nonetheless, the building is absolutely stunning and with the touch of modern architecture and design, it is still very much formidable.

A pleasant incense scent greets me as we are lead to our table by the floor to ceiling glass windows, overlooking the stunning private garden. The restaurant is opulent and tasteful in design, yet understatedly so. An Amuse Bouche of a spiced potato cake is sent to the table. I find that potato doesn’t do much to amuse my ‘Bouche’, so to speak but the drizzle of tamarind sauce is both sharp and piquant, which lifts and compliments it perfectly.

We begin with the mixed Tandoori selection, Duck Confit Samosas and Crispy fried scallops and squid. The Tandoori selection was a platter of chicken, lamb, swordfish and giant prawns, which were particularly good. The Duck Confit samosas were two perfect little triangular pastry pillows brimming with meaty duck filling, served with an apple and ginger chutney. The deep fried spiced squid and scallops… Perhaps not the most appetising appearance, would benefit from the addition of some colour, but were absolutely delicious in their golden crunchy spiced jackets.

Studying the main courses on the menu, it appears that i was spoilt for choice. I have a particular penchant for ‘all things rice’… and so the Biryani caught my eye immediately. The Biryani was (simply put) the most magnificent Biryani I’ve ever had in my life. The puff pastry was cooked perfectly and peeling it back, steam arose from the pot and its aromatic perfumed teased my nostrils and intoxicated me instantly. Inside was beautifully cooked Basmati rice with the delicate but beautifully noticeable accent of saffron, which was nothing short of a pleasure to behold. Tucked away in the dish were juicy, succulent pieces of the most perfectly cooked lamb and as an added treat, lots of juice at the bottom of the dish, which was just wonderful. The dish was not spicy at all, subtle notes of chilli were present, but what really sent me into a spin was the delicate layering of spice that really made this dish so fantastic. I really couldn’t fault it, in fact I would have been happy to just have the Biryani and nothing else!

In addition, we chose a lamb curry which was brimming with perfectly cooked tender morsels of lamb in a deliciously rich and perfectly spiced sauce, just wonderful! We also had a side dish of Tamarind aubergines, which I found surprising at how well the acerbically tart Tamarind worked with the delicate flesh of the aubergine, it was truly delicious.At this stage I’m totally stuffed and not being a dessert person, its all a very tricky affair… but still lots of interesting things to choose from. We decided to be greedy and taste three desserts… Mango Pannacotta, Pistachio Crème Brulee and the Chocolate Fondant with homemade mint Ice Cream. The flavour of the Crème Brulee was everything you’d expect from a Pistachio-laden treat… thick, rich and gloriously unctuous with a freshly baked cardamom cookie. The chocolate fondant was cooked perfectly and was absolutely fantastic and fulfilled every expectation revealing a gooey centre of oozing chocolate. I wasn’t a big fan of the mint ice cream, but that’s just a personal dislike for mint really. Lastly the Mango Pannacotta… The dessert itself was too gelatinous and not creamy and rich as it should be and the concentrate of mango was not nearly enough, although the flavour of the Mango sorbet was excellent and perhaps if more of the sorbet’s flavour would lend itself to the Pannacotta, the problem would be solved.

Executive Chef Navin Bhatia came over to our table after the meal to see if we enjoyed everything, which of course we did. He very kindly gave us a tour of the venue and its grounds. It even has a stunning bar and club on the ground floor, adjacent to the private garden, which is so elegant.

To conclude, the meal was superb and the standard of cooking that takes place here is clearly a cut above the rest! The restaurant is very special, not just historically, but also the uniquely modern design and attention to detail and décor. A perfect place for a date or a special occasion.