Dining Out

Karl Wells

The Transatlantic

Courtyard Marriott

131 Duckworth Street

Ph. 722-6636

For me, every time a restaurant with a view opens it is a cause for celebration, especially one with a view of St. John's harbour. After many months of construction the Courtyard Marriott is now in full operation, along with its brand new dining room called, The Transatlantic. The Marriott’s new restaurant and bar has a decent view of the harbour, although not as good as others I’ve seen. Unfortunately, the adjacent building to the east juts out and obstructs the view of the Battery; in the same way the Marriott building itself obstructs the far west of the harbour. However, the view that is available is far better than no view at all.

The bar and restaurant were certainly not hard to find once we stepped inside the Marriott’s lobby. The whole area was open concept with the bar straight ahead on a raised platform. To the left of the bar - directly opposite the reception area - was the pie shaped restaurant with breakfast buffet alcove on one side. Our server told us that the breakfast buffet was becoming quite popular; prompting one of my dinner companions to make plans for a morning return. A group of square and round tables filled most remaining floor space, including the area next to a series of windows on the south wall. A few scallop shaped booths at the end of the restaurant had an art deco look about them.

The tables were laid with white cloths and smart looking stainless flatware. Tall glass salt and pepper shakers stood like little Flash Gordon rockets at the centre of each table. Long stemmed wine glasses were filled with cone folded navy napkins. Comfortable tall backed navy upholstered chairs with pale yellow starburst pattern surrounded each table. Name tagged servers, also in navy, matched the room’s décor.

Surprisingly we were not offered a wine list. Since we were a party of four aperitif-drinking adults and good prospects for consuming a bottle or two of wine, I could only assume The Transatlantic did not offer a selection of wines by the bottle. Instead we chose four glasses of house wine - two red and two white - which was available by the bottle or glass. My glass of cabernet-merlot blend was quite drinkable.

The Transatlantic’s menu was pretty standard fare, much like you’d find at any decent inn or motel. I’d never dined at a Marriott before but I thought the selection would have been a tad more ambitious, especially since this Marriott’s owner, Jean Pierre Andrieux, comes from St. Pierre. I’m told the food down there is quite extraordinary, not to mention the wines. I was bewildered. Mon dieu. Think of it, a restaurant owned by a Frenchman with no wine list and a quite ordinary menu.

For example, the soups and salads menu consisted of: French onion, Newfoundland chowder, soup of the day and, for salads, Caesar, Greek, garden and spinach. Where was the bouillabaisse, the gazpacho, the leek and potato, the cream of carrot soup et cetera? Where was the warm spinach and chicken livers salad, the Thai, pasta or Cobb salads to name just a few?

A handsome, plain white rectangular plate brought our cod tongues. They were perfectly golden and looked delicious. Two in our party were from Mississippi and insisted on tasting the local delicacy. Unfortunately they didn’t care for them. It was the texture. Even though I’d warned them, they just couldn’t appreciate the gelatinous quality that exists throughout most of a cod’s tongue. I, on the other hand, thought them very good, even though I had to apply salt a few times.

The Transatlantic’s generous spinach salad came on a large square plate. The baby spinach leaves were fresh and married well with the sweet peppers, toasted almonds, Mandarin oranges, feta cheese and fresh strawberries. I liked the idea of the slightly tart raspberry vinaigrette being served separately in a dish. It’s always nice to be able to apply as much dressing as you want.

The Louisiana blackened scallops were small but tasty, although a few were overcooked. They looked blackened but did not have that bitter edge that some blackened foods have. I also thought slightly hotter spice would have made the dish even better.

I’m not sure how The Transatlantic’s cod Bell Island got its name. I don’t believe it’s a traditional Bell Island dish. I suspect the name may have been pulled out of a hat, in much the way the ingredients for cod Bell Island may have been. That’s my theory because it doesn’t appear much thought went into the recipe. Here’s the description: “pan fried cod fillet smothered in smoked salmon and layered with white wine sauce and cheddar cheese.” Sound appetizing? Well, the description was enough to put me off but one in our group had it. It was a thick slab of fish and then more fish loaded up with thick sauce and a heavy blanket of congealed orange-coloured cheese. Cod Bell Island was too heavy, with too many competing flavours, like cod au gratin on steroids. It reminded me of something a pizza maker might invent if challenged to create a fish recipe.

I liked the grilled pork tenderloin in apricots and brandy sauce. Apricots were a perfect choice because pork goes so well with fruit. The entire dish was filled with wonderful flavours, especially the succulent tenderloin. Less succulent and less successful was my entrée of calf liver. The liver was supposed to have been pan seared and served with a Portobello mushroom sauce, as well as sautéed onions and bacon. To begin, the liver was overcooked, the mushrooms were chopped and sautéed, not sauced and the onion was close to raw. I did, however, enjoy the lovely mound of mashed potato, the moistest thing on the plate.

The Transatlantic’s seafood platter was the typical offering with cod, salmon, halibut, mussels, scallops and shrimp. It was a heavy meal but the important point here is that The Transatlantic cooks did a good job of preparing it. Nothing was overcooked; all was quite moist and tender.

For dessert I tried figgy duff, served with rum sauce, dollops of cream and powdered sugar. It was dark, redolent of molasses, sticky, rich and everything it’s supposed to be. I enjoyed it but would only recommend such a dessert after the lightest of meals.

One final note, the Courtyard Marriott contracted a local catering company called, Simply Better Dining, to run its restaurant and bar. No doubt hotel management had a hand in shaping the menus and other aspects of the restaurant and bar operations.

Our meal for four at The Transatlantic - including wine and gratuity - cost $209.07.

The Transatlantic was wheelchair accessible and the noise level was low.

Best Points:

Attractive design and décor.

Areas for Improvement:

Try to be a little more creative with your menu.

Ratings Category:

The Transatlantic Restaurant at the Courtyard Marriott gets 8 out of 10 points.

7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 points = good, 8 points = very good, 9 points = excellent, 10 points = perfection