Tassili

Tassili is the fine-dining option at the Grand Jersey Hotel, which sits at the head of the Esplanade on the approach road into St Helier. It's reached along a corridor to the right of the lobby, behind a frosted glass door that swings open and closes repeatedly, as staff come and go with enormous trays from the kitchen down the way. Tasting menus are the thing, with a pair of 'grazing' formats (one vegetarian) supplementing the principal 'land and sea' offering. What looks like roughly six courses expands with canapés, amuses, a pre-dessert and an optional cheese plate, so that the overall production is more French grand opera than classical symphony. There were many thought-provoking ideas at our inspection, beginning with an array of mackerel riffs, including a 'cannelloni' wrapped in apple jelly, teamed with hot horseradish ice cream. Blue lobster with heritage tomatoes in traffic-light colours had fresh appeal, and the shellfish-boosted saffron risotto with a piece of plain turbot was gently rich and aromatic. Three tiny cuts of lamb were garnished with girolles, peas and an expertly produced courgette flower filled with creamed goat's cheese. A dessert partnered Menton lemon with Saint Ouen island honey and lemon thyme. There is hardly anybody alive now who thinks that Jersey Royals still taste as they used to, and an intermediate course in which they starred did nothing to persuade us otherwise. The 'baked potato consommé' poured over them added nothing, the dish being mainly saved by some lovely smoked eel. We are duty-bound to report that the pace of the tasting menus is tormentingly slow. Bring plenty of patience and small talk. Opting for the 'surprise' wine flight means that whole swathes of the evening go by in becalmed stasis, awaiting the next small course and the next couple of mouthfuls of wine, between which one is doing little more than sipping water. It would help, too, if staff felt able to give the producer of each wine as it's served, rather than just its generic regional identity – cava, sherry, Chianti...