CLARY’S RESTAURANT
Casinos: Chic, Monaco glamour and slick sophistication or the kind of showy
Nevada kitsch you see in Hollywood films where Andy Garcia somehow manages
to pull off the jumper, winged collars, tie AND lounge-suit look all at the
same time? Well, Aspers prides itself on ‘urban gaming’ and eschewing ‘Vegas
glitz’ so despite a leaning toward the latter prejudice, I was willing
to be proved wrong.
Taking an utterly unimposing stance at the end of Wind Street, Aspers is immediately
a far cry from lightning storms of neon and water jets that dance to Celine
Dion. Upon entering, we were greeted pleasantly by the doorman, introduced
to the house manager and from there on in the standard of service never dropped
below excellent. We did have to explain that we wouldn’t be joining as
members that evening (in order to eat, you should check the membership rules
before you go) but once settled in the restaurant, it was hard to believe we
were in a casino at all.
Clary’s itself is situated at the back of the Casino in a large, circular
room with warm, subtle decor and tables that give the diner space to breath
rather than the whiff of a determination to mine every last penny out of the
clientele.
With chips of a different kind in mind, I took my time looking over the detailed
menu. I started with a Swansea fishcake topped with hollandaise sauce and a
poached egg while J took on a sizeable salad bowl of pear, apple and Stilton.
The mains arrived in the form of medallions of beef in a Madeira jus for me,
and a herb encrusted rack of lamb for J. The atmosphere was relaxed, desserts
of sticky toffee pudding and a crème brûlée rounded the
night off nicely, and as an added bonus I hadn’t heard Celine Dion once.
Clary’s Restaurant
Aspers Swansea
Salubrious Place
Wind Street
Swansea
Tel: 0845 450 7779
Matthew David Scott offers some food for thought