Over the Christmas period I’m fortunate enough to have a large amount of people that I work with, which equals spending time eating and drinking with them over the festive period. We started the season off with a bang with a large team lunch at The Lighterman, Kings Cross.
As usual, I like to stick my head into the menu online to see what kind of place I’m headed to, do people judge the restaurant they’re going to based on the standard of their menu or is it just me? Based on the menu I wasn’t jumping out of my seat as it just looked like a gastro pub and nothing particularly different to what I’ve had before (I like trying new things).
There were around 25 of us, so they had sectioned off a part of the restaurant for us, which was great. They had even allocated a member of staff to us to pour us a glass of prosecco upon arrival, so although we were late and I was panicking, it wasn’t long before I was freshly juiced and relaxed! They allowed us some time to chat and catch up before we were sat down for dinner.
As expected there was a reduced menu to allow the kitchen to cater for such a large party without pre-ordering. My waitress mind kept jumping in wondering how on earth they were going to be able to cook for 25 odd people without a pre-order, and actually serve us all within a reasonable time frame, I was intrigued to say the least. To start with we had a sharing starter that had salmon pate, duck terrine and a baked goat’s cheese. I got my Joey (from Friends) on a little bit about having to share food with anyone, but it was actually a lovely starter, and quite a lot of food. My only criticism was the duck terrine, it wasn’t very well put together and I’ve had nicer terrines in my life.
For anyone who’s been living in a hole, this is the reference I’m talking about from Friends.
Once starters were cleared, our mains came out and these were what we had choice of on the day; venison pie, squash and onion tatin, salmon or turkey. I chose the venison pie. The food came out based on what you had ordered, and I must say I’m impressed with how quickly everything came out based on taking an order on the day. The venison pie was absolutely lovely, the gravy was amazing and it was really lovely and festive without having the turkey staple (that I was due to spend all of Christmas eating).
Finally we had a dessert sharer of chocolate brownie, poached pears, pecan tart and cheese. I was pretty stuffed and actually quite tiddly by this point (oops!) so couldn’t manage much dessert, but word on the tables was that it was very good and the pecan tart was the best. One thing I’ve never seen before though, is that the chocolate brownie was served with sour cream, I tried a little and it just didn’t taste as sweet.
Overall a great dinner, and a place I would recommend if you’re looking for somewhere nice to eat with good company. Staff were very attentive and were happy to help should we ask them for anything. The restaurant looks like it has a lovely outside area, so I’ll definitely be making a visit back in the summer to catch some rays.
Has anyone else been here and got any thoughts?
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
Thanks for reading.
The Bean in the Travelling Pants x
The Bean in the Travelling Pants 