It appears that Thursdays are not the night to go on a date. Who knew? Taking advantage of the fact I couldn’t dance for a week due to an injury, James decided to take me out for a meal as we were overdue a date. We both thought Thursday would be a quieter night to go out somewhere, and it fitted in with other plans, so James booked a table. We had a great time and some delicious food, but it certainly wasn’t what we had expected!
As the weather was good, we decided to start the evening with a drink by the river. Unfortunately, it appeared that the sun had gone to the heads of the serving staff. It took ages for us to be served, with a menu only appearing once we asked if we had to go inside to order. Having chosen our drinks, we then made our order only to be informed that they didn’t serve those drinks anymore (despite being on the menu!). Once a selection had been made we were served with the wrong drinks, and then the staff member appeared surprised when we were trying to pay. But who were we to interrupt her conversation on manicures with a fellow member of staff!
We then headed to 1331 for our meal. On arrival it seemed pretty empty, and knowing that there were lots of different rooms, we asked where we should sit. The staff didn’t seem to mind so we sat in their new extension, so that we could people-watch over the street. Don’t do this – sit in the lounge instead. Halfway through our starter the football was put on which not only disturbed our conversation, but also made it rather awkward as we were the only people in the room eating. We were warned, and told that we could move (which we did), but it would have been nice to have been told before we sat down and started eating, rather than midway through our starter!
Service seemed quite slow (although it may have felt slower as we were the only people in the restaurant) and the volume of the music kept being turned from ambient, to very loud. There was also an issue with our bill. However, all the staff members were very pleasant and friendly, and the food was delicious so perhaps another evening we might have been hosted better.
We started with a whole baby camembert, oven baked with garlic, served with celery, warm ciabatta and redcurrant jelly which was wonderful (pictured above) – particularly as I had been craving baked camembert for quite a while! For main course I had pan-fried chicken supreme, served on a bed of creamy chive mash with bacon lardons and leek sauce (pictured above). I’d never had chive mash before, but I’d certainly like it again! The sauce was also just the right amount of creaminess. James had chicken caesar salad because it came with anchovies, which apparently made a nice change and he enjoyed it. For pudding James had sticky toffee pudding, whilst I had chocolate brownie – again both very tasty but I have to admit I couldn’t finish mine as I was too full.
We amused ourselves throughout the meal – in the lounge there was a large screen with a film clip of goldfish playing, but this was hilarious as it appeared as though the fish were singing along to the background music… We make our own fun! After the meal we requested a quick look at the cinema (not every bar/restaurant has its own cinema!) where you can apparently bring your own DVD to watch. It was quite cute, and would certainly be a nice way to spend a birthday if you were in a group. I don’t know if it was just that particular night, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to have a Thursday date night again. That said, despite our experience I enjoyed the food at 1331 and would be happy to go back and try something else on the menu.
