I have been married for more than 20 years and often have nights out with my husband but usually we are in the company of other friends or family members. The concept of "date night" for people in long-term relationships is quite a new one to me.
We are lucky because we have a great relationship - sick bags at the ready now- he really is my best mate so when I was offered the chance to try out the new Winter menu at a local Table Table Pub Restaurant I thought it was a good excuse to take my man for our first official designated Friday night date night.
I am guilty of being a bit lazy when it's just the two of us going out but I made a bit more effort and showered and changed my outfit and put some makeup on.
Since he started his new job which involves shift work it seems like we are forever crossing at the door as one of us leaves and the other arrives home. This meant the ride over to the Horse And Jockey on the A5 near Dunstable saw us catching up on news on how our week had been.
All talk halted while we perused the menu - we take our food very seriously so all our concentration was required to make the perfect choices! As it was date night I suggested we order the Table Table sharing starter. "All that I have I share with you" is a line from our wedding vows we often quote at each other, especially when there's only one chocolate left in the box!
The huge platter came with garlic and herb breaded mushrooms, crispy calamari, chicken goujons, garlic bread (which was perfectly cooked to be oozing butter!), coleslaw and potato dippers which were perfect for scooping up BBQ and Blue cheese dips. We could have chosen sweet chilli, ranch our sour cream instead but we were very pleased with our choice.
We also added an optional extra of 5 buffalo wings and I am very glad we did as these were my favourite component of the sharing platter - tender with a finger-licking tangy BBQ sauce. My gallant husband allowed me to eat the fifth wing!
It was extremely difficult to choose the main course with cold-busting Winter choices like Beef and Merlot pie, Double Stack Steak Burger, Beef Stew with Horseradish, Thyme and Parsley Dumpling, hot Quiche Lorraine and Thai Green Chicken Curry.
My husband went for a spectacular Mixed Grill. It's a real favourite of his and the Table Table version certainly didn't disappoint with his huge plate loaded with a flat iron steak, half a chicken breast, half a gammon steak and a pork sausage along with battered onion rings, chips, mushrooms, half a grilled tomato, a fried egg, garden peas and a side order of peppercorn sauce which was a nice touch.
I decided on the 8oz Sirloin Steak Diane which came with a side of skinny fries. The sauce was a tad bland for me but I was able to season it myself of course using the table condiments.
It came with nice big mushrooms and the piece de resistance - crispy fried onions which topped my (perfectly cooked) steak like a deconstructed onion bhaji. I loved it! Apologies for the less than perfect images but while the lighting was wonderful for a date night it was not so great for photography!
Date night was going very well with lots of chat, not all of it about our seven children! I know some people ban talk of the children during date night but we decided that it wasn't necessary to make rules.
Main course finished, our conversation turned to what we might have for pud. The Table Table winter menu has some interesting new additions including a rice pudding served with cherries in Kirsch all topped with toasted pine nuts. I was tempted by the warm chocolate brownie served with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream but plumped for crepes.
The menu stated that crepes could be served with cherries in kirsch or banana and caramel sauce. Both options came with vanilla ice-cream. A quick chat with our lovely friendly waitress Dannii left me very happy as she said it would be no problem for me to have my crepes with just ice-cream and caramel sauce.
Luckily I had worn trousers with a stretchy waistband and a loose top so somehow I managed to cram in my dessert.
My husband ordered the bread and butter pudding served with a cute jug of custard. It was quite a large portion but he soon polished it off!
Going back to Dannii I was impressed to hear her discussing the menu with customers and offering advice and suggestions for diners who were finding it hard to choose from the fabulous selection.
She told me that all the serving staff get to try all of the dishes so they have first hand knowledge of what they are offering.
After seeing the slow cooked pork on a bed of colcannon mash with apple sauce, crispy kale and gravy being served to a neighbouring table after she recommended it I almost wished I had asked her opinion before ordering.
Our meal with two pints of beer, a G&T and a refillable coke came to just over £60 but you could easily eat at Table Table for far less, especially if you choose from their excellent daytime deal menu with prices starting at £4.99 (Mon-Sat 11.30am-5pm) or the evening deal menu (Mon-Fri after 6pm) which offers two courses for just £10.99.
It doesn't have to be date night to eat at Table Table - the Whitbread-owned chain is incredibly family-friendly as proved by our visit in the Autumn when my 10-year-old son helped me review the last menu. You can check out that review here.
Kids eat free before 5pm and there is a deal at Table Table venues situated next to Premier Inn hotels which allows two under 16's per paying adult to eat breakfast for free too. You don't have to stay at the Premier Inn to take advantage of the offer.
You can book a Festive night out at Table Table at the moment and if you fancy avoiding cooking and clearing up on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Years Eve you can book to eat-check your local Table Table for pricing details.
I voted our date night a big success - apart from the fact that I had eaten so much that when I got home all I wanted to do was lie on the bed and groan.....about how full I was!
Disclaimer: We were invited to try the new Winter menu at Table Table free for the purposes of this review. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.
We are lucky because we have a great relationship - sick bags at the ready now- he really is my best mate so when I was offered the chance to try out the new Winter menu at a local Table Table Pub Restaurant I thought it was a good excuse to take my man for our first official designated Friday night date night.I am guilty of being a bit lazy when it's just the two of us going out but I made a bit more effort and showered and changed my outfit and put some makeup on.
Since he started his new job which involves shift work it seems like we are forever crossing at the door as one of us leaves and the other arrives home. This meant the ride over to the Horse And Jockey on the A5 near Dunstable saw us catching up on news on how our week had been.
All talk halted while we perused the menu - we take our food very seriously so all our concentration was required to make the perfect choices! As it was date night I suggested we order the Table Table sharing starter. "All that I have I share with you" is a line from our wedding vows we often quote at each other, especially when there's only one chocolate left in the box!
The huge platter came with garlic and herb breaded mushrooms, crispy calamari, chicken goujons, garlic bread (which was perfectly cooked to be oozing butter!), coleslaw and potato dippers which were perfect for scooping up BBQ and Blue cheese dips. We could have chosen sweet chilli, ranch our sour cream instead but we were very pleased with our choice.
We also added an optional extra of 5 buffalo wings and I am very glad we did as these were my favourite component of the sharing platter - tender with a finger-licking tangy BBQ sauce. My gallant husband allowed me to eat the fifth wing!
It was extremely difficult to choose the main course with cold-busting Winter choices like Beef and Merlot pie, Double Stack Steak Burger, Beef Stew with Horseradish, Thyme and Parsley Dumpling, hot Quiche Lorraine and Thai Green Chicken Curry.
My husband went for a spectacular Mixed Grill. It's a real favourite of his and the Table Table version certainly didn't disappoint with his huge plate loaded with a flat iron steak, half a chicken breast, half a gammon steak and a pork sausage along with battered onion rings, chips, mushrooms, half a grilled tomato, a fried egg, garden peas and a side order of peppercorn sauce which was a nice touch.
I decided on the 8oz Sirloin Steak Diane which came with a side of skinny fries. The sauce was a tad bland for me but I was able to season it myself of course using the table condiments.
It came with nice big mushrooms and the piece de resistance - crispy fried onions which topped my (perfectly cooked) steak like a deconstructed onion bhaji. I loved it! Apologies for the less than perfect images but while the lighting was wonderful for a date night it was not so great for photography!
Date night was going very well with lots of chat, not all of it about our seven children! I know some people ban talk of the children during date night but we decided that it wasn't necessary to make rules.
Main course finished, our conversation turned to what we might have for pud. The Table Table winter menu has some interesting new additions including a rice pudding served with cherries in Kirsch all topped with toasted pine nuts. I was tempted by the warm chocolate brownie served with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream but plumped for crepes.
The menu stated that crepes could be served with cherries in kirsch or banana and caramel sauce. Both options came with vanilla ice-cream. A quick chat with our lovely friendly waitress Dannii left me very happy as she said it would be no problem for me to have my crepes with just ice-cream and caramel sauce.
Luckily I had worn trousers with a stretchy waistband and a loose top so somehow I managed to cram in my dessert.
My husband ordered the bread and butter pudding served with a cute jug of custard. It was quite a large portion but he soon polished it off!
She told me that all the serving staff get to try all of the dishes so they have first hand knowledge of what they are offering.
After seeing the slow cooked pork on a bed of colcannon mash with apple sauce, crispy kale and gravy being served to a neighbouring table after she recommended it I almost wished I had asked her opinion before ordering.
Our meal with two pints of beer, a G&T and a refillable coke came to just over £60 but you could easily eat at Table Table for far less, especially if you choose from their excellent daytime deal menu with prices starting at £4.99 (Mon-Sat 11.30am-5pm) or the evening deal menu (Mon-Fri after 6pm) which offers two courses for just £10.99.
It doesn't have to be date night to eat at Table Table - the Whitbread-owned chain is incredibly family-friendly as proved by our visit in the Autumn when my 10-year-old son helped me review the last menu. You can check out that review here.
Kids eat free before 5pm and there is a deal at Table Table venues situated next to Premier Inn hotels which allows two under 16's per paying adult to eat breakfast for free too. You don't have to stay at the Premier Inn to take advantage of the offer.
You can book a Festive night out at Table Table at the moment and if you fancy avoiding cooking and clearing up on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Years Eve you can book to eat-check your local Table Table for pricing details.
I voted our date night a big success - apart from the fact that I had eaten so much that when I got home all I wanted to do was lie on the bed and groan.....about how full I was!
Disclaimer: We were invited to try the new Winter menu at Table Table free for the purposes of this review. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.