Earlier on this week, I was invited to a Christmas dinner at The Bull & Last.I had such an exemplary culinary experience there, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. The three course meal I enjoyed there was superb. So, I thought I'd recount my visit there with my dear Steemian friends.
Located near to Hampstead Health in North West London, The Bull & Last is a long established pub which was originally a coaching house in the 19th century. Now it has developed into one of London’s top gastropubs and for good reason.
Walking into the pub, the place appeared pretty busy for a Tuesday night. The bar area has a rustic feel to it, with various independent real ales available on the hand-pulls behind the bar. The vibe was definitely a "trendy" one with it's young, loud and hip crowd. Also worth mentioning is that the pub is "dog friendly" which attracts the local walkers.
I went straight upstairs to the dining room where the dinner party was. It atmosphere was so much calmer and cooler than the frantic bustle going on downstairs. It room contained heavy wooden furniture, rustic tables, velvet drapes, stuffed animal heads on the walls and old printed decorations. Bring on the "Game of Thrones" setting! The lighting of the room was quite dim thus creating a warm and inviting ambience.
The Bull & Last features an imaginative menu though the meat selections seem to be the main agenda on the menu. They also have a great selection of wine and local craft beers together with some lovely ales and IPA's.
The service is welcoming and attentive without feeling intrusive. A few short minutes after arriving, a glass of chilled white wine was in my hand. The perfect way to get the evening started!
As it was a rather large Christmas dinner catering for a party of over 30 people, we wisely pre-ordered our meals.
For starter, we had Hare Ragu, Chicken liver Parfait and Smoked House Cured Salmon. A choice we were all more than happy with!
I opted for the Scottish Hare Ragu, which came accompanied with Pappardelle, Chestnut, Crisp Sage and Parmesan. The dish is a true taste of winter. A bowl of rich meat-packed juicy flavours. So yummy!
For main dish, we had Slow Cooked British Beef Cheek, Wild Mushroom Rigatoni and Norforlk Bronze Turkey Breast.
Guess what I went for? Of course, the traditional Turkey Breast Christmas dinner, lol! The turkey breast was succulent and tender with the roasted stuffed leg meat flavoursome and cooked to perfection (with all the usual trimmings you'd expect) What a feast!
The last but not the least, the desserts! The options on offer were Bramley Apple Torte , Dark Chocolate Mousse and Eccles Cake Cheese Board. I chose the delicious Apple Torte. It had a very pronounced honey apple flavour and this chunky texture, complimented by lashings of clotted cream and vanilla ice cream! It is like sheer heaven!
All in all, the venue and setting was comfortable and warm. We all enjoyed great food, loved the sublime buzz and were overall pleased by the excellent service. Ideal for family and friends, gatherings and work socials.
I cannot recommend this fantastic pub enough!
这周是我们公司的圣诞聚餐，地点是一家叫做The Bull＆Last的酒吧餐馆。我在那里享用了很棒的三道菜晚餐，所以想在这里与我的Steemian朋友们分享一下。
这家餐馆位于伦敦西北部Hampstead Health地区附近。它是一家历史悠久的酒吧餐馆，据说在19世纪时期这里曾经是一座教练楼。随着时间的变迁，The Bull＆Last现在已经发展成为了伦敦西北部出名的美食酒吧餐馆！
虽然是周二晚上，当我走进酒吧的时候，发现这里非常忙碌。酒吧台上提供各种手工精酿啤酒，跟那种在外面买的罐装啤酒相比，味道更鲜，更醇！这里气氛很好，年轻人居多，也有前卫的朋克派。还值得一提的是，酒吧允许带狗进入，所以很多当地带狗散步的人会来这里小酌一杯，呵呵。
我直接上了二楼我们圣诞晚餐的地方，这里少了楼下的喧嚣，更增添了一份平静与温馨。二楼的装修以厚重的木制家具为主， 天鹅绒窗帘，挂在墙上的毛绒动物头以及旧印刷画装饰品， 让我感觉有点像“权利与游戏”的场景，呵呵！这里的灯光偏暗，营造出愉快温馨的氛围。
The Bull & Last 菜单里有充满想象力的菜肴，以肉食为主。饮品也有一系列可供选择，除了手工啤酒，葡萄酒还有烈酒。
这里的服务员很热情周到，我才到不久，他们就送来了一杯冰冻白葡萄酒，效率真高！由于我们是超过三十人的团体，晚宴提早就订好了。
前菜有兔肉，鸡肝和熏腌三文鱼。我选择了苏格兰黑兔，丰富多汁的兔肉配上意粉，板栗和芝士，是秋冬季节的最佳选择，好吃！
主菜包括小火烹饪的英国牛肉，野生蘑菇通心粉和圣诞火鸡。
猜猜我选了什么？ 当然是传统的火鸡胸肉作为圣诞晚餐咯，呵呵！ 火鸡肉嫩味美，口感非常好。烤熟的腿肉也味道十足，火候控制得很好，加上其它配菜如土豆和红萝卜等，真是一顿丰盛的大餐！
最后出场的是甜点，有布拉姆利苹果派，黑巧克力慕斯和Eccles蛋糕。我选择了奶油苹果派。 酥脆的面皮下面是美味的苹果碎，配上香草冰激凌，味道好得停不下来！
The Bull & Last酒吧餐馆为我们的圣诞聚餐提供了舒适温馨的场所，美味的食物和一流的服务，非常值得推荐。这里是家庭，朋友聚餐和社交的好去处，呵呵！