The Civil Service club is now taking bookings for Christmas and you might have the chance to be invited to a group dinner. I have been to several Christmas dinners organized by a long-standing friend, who is a civil Servant by Profession, who I know from Harrow Writers Circle, and he took me to Toastmasters International's local club. He organized meetings for both these organizations and others. Yet again, I went to the Civil Service Club weekly meetings with a wine and dine group which meets here often, so I know it well.
We just had the pre-Xmas menu, but you may be getting some of the same this winter or next summer so here are my suggestions.
Our meal started well with hot bread and butter. That was good to keep us going - I needed the energy to climb the steep staircase up to the ladies toilet. I also did not want to get too drunk on our wine and dine club's two starter white wines. If I had drunk on an empty stomach, I would have been unsteady and nervous on the steep stairs. I vowed to go down in the lift instead to the ground floor toilets at the end of the meal which included several wines and ended with a sweet Gewurtztraminer, a spicy wine, my favourite, followed by port.
After a toast to demised Paul, who was the focus of our memorial dinner, we were on to the meal\s starters. One diner at our table liked the prawns, thought they were flavoursome and succulent. And easy to eat. My husband prefers prawns in the shell. However, he had no complaints.
How to Eat Hard Melon
Our starters for a group meal included prawns or the trio of melons.
I am allergic to shellfish so I opted for the melon. A lovely trio of colours, red, yellow and green, like traffic lights.
The red watermelon was great. The orange and green and white melon slices were so hard that you could not cut them with a knife or spoon. However, I discovered that if you pick them up in your hands, real teeth (I can't speak for dentures), are strong enough to eat a hard water melon. The orange melon was quite tasty.
Main courses
I had chosen the chicken katsu. It's Japanese style. I like to try something new.
It was fried breaded chicken in a curry sauce on rice. Why put a hard dry coating on chicken? Chicken should be succulent.
The alternative was fish. Or steak and chips. The steak was rather tough. The portion of chips was generous and did for two of us.
So far, ups and downs. Fortunately the meal ended on a high note. Dessert.
Dessert
I chose cheesecake, which had two fresh strawberry halves on top. It wasn't a really cheesy, baked solid cheesecake like the ones called New York style which you get in coffee shops such as Starbucks on a good day (when they have not run out already). But not a piece of blancmange nor toothpaste masquerading as a dessert and contending for disappointing dessert of the year.
I was happy enough with my choice. However, I looked with keen, suspicious interest at the other lady's apple crumble. I asked, "Did you like your dessert?"
She didn't respond to my questions. She stared at me as if finding it difficult to commit. I feared the worst. After I repeated the question, she admitted, "I'm hard of hearing."
She eventually understood my vital question. I rephrased it, "Was the crumble too hard - or too soft?"
She said,"No - in the middle." She conceded, "It was the best part of the meal."
My husband opted for the cheese platter, which had generous pieces of solid cheese, and crackers.
Seating - in Covid Times
We were two couples on a table for four. That seemed a good arrangement during Covid-10. We sat each facing our own partners. The top table diners, like at a wedding, were all facing forward.
And now for some practicalities:
Downstairs Bar Seating and Eating
The ground floor bar area is an informal restaurant. It offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The interior is very pleasant, with pictures made up of postage stamps, at a distance you can see they form traditional London sights such as a telephone box, and the symbol of the underground railway system.
Toilet Tips
The Civil Service Club has two sets of toilets. The larger one is on the ground floor with several cubicles. The other is above the restaurant with two cubicles.
From the ground floor to the restaurant, you can take the tiny lift which takes two or three people crammed together, so a maximum of two others. But rather close, but you could ride it alone.
To avoid other people, you might prefer the two cubicle ladies toilet upstairs. It is up the steep double flight of stairs from the main restaurant. (The upstairs toilets are on the same level as some of the private dining rooms).
To avoid climbing the
steep stairs up to the ladies toilet, you can use the ground floor ladies,
through a doorway behind the bar.
The tables are secluded, if that's what you want. But when they are arranged around the room in a U shape or three sides of a square, with the top table backs to the window. The large round pillars may prevent some of the diners from seeing or hearing speakers at the top table.
With Covid-10 still a concern for some, the organizer of the event reduced mingling by printing out place cards. He met us at the door and directed us to the correct tables. He said, "I had meant to print out a seating plan, but my printer ran out of ink at the vital moment."
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_katsu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Service_Club
https://www.civilserviceclub.org.uk/Membership/Ordinary_Member_Form/accomodation_2021_screen.aspx
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2021/10/covi19-and-restaurants-and-quarantine.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2021/09/food-choices-stains-and-toilets-at.html
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