YOU fancy a meal out but don’t want to trade home comforts for a stuffy restaurant dining room?
Ideally it would be dining al fresco but the pesky British climate has a habit of turning a little bit too frisky and can rustle up a squall or a downpour at the drop of a weatherman’s hat.
What you really need is a halfway house, all the comforts of eating inside outside and ideally a chew with a view.
Something perhaps like Sheffield’s newest dining experience – three miniature geodesic dining domes on the emerald lawns of the Kenwood Hall Hotel, Nether Edge.
Customers can book the domes for two hour slots and, depending on the time of day, order lunch, afternoon tea or an evening meal.
Step inside and you are instantly shielded from the weather but with a panoramic 360 degree view over the hotel’s 12 acres, leading down to the lake.
Each dome has a circular table seating up to eight people. There were four of us.
It’s a bit like being under a giant transparent brolly with an uninterrupted view and no wind to whisk your napkin away.
It’s early days – the domes have only been open for about a month – but customers enthuse over a magical evening experience. As the daylight fades the domes light up, fairylights twinkling everywhere you look.
Our party enjoyed a sunny lunchtime, free from draughts, in one of the domes.
And we couldn’t agree more with general manager Ruslana Yarmolyuk who describes a dome as ” a cosy private dining space suitable for every occasion.”
While this is one meal where it’s all about location, location, location the food comes up to the mark.
We enjoyed a sharing platter of charcuterie- meats, cheese, breads and olives – at £13.99 a head and another of desserts (£10 pp) with excellent cheesecake and choux buns. A roast lunch is £17 or you can book an afternoon tea from the Laura Ashley tea room.
Of course, if you can see clearly outside others can see in, so you do get an idea of what a goldfish in a bowl feels like!
Dining at the domes is all about a sense of occasion, either as a couple, family ( remember they seat up to eight) or having a party.
To book visit http://www.kenwoodhall.co.uk/dining/dome-dining
Another helping from Martin Dawes 