Ivory House,
St Katharines Dock,
East Smithfield,
London,
E1W 1BP

0871 971 3234

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Next door to the Tower (we all know which one) lies the Medieval Banquet. Here, as we have discovered, lurks one of the more fun nights out in London. So fun, in fact, that we should really tell you about it.

For a start, it’s an evening thing. Medieval Banquet doesn’t open until 7:45pm (which is also the only sitting of the night). This of course means that you have plenty of time during the day to get yourself into the party mood. I stress that this is necessary because Medieval Banquet is a party place. If you don’t join in wholeheartedly you’ll have a miserable time – yup, it’s one of those.

To start with you’ll be inundated by costume-clad actors playing the parts of those essential to a medieval court. There are jugglers, jesters, knights, magicians, wholesome wenches (their words not ours), pretty damsels and the rest.

All of these are going to do their damnedest to get you involved in the goings on – the "amazing feats of mystery and strength" and so forth. Whilst all this is going on there will of course be musical accompaniment from bands of wandering minstrels who wish to share their tales too.

After a bit of this entertaining jiggery-pokery the banquet itself will be served. This amounts to four courses. You’ll start with the chilled meats, pates and salads (rather like they did in the old days). From there it’s a move on to the soup. Once that’s out of the way it’s time for the main course – generally cauldron roasted chicken with all the roasty trimmings. Hearty.

Finally comes a pleasant dessert that involves flans and lots of strawberries. In other words, a meal that (conceivably) was available to the rich round about 800 years ago. That’s not the best bit though. Nope, the best bit is that during all this eating you will be served, nay plied with booze. That’s right – unlimited free beer and wine during dinner, just like the old days.

After all that there’s a little bit of time to try and recover (though that’s nigh on impossible) before everything gets properly surreal. You see, the proprietors know that everyone likes a disco, which is why they’ve had to include one.

I know, it’s not very medieval but it does round the evening of nicely. In fact, it puts a cap on a very good evening indeed, one which if you have any sense of humour or fun you’ll try. You can just book in advance (or rather, you have to book in advance) but it seems like much more fun to hire out a part of (the place seats 500! Proper banqueting Hall you know) or the whole thing.

Indeed, that’s what they encourage. So, we suggest you do it too. It’s a brilliant spot for some not-so-serious fun. Alright, you’re unlikely to spot stars and it’s not very cultured. But do you have to be cultured every night?

RESERVE YOUR TABLE AT THE MEDIEVAL BANQUET HERE. VIEWLONDON EXCLUSIVE PRICE!