Don’t get me wrong… the atmosphere was wonderful, the restaurant was trendy, the company was fabulous. We were all out for an entertaining evening with folks on either side of our table closely situated and enjoying their evenings as well. We had a funky lesbian couple on one side who thought we were hilarious and joined in on at least two of our toasts… most especially getting a kick our of a not-to-be-missed wardrobe malfunction. On the other side was a beautiful elderly couple who warmed our hearts with their “we’re not celebrating anything we just love to go out to dinner together” attitude followed shortly by a “get your own dessert I’m not sharing” comment when the husband suggested they share their final chocolate course.
We thought we’d forgo our regular nachos and beer routine and take advantage of one of the “Dine Around” menus and headed to ONYX for a much overdue “girls night out”. The concept is fabulous. Local restaurants offer a three course meal at a fixed price giving folks the opportunity to try a new or favorite restaurant and possibly some dishes you’d not typically order. I enjoyed a wonderful “Oulton Farm Duck Salad” (while the others had oysters they said were “to die for”) followed by a delicious “Northumberland Lamb Shank”. Unfortunately, the “Valley Apple Charlotte” for dessert was disappointing… and I can’t say I’ve ever been disappointed over an apple dessert in my life but it really wasn’t my thing… and from the looks of the half eaten apple blobs on the three other plates at our table… I wasn’t the only one!
Four of us decided to take advantage of “pairing our wines” with the menu… but two didn’t. Therefore, four of us had drinks come to the table with all three courses but sadly the other two at the table were hardly offered a drink and we couldn’t get the attention of the server while she was enjoying the company of the other staff at the back of the restaurant… all shining cutlery. Lovely enough they all seemed to be getting along… which speaks volumes for the camaraderie of the staff in the restaurant but helllloooooo!!! We flagged down the manager who kindly got a drink for the thirsty gals which typically should have put a bit of oomph in our servers step but it didn’t… and we were thirsty again in no time. The pairings not enough to quench the thirsts of six women out for a night of wining and dining… heavy on the wining.
Admittedly however, the cutlery was extremely shiny.
Suffice it to say I had a fun night out with my girls last night. Met two lovely couples on either side of our table… both totally different and wonderfully happy. Enjoyed most of the food but the service could have been a lot better. I’m left with the feeling that dropping a c-note on the table for a so-so dining experience was disappointing at best.
The girls were great… entertainment like no other! We laughed and joked, carried on and made fun of each other, from the moment we sat down until we were all dropped off at the end of the night. There’s simply nothing better than a night out with friends. Then again… we’d have fun hanging out together in a card board box.
With a plate of nachos.
And a case of beer.