Work Christmas lunch at Bordeaux Quay

This year I've had three work Christmas parties. The big masque at Longleat House which occurred almost two weeks ago, a team lunch yesterday at Shanghai Nights and last week a divisional lunch which was at Bordeaux Quay. I was asked to draw up a short list of restaurants by management and they would choose one. I was happy with all my picks (six in total) and finally after a wait Bordeaux Quay was revealed to be the chosen one. I had never been to Bordeaux Quay before and after hearing so many good things over the years I was excited to finally be going.

The Christmas menu for the brasserie was a delicious looking one and after a short deliberation I decided to opt for the pumpkin soup with toasted seeds and chilli pesto, slow cooked pork belly and spiced sticky toffee pudding for dessert. But with over 5 courses to choose from for each course there is definitely something for everyone.

Pumpkin soup with fresh bread

This was a brilliant soup the pesto really gave it a lift but the freshly made bread was the crowning glory. Light and fluffy, the seeded bread was my particular favourite, cannot beat seeds in or around bread in my opinion. We had all been waiting so long for lunch, it was booked to eat at 3pm, that we'd been starving ourselves all morning so as soon as the starters arrived we pretty much hoovered it up in grateful silence. 

Slow roasted pork

Pork with mash and kale

The size of main that was brought out was huge, the piece of pork was extremely generous. Placed on a bed of mash with some curly kale for a pillow and an apple puree for a blanket this was a great dish. The pork fell apart and was extremely well flavoured with a crispy top of crackling. I was impressed. It was great that Bordeaux Quay was delivering on all the great comments I'd heard over the years from friends, having said that I had some serious doubts as to whether I would be able to tackle dessert after such a monster of a main. Luckily after some more wine and a bit of a break I found some room.

Spiced sticky toffee pudding

This was one of the best sticky toffee puddings I've had although I could have done with more spice in it, as it was labelled as spiced, but then I am a spice nut. The butterscotch sauce that came with it was smooth, velvety smooth, and not too sweet. This was a melt in the mouth pudding, and it seemed to be the best of the ones that arrived on the table, the chocolate mousse torte was pronounced a bit dry by some. So we sat round the table, ordered some more drinks, in some cases Irish coffees with cream, and sat back with full stomachs. 

Chris' Irish coffee

I am looking forward to returning to Bordeaux Quay in the new year, their Christmas menu really impressed me, often Christmas menus aren't great value and the food can feel a bit of a let down, definitely not the case here. I will say one thing the area where we were sat, right at the front, did look like it needed a bit of a spruce up and a lick of paint as it sort of felt a bit tired. Definitely something to think about in the Spring but obviously this did not impact our enjoyment of the day in any way. To check out Bordeaux Quay's Christmas menu or any of their standard menus, visit their website.