Food

The Lakeside Beefeater Doncaster REview

beefeater newThe Lakeside Beefeater
Doncaster

www.beefeater.co.uk

Reviewed by Gemma Ingham

I visited The Lakeside branch of Beefeater in Doncaster, South Yorkshire for a lunchtime meal on a busy Saturday with my husband and our 2 and a half year old daughter. We found it very easily from J3 of the M18 as it is located directly next to The Lakeside shopping village that is signposted with brown tourist signs. There was plenty of parking available and the entrance to the restaurant was clear to see and accessible.

Upon entering we were immediately greeted by two members of staff who checked our booking and proceeded to seat us. I absolutely hate it when I visit a restaurant and have to hang around in the foyer waiting for staff to acknowledge me so I was really pleased that this wasn’t the case.

Our needs were anticipated and we were asked if we needed a highchair, and given a child’s menu and activity pack by the waiter, Daniel. Importantly, he even removed the sharp steak knives from the place settings at the side of the table our toddler was sat on which even I hadn’t even thought of doing at that point.

My first impression of the restaurant was that it was very clean and modern. The décor was neutral with pops of bold colour scattered throughout. The tables weren’t too close together and the whole atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly.

We were given a good amount of time to peruse the menu. I liked the variety of dishes on the menu, but as it is primarily a grill restaurant a lot of the dishes were steak based which was fine by us! The menu itself was set out clearly and was easy to read and understand. We decided to go for starters so I ordered Crispy Flat Cap Mushrooms, and my husband ordered Garlic King Prawns. From the children’s menu we ordered Veggie Sticks for our toddler.

The starters arrived really quickly, only about ten minutes after ordering. They were presented beautifully. The king prawns arrived placed in a small skillet smothered in garlic butter with a warm ciabatta roll on the side. The flat cap mushrooms were coated in herby breadcrumbs that seemed to have a very subtle spicy flavour, and were served with creamy ranch dressing and smoky BBQ sauce. Both the starters were hot, flavourful and seemed to be just the right amount without being overly filling so as to spoil the main course. There were plenty of veggie sticks for my toddler, comprising of carrot, cucumber and red pepper with a sour cream and chive dip.

Our plates were cleared promptly and our mains arrived about 5 minutes after. I had ordered the Cheese and Mushroom Steak Burger that comprised of two 1/4lb burgers with melted Monterey Jack cheese, mushroom, fried onions, pickled cucumber and a cheese sauce. It arrived presented on a wooden board with a mason jar of coleslaw and a pot of triple cooked chips I had opted for instead of the usual fries. The meal looked just like you would expect in a picture on a menu, down to the top bun being jauntily placed at an angle. It tasted just as good as it looked. The dressing on the burger was beautiful but the taste of the meat was so flavourful and mellow that I enjoyed every bite. The coleslaw was lovely and chunky and the chips were big, fat and perfectly cooked through.

My husband had ordered the 8oz fillet steak to be done medium-rare with a creamy mushroom sauce. He dislikes tomatoes so had asked for an extra flat mushroom instead which had been accommodated with no hassle. The steak dish also arrived with triple cooked chips and salad. My husband knows his steak and at other venues has had his supposedly medium-rare steak arrive as more medium or well done, so he was especially pleased for his fillet steak to arrive exactly as he had asked. He described his steak as exquisite, very juicy, tender and full of flavour.

My daughter had chosen Mr Perfect’s Popin’ Chicken that was accompanied with chips and a pot of beans. She declared it tasty and quickly demolished the chicken.

Very full by this point we decided to try for desserts. All of them sounded so tasty we had trouble choosing but I eventually settled on a Cookie Dough Sundae, my husband chose Banoffee Pie, and my daughter chose an ice cream Sundae with chocolate sauce. 4 out of the 5 children’s desserts were ice cream based. The only other option was a fruit salad, and while it’s rare to find a child that doesn’t like ice cream it would be nice to maybe see a couple of child sized dessert options from the adult menu.

Overall I was incredibly impressed with the food and the service throughout our visit. Whilst we were there I didn’t see any member of staff stood with nothing to do or idly chatting. They were always on the go with a smile, checking in with customers, attentive, but most importantly they were always visible and approachable. Nothing seemed like too much trouble and everything was handled with ease. From asking for something to not be included in a meal, to us forgetting to tell our waiter that we wanted starters and messing up how he took our order, he handled it with a smile. Our daughter was also made ridiculously happy by being given a pink Mr Men helium balloon.

One aspect of our visit I was very impressed with was the children’s menu. The theme is Mr Men, and the bright and vibrant menu was covered in cartoons and pictures of the Mr Men and Little Misses. What I particularly liked was that each dish on the menu also included a picture, so my independent toddler was able to look at the menu and tell us what she wanted to eat by seeing the pictures. There was also a large variety of starters and main meals for children to pick from. I have been to restaurants before where there have only been 2 or 3 choices between meals. Here there are 11 different main meals with the option for swapping out any of the sides for another.

The activity book is also pretty fabulous and not only has pictures to colour in but also puzzles, mazes and games to do.

I think I can pretty much say our visit to this Beefeater has been one of the best restaurant experiences I have ever had.

Rating: 5/5 thumbs_up

For more information, to view menus or to book a table table visit
www.beefeater.co.uk/steak-restaurant/South-Yorkshire/Lakeside-Doncaster.html

The Lakeside, South Entry Drive, White Rose Way, Doncaster, DN4 5PJ | 01302 361 134

5Star

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