It was the Mother-in-law’s birthday and so it was decided to take her out for a meal. My brother-in-law had made all of the arrangements, all we had to do was turn up. I like that type of organisation.

The West End Restaurant is situated above some shops on Central Avenue in West Bridgford, Nottingham. The last time I had been to this place was about twenty years ago when it was a nightclub called The Slipper. The place has certainly improved a lot since those days. I estimate that the room probably holds about 150 people, mostly set up in tables for four people.

We went on a Thursday evening, which is the Carvery night. This is a set price three course meal for £7.50. We had booked our table for 7.30pm and arrived in plenty of time to have a drink first in the pleasant bar area. The staff were very polite and the table was very nicely laid out. The waiters served the starters and there was a choice of half a dozen different dishes. All of the ones that we had were very tasty and were presented well.

For the main course you go up to the stage area at one end of the room. The chef will carve your meat for you (Turkey, Pork, Lamb or Beef) and there is then a choice of twelve vegetables for you to help yourself to. All of them were very inviting and I think we all put much too much on our plates. There was a full choice of sauces to accompany the meals. The food was all hot and was freshly prepared.

My wife has recently become a vegetarian and my brother-in-law had telephoned the restaurant to ask if there was a vegetarian alternative. There was a choice of four alternative vegetarian main dishes. Her choice was cooked freshly for her. The head waiter made a point of coming to see my wife to tell her that the roast parsnips and potatoes had been cooked with the meat, we thought this was very thoughtful of him to make her aware of this.

For desert there was a choice of five dishes, each served with either cream or ice c
ream. We had coffees after the meal, but these were not included in the meal price.

The whole meal was very appetising and very filling. There is only one sitting at the restaurant so you are not rushed at all during your meal. The drink prices were quite reasonable and we certainly felt that we had got good value for the price charged.

There are different events held at the restaurant, often with a cabaret. My brother-in-law and his wife have been to a buffet Chinese evening at this restaurant, which was £5 each and they said that was equally as good as the carvery evening.

I am sure it will not be to long before we return to this restaurant.