While in Alnwick, Northumberland recently, I was wowed away by a light lunch and cocktails at The Treehouse Restaurant. The restaurant is literally a giant "treehouse" built amongst the trees just outside the grounds of Alnwick Gardens. I literally felt like I was in Ewok Village on Endor from the "Star Wars" Return of the Jedi film. Inside the restaurant, visitors are surrounded by white fairy lights in a cozy wintery woodland feeling. All of the chairs and some of the other furniture are unique and crafted out of wood and and tree branches entwined.
The menus are seasonal and varied, and I arrived at the end of the lunch menu as it was the only time that I could get a booking while I was visiting the area. The menu items are inspired by the food of Northumberland from farm to sea with vegetarian and vegan options available. The cocktails on the menu are input from the Duchess of Northumberland.
There is normally a viewing platform on the top of the restaurant, but this is currently shut...something about the hand rail falling off and it not being safe. Hopefully it will be repaired next time I visit.
I had two cocktails from the menu that was selected by the Duchess of Northumberland. "Delicious Jane" is a fruity and easy-going cocktail with orange and citrus flavours, and it was my favourite. I also tried the "Dirty Jane", which is a sparkling cocktail with summer fruits (blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries), and it had a stronger and tart taste.
I had the soup to eat, and the bloke had fish and chips. The soup was parsnip and radish.
I had the lemon posset for dessert as this is one of my favourite desserts, and it was delicious.
The service was a bit slow because there were some problems with the card machines, but they were apologetic. I did see a lot of poor reviews of the restaurant on review websites, but I did not experience anything negative other than the slow service to receive the drinks. I will definitely return.
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