I've walked by Mabel's a number of times, so it was nice to finally get to go in! My colleague booked us into Mabel's for their Christmas Dinner and she had been handling the booking, until she left the company. After her last day, the sales and reservations team contacted me and were so helpful in explaining what had been done up to this point and asked if I needed any help or anything extra adding to the booking.
They were very flexible with us and all the staff I dealt with were very friendly and helpful. They made things quite easy by using an online system and allowing us to pay online as well. Not everyone signed up for the Christmas Dinner so they allowed us to apply the rest of the money to drinks.
When I arrived, the staff were very helpful in getting us seated, although the one thing we weren't expecting was to be carded at the door. Fortunately the students brought their IDs, but it is something I will note for future bookings. They set up the 'library' area at the back of the restaurant for us and it couldn't have been more perfect. There was another Christmas party next to us and a bar in the area that way we didn't have to run in and out of the room to get drinks.
Before everyone arrived, the staff introduced themselves and we talked through some of the logistics and even though I had brought little name cards with everyone's orders... they also had name cards and Christmas Crackers :) . The table was beautifully set and the students were really impressed. When one of the students arrived, they told me that after they had placed their pre-order they became vegan... everything they ordered was meat-based. So I had a talk with the staff, not expecting them to be able to change much, but they were able to cater for them.
Because the staff were quite busy in delivering food and removing dishes, we asked the students to go to the bar, give them our tab number, and order their drinks there. It worked quite well although it space for the staff to get through was limited. The food was delicious! We had a couple of spare dishes because some of the students didn't turn up, and I was worried about food waste, but the students enjoyed the food so much they ate the spare starters, mains, and desserts! Everything that came out looked so good. I had the slow-cooked beef with gravy and veg... it was so tender and delicious. I think the only dish that the students didn't enjoy as much was the Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce. Many of them aren't familiar Christmas Pudding, so I think it was a bit of a surprise for them. However, they were able to share the spare desserts.
What was left of our tab we applied to the service charge. Overall, we had such a lovely time... the atmosphere, the detail, the staff, and the food were all excellent and I hope we can book our group in again! read more