Private party at restaurant was roaring success
YOU only reach 50 once.
So really, you need to celebrate big style. Which is what I did, when 12 of us headed to Las Vegas for a week of partying.
My birthday fell during that trip and despite playing hard for eight days and nights in Nevada, I decided to continue the theme back home in Newcastle.
Why? Well, I’m 50 so I don’t really need a reason but I thought it would be good to celebrate some more with friends unable to come to the US with me.
But where to go? Tiger Tiger in Newcastle has long been known as a venue for party animals – from stag and hen dos to local regulars – and when I heard you can hire a private dining room at the Tiger Grill for 10 people, then my mind was made up.
Hence we found ourselves at Tiger Tiger on Saturday night to enjoy a meal in the private ‘birdcage’ themed room, with some surprise entertainment laid on for us, plus a couple of hours in one of the private karaoke booths to end the night.
Would it be as fabulous as Vegas? Read on .....
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You need to book in advance. Your name will be on the door and the helpful staff will then take you through the bar to the restaurant and one of the private dining rooms.
You get a feel for the good vibe of the place as you walk through (our table was booked for 8.30pm on Saturday and the venue was already heaving).
We had the Birdcage private dining area, with the walls adorned with elaborate murals and its own temperature control (we had the air-con on full blast) and, while quiet, you could still hear the thumping of the music from Tiger’s many bars seeping through.
We were superbly looked after by Christina and her colleagues throughout the night and the fact they were serving a table of 10 partygoers failed to faze any of them.
A surprise to me was some entertainment laid on for my 50th in the shape of magician Ryan Phelps, who works the bars at Tiger on a weekend.
He was superb; quite frankly the best card magician I have come across and I would highly recommend him to anyone planning a party. Check out his Facebook page www.facebook.com/ryanphelpsmagician/
WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD?
With a party that comprised meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans, Tiger Tiger came up trumps. Be sure to let them know in advance any dietary requirements you may have and they will do all they can to accommodate you.
We decided to check out the small plates to start with. Here you have a selection of goodies: pick three for £12 or five for £18 – naturally we went for the latter. They are individually priced too.
We opted for chicken and chorizo skewers, chicken wings, meatballs in Bloody Mary salsa, corn tortilla nachos and halloumi and pepper skewers. We also had beer-battered mozzarella sticks.
Every single dish was as tasty as can be, and quite filling (even with sharing). Smiles all round from this party as a whole.
For main courses we had an assortment of dishes. My 12oz rib-eye steak (£25), with which I ordered sides of chips and green beans and mangetout, came well done as I had asked. The meat itself remained moist and the sides just added to a very satisfying meal.
The vegetable fajitas (£11) were a huge hit with the vegetarians and had been spiced up a bit too. They looked colourful and the veg itself was on the right