I was recently invited to have lunch at my local Marriott Hotel in Bexleyheath and having only been in there once before many years ago for an afternoon tea with friends I took the opportunity to go and have a look at what was there. It has always ‘appeared’ quite business like to me as an outsider however, once you are inside the spacious and open reception area automatically that view is changed.

We were directed to the bar area which is much more informal than the restaurant looked and also had a different menu on offer. The bar had a welcoming feel with a mix of table styles, smaller ones with straight backed chairs as you would expect but also lower style tables surrounded by lovely comfy sofas for those who were just having a drink rather than eating.

While my friend and I was there we saw two other groups having an afternoon tea, as well as two ladies in their spa robes ( yes they have a spa here too) who wandered casually in for a drink and snacks in between their treatments which in fact we thought they were very brave to do so!

We were given the Copper Lunch Menu to choose from which had everything from sandwiches and panini’s, salads and burgers and then individual style mains. I chose the Battered Haddock Fillet ,Beer Batter, Scraps, Pickled Onion, Minted Mushy Peas, Lemon, Tartar Sauce, Double Cooked Chips priced at £12.50 and my friend chose the (V) Roasted Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli, Chestnut Mushrooms, Sage Butter, British Truffle Oil, Pecorino priced at £15.00. We also enjoyed a gorgeous glass of Pinot Grigot rose while we had a good old gossip and waited for our food. In all fairness, we did wait quite a while for the main course and then dessert considering it wasn’t very busy that particular day, however, as we were having a lovely catch up, and didn’t need to do a school pick up it wasn’t an issue for us and it was a lovely relaxing atmosphere anyway.

When our food arrived I immediately new I had made the right choice on mine, it looked beautifully cooked, crisp and smelled delicious.

My friend however, was a little disappointed at the portion size of her pasta dish as a main, especially for the price, but she did say she thoroughly enjoyed it none the less.

It was a tough choice on desserts as I probably could have ordered any one of them to be honest, but I opted for the Rhubarb and custard, Honeycomb crumble priced at £5.95 as I though it was a lovely traditional crumble and custard. This couldn’t have been more wrong it came up almost as a trifle and although I was a little disappointed it was truly lush! After gorging on my fish and chips, which was a very filling meal this dessert was light and creamy and a perfect finish to my meal, I think anything more substantial for me would have left me feeling a little too stuffed. The only thing I would say is that 4 tiny pieces of honeycomb on the top does not make a crumble and it would have benefited from some more honeycomb.

My friend though opted for the Sticky Toffee pudding, butterscotch with frozen caramel cream priced at £4.50, again as her pasta dish was not overly filling this was a perfect dessert for her and was exactly what it said on the menu. I did try a little and it tasted beautiful and was a good size dessert too.

I loved the tree lights the hotel has both in the bar area and the reception are they are truly stunning and really added a touch of elegance for the hotel. The staff in the bar were very approachable and friendly and we were ‘checked’ on a few times and even the barman came over checking if we needed more drinks too. It was a lovely lunch overall and having never really used the hotel in that respect before I would certainly go back as a treat again. I think when you see a hotel it doesn’t really occur to you to book into the restaurant or bar for lunch unless you are staying there, but obviously with special lunch menus, Christmas dinner and New Year options and afternoon teas available it is actually a shame not to when it is on your doorstep.

DISCLOSURE: I was invited  to enjoy a courtesy lunch at the Marriott Hotel in Bexleyheath for review purposes however, all views are my own