Be part of 1.000 years` history at London`s Medieval Banquet. You will join King Henry VIII as a royal guest where you will shout for your wench, Wassail with knights and bang the table in appreciation.
Guests at the Medieval Banquet experience a night in the court of the King enjoying live music as balladeers play and sing ancient song. Marvel at the grace of beautiful acrobats and the energy of our jesters.
All this is a set of the historic St. Katherine`s Docks which trace their roots to the 10th century`s King Edgar and the legend of the Portsoken Knights.
Come ready to eat a four course banquet with wine and ale and to finish the night by dancing till late.
The Medieval Banquet
British Restaurant in Wapping
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4 / 10 from 10 reviews
Address
Ivory House
St. Katharines Way
Wapping
London
E1W 1BP
Ivory House
St. Katharines Way
Wapping
London
E1W 1BP
Telephone
020 7480 5353
020 7480 5353
Cuisine
British
British
Region
Wapping
Wapping
Opening Summary
Weds - Sat: 19:15 - 23:55
Sun :17.15 - 21:30
Weds - Sat: 19:15 - 23:55
Sun :17.15 - 21:30
Restaurant Facilities
Children Welcome
Credit Cards Accepted
Music Played
Live Music Played
Outdoor Area
Booking Advisable
The Medieval Banquet Picture Gallery
All In London Review
Panto with a four course meal
We walked down the steps into a dimly lit cellar lined with long tables at which people sat. Girls marched to and fro in ‘wench’ outfits, whilst men in Beefeater costumes paced around. Once seated we noticed how our table was mostly made up of tourists, many of whom were children. We skipped to the bar to buy a bottle of Rose wine only to realise later that an unlimited number of jugs of beer and wine would be brought to the tables throughout the evening. Oh well.
The show began with an actor portraying Henry VIII and a musician performing on an acoustic guitar; in the meantime we were treated to our first course, a dish of charcuterie which contained pate, cold beef, salami, smoked cheese, and salad (vegetarian options are available upon request). Large trays arrived which were shared amongst the diners.
Whilst we appeased our hunger, a display akin to pantomime was taking place in front of us. Old Henry teased the crowd and the wenches danced around him and encouraged the audience to put their hands in the air/shout/dance. I managed to avoid doing any of these things by conveniently stuffing my face every time we were requested to perform an action. Everyone around us - in particular the young ones - was having a whale of a time however.
The next course was a vegetable soup delivered in cauldrons. Orange in colour, we spied carrot and tomato flavours, as well as a creamy aftertaste. The satisfying flavour led us to having seconds, whilst we noted how a few of our neighbours were actually wearing costumes as they ate, in particular a group of lads to our left who appeared to be on a celebration of some kind.
Having downed most of our Rose my companion politely asked one of the girls for some white wine. Once it arrived he was told that next time he must shout ‘wench!’ at her in order to get her attention, but he was being let off for the time being. Our cynicism meant that we were not taking part in the interactive element of the experience (we were just hungry) but there were many who were.
A mock fight took place followed by some clever juggling and a performance of ‘Greensleeves’; meanwhile our main course arrived, once again in black cauldrons. Large pieces of roasted chicken in a ‘traditional medieval sauce’ sat atop each other in the witches’ vessels. The sauce seemed to be a honey glaze while the meat was mottled with black pepper; it was juicy and comforting to the bite. It was accompanied by roasted potatoes, carrots and turnips, even if potatoes weren’t actually around in medieval times (they arrived in Europe in the 16th century, courtesy of explorers returning from South America).
By now quite full, we waited patiently for dessert while the show ended. An apple-filled flan with pieces of gelatinous fruit and thick pastry was consumed eagerly despite being on the verge of exploding. It was now around 10pm and a ‘disco’ was to take place until midnight for revellers to carry on partying. As The Ting Tings ‘That’s Not My Name’ came on – a slightly unusual ending for a medieval evening? – we staggered back up the stairs towards the Tower of London.
This theatrical dinner costs £45, and costumes can be hired for an additional charge. The standard of the food is good, and if you’re into dramatics and audience participation of this kind you’re bound to have a great time. A little like panto with a four course meal.
Reviewed by Leila
Published on Apr 8, 2010
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Read moreUser Reviews
Hiro
from London
from London
Jan 18, 2016
One of the best birthday parties I have ever had! Absolutely loved every minute of it and would very much recommend to anybody looking for a fist-slamming good time. Cracking knight had by all.
Far
from Germany
from Germany
Apr 20, 2014
Just read through the commentaries and am quite shocked at such negative responses. We visited the Medieval banquet last night; food was quite good, the children loved dressing up, the entertainment was ok, the queen or (whoever it was supposed to be) was absolutely stunning and was wearing fantastic costumes and sang like an angel. I travel around the world (on business and pleasure) and I must say this was a very relaxing atmosphere and money well spent.
The children loved it as well. I would recommend it for families.
The children loved it as well. I would recommend it for families.
steve
from London
from London
Dec 22, 2012
I had seen some bad reviews and feared the worworst, but we had a great time. There was no choice on the menu, apart from vegetarian option,but the food was good. it's supposed to be medieval so serving yourself from caulrens on the table was great fun. the staff were enthusiastic and the atmosphere was table thumpingly good. The show was excellent too, with a descent j
uggler and am acrobat, as wellulots of songs and merriment. A great evening. Would go again.
Name: steve
Location: London
uggler and am acrobat, as wellulots of songs and merriment. A great evening. Would go again.
Name: steve
Location: London
Dora222
Aug 25, 2011
I was at medieval Bnaquet with my family last month. My god what a waste of money that was. My sons were persuaded by "THEATRE EXPERIENCE" we had been sold. Mamma Mia that must be as far from a theatre as you can be.
Clearly amateur jugglers and sword fighters are what they call theatre experience or perhaps banging tables and shouting "go wench" . Food was trully awful ; basic 200g potatos, a piece of chicken and loads of (guess why) onion. Cost price £1.20 max. Selling price £120 for 3 of us.This must be the most expensive meal around.
Wine, well not much different from water apart from the colour of course.
Shame this leaves us with bad memories of our London visit.
Clearly amateur jugglers and sword fighters are what they call theatre experience or perhaps banging tables and shouting "go wench" . Food was trully awful ; basic 200g potatos, a piece of chicken and loads of (guess why) onion. Cost price £1.20 max. Selling price £120 for 3 of us.This must be the most expensive meal around.
Wine, well not much different from water apart from the colour of course.
Shame this leaves us with bad memories of our London visit.
mr Maing
Aug 1, 2011
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!I was there recently with my group. I was served cold , burned potatos, tastless cheap chicken . I wont mention wine . The worst wine I tried in my life. Price £50.They like selling themselves to offer theatre experience. Just wondering if they ever been to a theatre.
Total rip off!!!!
Total rip off!!!!
AzLondon
Dec 5, 2010
Bad bad bad, shockingly bad! Henry the VIII must be turning in his grave!! At nearly £50 a head, you'd have better value at a Soup Kitchen! Giving 1 star is too generous but no other option was available.
After waiting for 15 minutes in the freezing cold, we couldn’t believe that worst things were yet to come : stale bread (probably baked in the Tudors Kitchen circa 1515), cold soup with no spoon, rotten salad marinated in cheap mayonnaise, burnt pork ribs, cold vegetables, appalling vegetarian option (15 cold pasta tubes, yes we counted them!), flat stinky beer and disgusting cheap vinegar they have the audacity to call wine!
Just when you think your evening could not get worse, the "entertainment" was real agony. Cheap sound system, very bad acting, poor singing, juggler kept dropping his balls, etc.... The waitress was sweet but of no help as she was completely flat-out (she spilled a whole jug of beer on my boss’s trousers!)
I can’t imagine this place relies on any repeat customers, they definitely cash in on tourists
This place gives London a bad reputation when it comes to food and entertainment.
Avoid it like the plague!!
After waiting for 15 minutes in the freezing cold, we couldn’t believe that worst things were yet to come : stale bread (probably baked in the Tudors Kitchen circa 1515), cold soup with no spoon, rotten salad marinated in cheap mayonnaise, burnt pork ribs, cold vegetables, appalling vegetarian option (15 cold pasta tubes, yes we counted them!), flat stinky beer and disgusting cheap vinegar they have the audacity to call wine!
Just when you think your evening could not get worse, the "entertainment" was real agony. Cheap sound system, very bad acting, poor singing, juggler kept dropping his balls, etc.... The waitress was sweet but of no help as she was completely flat-out (she spilled a whole jug of beer on my boss’s trousers!)
I can’t imagine this place relies on any repeat customers, they definitely cash in on tourists
This place gives London a bad reputation when it comes to food and entertainment.
Avoid it like the plague!!
SaintUrsula
Nov 26, 2010
Went last night to the Medieval Banquets Thanksgiving dinner. Really really poor.
The pumpkin soup was bland with no seasoning and served with stale bread.
The second 'course' was bbq ribs, they were burnt, poor quality meat and not enough were served so only 6 of the 10 people even got one! For vegetarians an insipid salad of old lettuce soaked in mayonnaise. When we complained another platter was brought out for those who had gone without - salami, sliced beef, cheese and pate straight out of a supermarket value pack.
Turkey was moist and reasonably well cooked with mini sausages wrapped in bacon. It was served however with frozen veg which were cold on reaching the table. The vegetarian meal only came after continuous prompting and was a tiny plate of dry, congealed fusili pasta in a shop bought tomato sauce. We sent it back and after a second discussion with the management our vegetarian got a slice of grilled aubergine with goats cheese. By this point the American couple who were sat next to us had left.
Pudding:Thin slice of over sickly pecan pie - essentially sugar not fully dissolved in water and definitely not caramalised poured over a few chopped nuts.
The entertainment was a series of historically inaccurate and cliched 'scenes' from Henry the 8th with the best lines stolen directly from Frankie Howard or Blackadder. A barely capable juggler, 'period songs' (whiskey in a jar being an anachronism of more than 300 years) and play fighting could only just be seen as it took part on the main hall whilst the tables sat perpendicular in side cellars. The tables were also arranged in such a way that you had to scrabble over the other guests to get in and out. There was plenty of encouragement to drink the cheap wine or bitter (which tasted off) and enforced 'joining in'. The free booze tap was promptly turned off with the pudding and replaced with an expensive bar.
For £10 you could hire a sofa cover come 'medieval' costu
The pumpkin soup was bland with no seasoning and served with stale bread.
The second 'course' was bbq ribs, they were burnt, poor quality meat and not enough were served so only 6 of the 10 people even got one! For vegetarians an insipid salad of old lettuce soaked in mayonnaise. When we complained another platter was brought out for those who had gone without - salami, sliced beef, cheese and pate straight out of a supermarket value pack.
Turkey was moist and reasonably well cooked with mini sausages wrapped in bacon. It was served however with frozen veg which were cold on reaching the table. The vegetarian meal only came after continuous prompting and was a tiny plate of dry, congealed fusili pasta in a shop bought tomato sauce. We sent it back and after a second discussion with the management our vegetarian got a slice of grilled aubergine with goats cheese. By this point the American couple who were sat next to us had left.
Pudding:Thin slice of over sickly pecan pie - essentially sugar not fully dissolved in water and definitely not caramalised poured over a few chopped nuts.
The entertainment was a series of historically inaccurate and cliched 'scenes' from Henry the 8th with the best lines stolen directly from Frankie Howard or Blackadder. A barely capable juggler, 'period songs' (whiskey in a jar being an anachronism of more than 300 years) and play fighting could only just be seen as it took part on the main hall whilst the tables sat perpendicular in side cellars. The tables were also arranged in such a way that you had to scrabble over the other guests to get in and out. There was plenty of encouragement to drink the cheap wine or bitter (which tasted off) and enforced 'joining in'. The free booze tap was promptly turned off with the pudding and replaced with an expensive bar.
For £10 you could hire a sofa cover come 'medieval' costu
Anonymous
Mar 7, 2010
Overpriced tacky rubbish. Staff full of self importance and rude. Food terrible and inclusive 'ale' and wine even worse.
I was expecting a fun night but couldn't wait to leave. Only good thing was the vaulted cellar but that didn't make up for the rest.
Avoid it! Plenty of much better things to spend money on in London.
I was expecting a fun night but couldn't wait to leave. Only good thing was the vaulted cellar but that didn't make up for the rest.
Avoid it! Plenty of much better things to spend money on in London.
Anonymous
Dec 12, 2008
Rude Staff, Hellish Atmosphere!
A vision of hell more accurate than Dante's Inferno. I was barraged with the constant "Lord's and Ladies" mantra from the hideous Master of Ceremonies so much that I forgot what the words meant and went into a hypnotic trance.
They warn you during the performances, that you can't leave, but it's never clear when a performance is over. I had had enough, and wanted to leave, so tried to leave as soon as I thought a performance was over, only to have a long haired mess of a man-who-needs-a-proper-job tell me that he had told me once (he hadn't) and if he has to tell me again he got get really narky. Well he was already was narky, and rude, and in fact encroached more on the performers area that I would have if I could have just left!
The first course was delivered with all the elegance and enthusiasm of a builder relocating some bricks. When we tried to assist the hassled waitress with the clearing up she shouted at us to leave the knife and fork (apparently we have to reuse)!! I suppose she had to shout as it's nigh on impossible to talk at a normal volume, when the performance who are much-more-important-than-yew! shout so loudly through their microphones!
The constant drone of the "entertainment" is the most hellish of all of the aspects of this dungeon. The performances are desperate for you to know how great they are, and yapped away shouting drivel for the 90 minutes I survived in the place. They seems to only know that in Medieval Banquet's people were referred to as "Lord's and ladies' and will remind you of this fact, about 3 times every sentence (and you think I'm exaggerating - just go there!). Perhaps I want to try and have my own conversation without being interrupted by you!
So in summary: If you want to show your children where they’ll end up after death if they don’t do their homework, then take them here, and they’ll be so scared of damnation for life they’ll be Saintly until the end
A vision of hell more accurate than Dante's Inferno. I was barraged with the constant "Lord's and Ladies" mantra from the hideous Master of Ceremonies so much that I forgot what the words meant and went into a hypnotic trance.
They warn you during the performances, that you can't leave, but it's never clear when a performance is over. I had had enough, and wanted to leave, so tried to leave as soon as I thought a performance was over, only to have a long haired mess of a man-who-needs-a-proper-job tell me that he had told me once (he hadn't) and if he has to tell me again he got get really narky. Well he was already was narky, and rude, and in fact encroached more on the performers area that I would have if I could have just left!
The first course was delivered with all the elegance and enthusiasm of a builder relocating some bricks. When we tried to assist the hassled waitress with the clearing up she shouted at us to leave the knife and fork (apparently we have to reuse)!! I suppose she had to shout as it's nigh on impossible to talk at a normal volume, when the performance who are much-more-important-than-yew! shout so loudly through their microphones!
The constant drone of the "entertainment" is the most hellish of all of the aspects of this dungeon. The performances are desperate for you to know how great they are, and yapped away shouting drivel for the 90 minutes I survived in the place. They seems to only know that in Medieval Banquet's people were referred to as "Lord's and ladies' and will remind you of this fact, about 3 times every sentence (and you think I'm exaggerating - just go there!). Perhaps I want to try and have my own conversation without being interrupted by you!
So in summary: If you want to show your children where they’ll end up after death if they don’t do their homework, then take them here, and they’ll be so scared of damnation for life they’ll be Saintly until the end
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