Metropolitan Hotel, nearly Neopolitan

Stourbridge

Staffordshire, England Heart Of Inc Birmingham



Review added: 17/07/2006 10:52
By: lynrog (£0.00 earned from reviews) Earn £££'s

"~~ Metropolitan ~~
The other evening I had the good fortune to be offered a free meal at the Metropolitan in Stourbridge. They were hosting a Psychic Supper event, which comprised of a two course meal and a reading with one or more of the mediums present, this was all for £18.00 per person. Sadly I didn't get to have a reading as I was one of the mediums working for my supper. But everyone that goes gets at least one message.

~~ The Bar ~~

The bar area is very modern with wooden parquet flooring, aluminium chairs with wooden seats and a matching design with the tables, there are comfy leather sofa's and leather cube seats dotted around the perimeter. It is a very spacious room and has a clean up market feel about it with an ambience of Art Deco and minimalist, yet very modern.

There is also an outside patio area just through the double door entrance, where you can enjoy the atmosphere and cool down on a hot night. Talking of a hot evening (Not that way I mean heat as in weather, lol) they do have ceiling fans to help circulate the air when it gets too warm.

The bar serves the usual alcoholic and non alcoholic selections; you can also enjoy a selection of hot beverages with or without a meal. A choice of Filter Coffee, a Cafeteria, Decaffeinated Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Liqueur Coffee or a plain Floater Coffee. I had a pot of tea for a reasonable cost of £1.50, it did come with an extra pot of hot water, so I could have quite easily have managed 4 cups for that £1.50, a bargain. Most of the prices for the beverages are at £1.50 apart from the floater which comes in at £2.00 and the liqueur coffees at £4.20.

If you do fancy ending your evening meal with a 'Digestif' then they offer a fine choice of Liqueurs, Single Malts, Port and Brandy's ranging from a modest £2.00 per shot up to £3.80.

So I have enjoyed my cup of tea and my chat with the other mediums and we get taken into the restaurant where we will spend the rest of the evening.

~~ The Restaurant ~~

Again the first thing I noticed was how clean and fresh it all looked, it had a modern Tapas bar feel about it, with its deep red linen table cloths with an orange linen table cloth placed over the top. They also gave you proper linen napkins to match with the red table cloths, which was a pleasant surprise as the majority of eating establishments in this price range would use the throw away paper variety. The tables themselves appeared to be square ones, which were joined together in places to stretch across the room to sit more people together. The chairs were comfy with the modern high backs which were in a pale wood and slated.

Once again you have two ceiling fans to help circulate the air and add to the Mediterranean feel of the place. Modern yet tasteful paintings dotted the surrounding walls.

~~ Our Eating Experience ~~

There were four mediums on our table for the meal and out of the four choices offered we tried three of them. I had the Chicken Breast Stuffed with Apricots with a White Wine Sauce; all of the meals came with a selection of fresh vegetables, Mange Taut, Carrots, French Runner Beans and New Potatoes.

I felt the chicken although nicely cooked and the apricot did compliment it, was a tiny bit bland and the white wine sauce was very thin, lacking in texture and sorry but a little bit tasteless. Sadly my friend who is a chef by day thought the same so we could only give this 5/10.

None of us tried the Pork with Cider and Baby Onions so I am unable to comment, but I did see it being served up in a little dish a bit like a casserole.

The Spinach & Roasted Pepper Pancake with Mornay Sauce, I am reliably informed was delicious and both the lady from my table and another friend at the event, gave it the thumbs up and a cool 8/10 on presentation and taste.

Finally the Fillet of Trout with Caper Butter, I was told by the gent of our little group that all the flavours really worked exceptionally well together and he was exceedingly pleased with his choice, and he gave it a whopping 9/10.

I have to say all the meals were very well presented with time taken to detail and garnish, the vegetables were a little too aldente for my taste, but that is not a criticism just a personal observation. My friends seemed to all enjoy them.

Just a note here I am a big eater, which is possibly why I have a big waistline, he, he. I personally found the meal filled the gap, it did not leave me feeling full though, and I could have easily eaten more. If you are like me then you would possibly consider ordering a side order which start from £2.00 up to £2.50 per portion. I have to say though reading down the list they look more like little snacks then side orders, take a look yourself in the list to see what I mean, I would not put the majority of them with the meals we had on offer.

Tortilla Chips & Dips, Pot of Olives & Feta Cheese, Garlic Bread, Garlic Bread with Cheese, Chipped Potatoes, Tomato Green Leaf & Red Onion Salad, Potato Wedges and Homemade Onion Rings.

Sorry no personal experience on the side orders.

Finally to finish off our 2 course set meal we had a dessert. Now this was fairly strange on the menu it said Dessert of the Day or Vanilla Ice Cream. We were offered a Toffee Dessert or Ice Cream, we were all a little cheeky and asked if we could have a bit of both and they gladly agreed. The toffee dessert had the texture of a cheese cake without the biscuit base, it was very sweet and creamy, and I am glad that I asked for the ice cream as well as it really needed that contrast. The ice-cream was homemade vanilla and my compliments to the chef it was very creamy and the vanilla flavour was not overpowering and the consistency was just perfect.
Now I mentioned that it was strange, I bet you wonder what I meant, let me explain. I mentioned earlier that our table were offered the choice of a toffee dessert or ice-cream, but our friends on another table were offered as their Dessert of the Day a Fresh Fruit Crepe or the ice-cream. I am told that both of these went down exceedingly well and they were very pleased.

~~ After Dinner & the Psychic Event ~~

After a short rest from our meals, a few more glasses of water and a few trips to the ladies which by the way were kept clean and well stocked, a few more trips back and forth with my nerves, there is not a lot of room in the ladies when you have a mass exodus just before the event gets going.

Well, everyone is now fed and watered, the tables have been pushed together into 4 long tables to seat 10 at each and a chair put at each end for the mediums. The hostess explains to everyone how it all works and the little rules like answer the medium with a yes or a no, and if you are not receiving a message then please respect those that are and keep the noise down, On and not to forget cut off your right arm, by turning off its permanent lifeline and attachment your mobile phone, he, he. The next 1 ½ - 2 hrs are between you and the mediums who work at each table for about 25 minutes and then move round (the time varies depending on the venue and the amount of mediums present). Your medium will probably ask you when they come to your table who has not yet had a reading, because by the end of the evening everyone in the room should have had a least one message.

I cannot say what it's like for the people on the receiving end, I would like to think they have enjoyed their evening; it is nice when they can take a message and understand what you are giving them, bringing a pleasant smile to their faces. For me these couple of hours just fly by.

~~ Eventful Evenings ~~

The Metropolitan does hold different events, so it is useful to keep in touch with them to find out what is on offer, you can do this by leaving your name and address at the bar and you will be added to their mailing list. To give you a sample on what is on offer here is a list of coming events over July and August 2006.

Monthly Tapas Nights: which are held on the 3rd Friday of each month, next one being the 21st July and 18th August. You can either order individual meals or choose from a set menu for £15.00 per head. The set menu comprises of soup followed by a choice of 6 items off the Main Course menu and ending with a dessert.

Psychic Supper: I believe the next one is at the end of September possibly the 22nd.

Speed Dating: 6th July, 20th July and 3rd August, now this is something I would not be able to do in a month of Sundays, I would get all tongue tied, so thank goodness I am a happily married woman.

Car Boot Sale: These are held on a Sunday morning the one for July is on the 9th at £5.00 per car, runs from 9am – noon on the pub car park. Sorry there were no dates for August on my list.

Also coming soon….. Comedy Night and a Jazz Evening, I do fancy these so I have put name down on the mailing list, so hopefully I will not be working and will be able to go along.

~~ And More ~~

They also open as a bar and licensed restaurant, so you can still visit even if you don't fancy any of the organised events. You could sit comfortably in the bar area and enjoy some of the nibbles they have on offer, or the Tapas Nibbles, so here is the current list to tempt you.

Nibbles:

Tortilla Chips & Dips ~ £2.50, Onion Rings & Salsa Dip ~ £2.00, Potato Wedges & Salsa Dip ~ £2.00, Mixed Bread with Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar ~ £2.95, Olives & Feta ~ £2.50.

Tapas:

Cheese, Olive & Potato Rosti with Garlic Dip ~ £1.95, Chicken Goujons in Tempura Batter & Garlic Mayonnaise ~ £2.95, Salmon Bites with Dip ~ £2.95, Pan-fried Shredded Beef Thai Style ~ £2.95, Patatas Bravas, Garlic Potatoes with Homemade Salsa ~ £1.95, Chicken Wings in Garlic ~ £2.95, Slices of Spanish Omelette ~ £2.45, Sauteed Mushroom with Garlic ~ £1.95, Aubergine with Spicy Tomato Sauce Topped with Parmesan Cheese ~ £1.95, Olives & Tomatoes in Balsamic Vinegar ~ £1.95 and a Portion of Fresh Baked Bread with Butter ~ £1.00.

I am not going to get carried away and write all the menu's down, but I thought the nibbles and tapas were different and worth a mention. They also have a main menu available giving you a selection that covers the three courses. Starters ranging from £2.95 - £5.95, Main Courses from £9.50 - £15.95 and finally Desserts range form £3.75 - £5.25. There is usually a Tapas menu available if you simply ask for it.

The Sunday Lunch menu is 3 courses for £11.95 (children's £7.95), it looks very impressive with a choice of 5 different starters and 5 different main courses, you still have the standard Roast Dinners, but a couple of alternatives to wet your appetite as well.

I am reliably informed by the management that for vegetarians if you cannot find something on the menu to your liking, then if you speak to them they try and arrange an alternative for you.

~~ Trivia ~~

The Metropolitan was originally opened as the Page Arms back in 1982, and was taken over by the present owner in 2001. Then in 2004 after an extensive refurbishment and taking a new approach complete with new chefs and completely new menus The Metropolitan came to life and be what it is today.

~~ Where is it? ~~

The Metropolitan
32 Market Street
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY8 1AG
01384 390400

Market street is in the town centre, for those of you that don't know Stourbridge Town Centre is completely surrounded by the ring road, but its an old town with some wonderful buildings and you can actually drive through it, but a lot of its is one way. I went in and out of the town centre before I got the right entrance, but I am now glad that I did as they have their very own car park, so less walking for me.

~~ Finally ~~

They do have wheel chair access, but do not have a disabled toilet, I am told that the doors are wide, but I still don't think they would be adequate for a wheel chair user.

They also cater for wedding, birthdays etc, whatever your celebration.

Well thank you for reading and if you are ever in Stourbridge I recommend you pay the Metropolitan a visit. It is a very nice place with nice friendly staff.


Lyn x"

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