Lanterns festival Lightopia is serving up as new experience this Christmas, with special outdoor dining domes.
The new immersive dining experience, Dine in the Light, is the latest addition to the award-winning festival at Heaton Park.
It promises to offer fabulous food and drink, beautiful lights and a warm festive atmosphere.
We tried it out to see if it really was the cherry on the top of a magical Christmas family trip!
Read more: Lightopia A Christmas Fantasy opens at Heaton Park - ticket prices, times and all you need to know
Elegant illuminated dining domes are situated amongst landscaped gardens within Heaton Park.
Nestled between some of the bright Lightopia lanterns, the pretty domes come complete with twinkling fairy lights and Christmas garlands and festive table decorations.
We were shown to our dome by Hannah, our brilliant waitress for the night, unzipping the doorway to our personal dome and making our way inside the bijou dining area, the experience did start to feel quite magical.
Draped over the back of each chair, was a lovely wool blanket, or a sheepskin rug to keep those legs warm, and an electric heater meant that even while dining outside on a cold wet December night- we could still relax and take our top layers off while we ate more comfortably.
I was visiting with my mum, niece and sister-in-law and we were quietly excited about the experience, well my four-year-old niece wasn’t so quiet, but she was as excited as most youngsters are at this time of year.
Once seated you order from a set menu curated by 3AA Rosette chef Chris Holland. The set menu costs £38 for adults for three courses and a drink and £18 for children. It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for, and in this case, it was a very special experience, perfect for a festive gathering.
Once we had ordered, our starters arrived quickly. My family members ordered the Swiss cheese fondue with crusty chunks of bread, and I ordered a pumpkin soup. The fondue was lovely, perfectly melted, velvety soft and mild tasting, and the crisp, crunchy bread chunks were the best accompaniment.
The pumpkin soup was delicious, exactly what I needed on a cold winter’s night. Soothing and light, with a subtle sweetness and packed with flavour.
My niece’s fish fingers and chips arrived along with our starters. Darcie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as the meal was brought to her on a wooden pirate ship platter.
Darcie absolutely loved the whimsical presentation and she gave the meal the thumbs up as well. The fish fingers were tasty, homemade chunks of fresh white fish fillets and crisp breadcrumbs. Even the kid’s menu had class!
For mains we ordered lamb hanging kebabs, and the short rib beef. The lamb kofta kebabs were fresh and spiced to perfection. Served with pilaf rice and a side of Tzatziki it worked so well together. The beef short rib was so delicious. The melt in the mouth beef was so tender and rich with a drizzle of jus, and topped with crispy onions, served with mash and broccoli - it was a very hearty winter's dinner.
Finishing the evening with a Manchester Trifle and Heaton Mess, the latter sadly didn’t hit the spot for me. The meringue had softened into the thick cream, making the dish too rich. The cream overtook everything, including the baked peaches.
But I'm told the trifle was punchy, with the Vimto jelly fun and bursting with flavour.
Once we had finished, with full tums it was time to leave the comfort of our beautiful dome and follow the lights around the beautiful Lightopia trail - the perfect ending to a very different dining experience.
The standard sized domes are big enough for six people and require a £150 minimum spend, with some bigger domes for 12 people, requiring a £300 minimum spend.
To book for Lightopia's dine in the light, visit the website here.
