A Meal of Two Halves

Feeling a little bit like Willy Wonka holding the golden tickets I had four complimentary tickets for Aston Villa matchday hospitality (perks of the day job) and needed to pick my three guests. So the first was a given as couldn't really get away without inviting my boyfriend (he had to give up his season ticket in the Holt End due to his jet setting life style) that would have been a sure fire way to domestic hell. So with two tickets left we decided it make it a boys day out (plus me) and invited Sean's Brother and Dad.

After parking my little car in the VIP car park a stone's throw away from the players brand new Range Rovers, Mercedes and the team coach we went to pick up our Trinity Platinum passes from the Trinity Road reception. After being handed our little leather clad passes we ascended to the first floor Trinity Restaurant feeling very important and at ease thanks to the lovely staff and my god there are plenty ready to attend to your needs. Knowing that Villa have won awards for their hospitality, in particular their food, I eagerly awaited our four course meal.

Trinity Restaurant, image via avfc.co.uk

Villa offer a range of matchday hospitality in a number of restaurants and lounges around the ground to suit every taste. They describe the Trinity Restaurant as a "stylish and vibrant restaurant which offers relaxed dining". It has the feel of a nice pub, lots of hustle and bustle on a macthday which makes for a good atmosphere.

First things first I apologies for the dodgy mobile phone photography. So then, the food, for starter we were offered a choice of king prawn with tomato and marie rose sauce or minestrone soup with Lightwoods Little Urn Cheese. I plumped for the prawns, when it arrived it looked beautiful and the flavours lived up to the expectation.

Prawn, tomato and marie rose sauce starter.

For main there was a choice of a 'Sunday Dinner', turkey with 'all the trimmings', which I went for, or if that didn't take your fancy there was lamb tagine, salmon fish cakes or a vegetarian option (sorry, as a full on meat eater I didn't take much notice of what it was) so plenty of choice to suit every palette. Dessert was tricky, faced with a choice of rhubarb and ginger crumble with custard or vanilla panna cotta with blueberry compote I could have easily have eaten both, but keeping true to my roots I went for the option theat comes with custard.

Turkey with all the trimmings.

Tom's panna cotta.

My crumble, my photography doesn't do it justice.

Both main and pudding were delicious and with almost perfect timing I finished off the last spoonful of my crumble just in time to take our VIP seats to watch the game. We exited through the grand stained glass doors into the stadium to take up our seats in prime position to watch the game. With Fabio Capello behind us and the team bench front it was definitely a good view for the action.

The view from our seats.

During half time we returned to our table in the restaurant and were bought the cheese course, which looked amazing but the cheese was very smelly and the only person willing to eat it was Sean, and to be honest there was way too much cheese for one man to consume in 15 minutes.

A selection of cheese and biscuits with dried apricots and chutney.

Although the result was a draw we had a fab day thanks to the whole day being a really special experience. The hospitality team at Villa are brilliant and make you feel very welcome and our great day was rounded off by seeing John Motson on the way out of the ground (we all felt a little star struck). I could get used to the VIP treatment.