have you ever wondered how the british house of lords dine?

The menu at the Peers' Dining Room.

If you've ever wondered how those Lords in the British Parliament ate, well, now you can somewhat have an insight. As a quick primer, the British Parliament is made up of two houses - the House of Lords (similar to the Senate in the USA) and the House of Commons (similar to the US House of Representatives). Their office is the Palace of Westminster where Big Ben is located. If you are a Downton Abbey fan (like me), a period drama about the lives of the upper and lower classes of wartime Britain, Lord Grantham would have been a part of the House of Lords.

Within the Houses of Parliament are dining areas. The Peers' Dining Room is the restaurant where the Lords eat. Usually, only Lords are allowed to dine there, unless invited by a Lord (or when they decide to - on very rare occasions - open it up to the public. (The House of Commons has its own dining area and Lords cannot dine there unless invited by a Member of Parliament ("MP"). So, if Lord Grantham was visiting London (and if he were real), he would have had access to the Peers' Dining Room.

During our last visit to London, Mr. Sazy Rock (a dual citizen of the US and the UK) got wind of a rare opening of the Peers' Dining Room. Lords and MPs were out and about campaigning for and against Brexit so the powers-that-be decided to open up the Peers' Dining Room for a short period (about one week) to plebeians like us. As an aside, 2015 was the first year that the powers-that-be opened up the Peers' Dining Room to the common folk. It was such a success that they did it again in 2016. Pre-Brexit, we were told that they had plans to do it again. I don't know how those plans will work post-Brexit.

We quickly made our reservations and off we went to the Palace of Westminster.

First, we had to go through security similar to what we go through at the airport. Second, they strictly enforced a "No Photography" rule (except in the great hall).

Once inside, we gathered at the great hall where markers on the floor indicated where Winston Churchill lay in state. The great hall was also where those on tours of the Palace of Westminster gathered.

To check in to the Peers' Dining Room, we had to enter the dome. Once checked in (and the "No Photography" Rule was strictly enforced), we were led through through a hallway lined with floor to ceiling dark wood bookcases filled with research bools.

Guests wore business attire. Definitely no trainers allowed. Some men did not wear jackets but most did. Women wore business dresses. I wore grey pants with a black top and black shoes.

While waiting to be seated at the restaurant, we were seated at the Peers' Bar that overlooked the River Thames and the St. Thomas hospital on the opposite side of the river. The Bar had high wooden teak-like ceilings, dark pink patterned carpeting and walls bearing large paintings (such as a Battle off Cape St. Vincent, a meeting by the mayor of Westminster, Parliament, etc.). Leather seats with backs were embossed with a crest that looked like a gold portcullis (gate) topped with a crown made of alternating crosses and fleurs de lys (picture of the crest is on the upper right hand of the menu below). We could just imagine all the high powered people who drank there, including Winston Churchill and others.

The staff, interestingly enough, were mostly continental Europeans (Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, Polish, etc.), which was even more fascinating as the Brexit vote was unfolding.

The bar drinks included taxpayer funded House of Lords gin (good but not powerful); House of Lords Sauvignon Blanc (from France and very crisp), etc. The House of Lords labeled drinks, which were served with vegetable chips (some crunchier than others), were competitively priced. They also had name brand spirits available at the bar but we thought we had to try the House of Lords label as they were made specifically for the Lords (and because they were much cheaper - with thanks to the taxpayers).

Once we were adequately lubricated by the pleasant drinks, a staff person escorted us to the Peers' Dining Room. The room had flock wallpaper (the patterns felt like velvet) with dark green upside down fleur de lys stems and pink flowers topped with a crown. The background of the wallpaper was just regular cloth in yellow. The high ceilings were made of dark wood.

Like the bar, the restaurant was decorated with many paintings. One of them was a famous portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, which looked something like this. We were told that it was a Twisden portrait painted by Thomas Gower in 1596. We were also told it is worth millions of dollars (about $3M), and it is on loan for a few years from a young American. The server told us that, once, when a staff person cleaned it, cops flooded the room. Indeed, I (and other guests) had to be escorted to look at the paintings on the walls even though our table was less than 50 feet from them. The paintings by our table included those of John Campbell (2nd duke of Argylle and painted by William Aikman) and of William Cadogan (1st Earl Cadogan and painted by Louis Laguerre).

The menu, which we were allowed to keep.

The backside of the menu.

We started off with a House of Lords Champagne, which had tight bubbles coming up, was not very yeasty and was very crisp. The bread was served warm with cold butter topped by a dainty flower.

For our starters, we had an Apple Jelly. It was like the meat fruit at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal because it was shaped like an apple with rolled pork inside. While tasty, it was not the same caliber as Dinner. It did not have a strong apple taste. The rillette needed more salt but it was still nicely done with a nice texture.

The Great British Seafood Plate included mussels, "edible sand" - which felt like grit - clams (okay), scallops (okay), and salmon that was rolled with crab salad inside (the best tasting of the seafood selection). The dish was served cold or lukewarm.

My North Atlantic Cod was topped with a beautifully orange yolk. The fish was flaky but needed more salt. The Jersey potatoes were firm and not mushy, and were halved (like small baby tomatoes). The fish skin could've been crunchier.

Mr. SR's Launceston Beef Cannon (he requested it without the oyster sabayon because he's allergic to oysters) was served with little croquettes with beef and fresh crunchy peas still in their pods.

For dessert, the Hertfordshire Strawberries had flecks of black pepper on the slices of dried and fresh strawberries. It was also topped with Cornish cream (rich and fatty) and strawberry meringue. It was a nice palette cleanser.

The British Cheeses had generous serving of cheeses (Colton Basset Stilton, etc.) and were served with dry toasted raisin bread, red and green grapes, celery and quince.

The Petit Fours included raspberry jelly (peppery and sour), and salted caramel fudge (chewy & peppery).

Our server noted that the kitchen was challenged because while the dishes they served plebeians like us were a bit more innovative (see Apple Jelly, for example), the Lords, who were traditionally older, wanted to eat staples they were used to eating. Apparently, while the traditional menu for Lords changed around the same timetable as 5-star restaurants, the menu almost always included staples like smoked salmon, Dover sole and lamb cutlets.

Just like when I wanted to look at the paintings on the wall, I had to be escorted to go to the restroom. I went to the Baronness' restroom and it had a Dyson hand dryer. I don't know what I was expecting for a loo in the Houses of Parliament but I was disappointed that it was so normal and not spectacular. Mr. SR, who went to two different restrooms, said the that the Peers' restroom was not as good as the one open to the public.

It was definitely a treat dining at the Peers' Dining Room. The food may have been average but it was well worth the price of admission to taste the House of Lords booze and view all the amazing artwork and stand in a room where the walls witnessed so much of the great markers in Western history.

If the Peers' Dining Room opens up to commoners again in, I highly recommend a visit. I hope I have been descriptive enough (sans pictures) to tempt you to visit.