Royal Ascot - Parade Ring Restaurant

The most exclusive (and expensive) of Ascot’s hospitality areas is the Parade Ring Restaurant, which arguably offers the best hospitality package of any racecourse in the world. Located on level two, with views of the Parade Ring and Winners’ Enclosure through floor-to-ceiling windows as well as from a private balcony, it will be particularly appreciated by dedicated racing fans, who can check out the horses ahead of each race and then head across the galleria to the specially reserved seating by the finish line, right next to the Royal Box.

A day’s hospitality in the Parade Ring is a fulsome affair, which starts with breakfast canapés and Champagne as you flick through the day’s programme of racing. Highlights include the five-course à la carte lunch with fine wines (plus vintage port if the mood takes you) and the pretty-as-a-picture afternoon tea with strawberries and cream and pink Champagne. There’s an elegant restaurant feel to the facility, which is partly down to small table sizes, ranging from two to 12 guests, and partly down to the endlessly gracious service from efficient staff.

With the level of hospitality on offer, it’d be easy to forget about the racing altogether, but packages in the Parade Ring Restaurant come, of course, with access to the Royal Enclosure (and its associated dress codes) as well as roving betting facilities so you don’t even have to leave the table to place your bets.

Packages in the Parade Ring Restaurant start at £920 +VAT per person for Saturday 23 June, up to £1,890 +VAT for Thursday 21 June.

Tried & Tested - Parade Ring 2008 by Suzanne Archer
The Parade Ring Restaurant is a lesson in how to run high-end hospitality. It’s exclusive (to the extent that it was quite a shock when we emerged at the end of the day into the merry throng) but we were right in on the action, with views of the pre-race line-up and post-race celebrations from the table and reserved seats by the finish line for the races themselves. The facility is understandably popular among regular racegoers (well-heeled couples were interspersed among larger tables, adding to the intimate feel of the dining room) but roving Tote reps made betting easy for the uninitiated among us and the arrival of the Queen’s carriage as we watched from the balcony charmed just about everyone.

A lot of hospitality facilities claim to deliver restaurant-quality food and service, but this was the real deal, from the breakfast egg shells filled with scrambled egg and a wafer of crispy bacon to the perfectly rare roast beef at lunch and dainty cake stand that greeted us on return from the afternoon racing. It’s not a cheap day at the races, but it’s certainly one to remember.