If Christmas is all about coming together and enjoying good food and good wine, there's nowhere better to do that in Hitchin than Hermitage Road, a historic, well-presented restaurant and wine bar with private dining packages.
For larger Christmas gatherings, the main bar area is best placed. Situated on the ground floor, the statement bar sits in the heart of the main dining room, once a historic ballroom and still bearing original features like huge, arched windows, exposed brickwork and lofty ceilings. Here, up to 50 people can gather, with drinks packages available to ensure everyone is greeted with a glass of fizz - and has plenty coming all evening!
If you want a more intimate experience, the private dining room upstairs has space for 10 to 18 people, either gathered around a long, communal table or with space for standing, socialising and snacking. Likewise, if you'd rather bring an intimate group together in the wine bar positioned just next door, there's space for 10 to 14 people, with a glass of Nyetimber as a greeting as standard.
For those who want to host a merry old time after the work is done, Hermitage Road also has access to some meeting room-appropriate spaces. The Jungle Room, for example, has a clean, bright aesthetic with a living wall and a large table for 12 people to work throughout the day before the evening festivities. You're also welcome to use presentation equipment.
Hermitage Road is passioate about seasonal, British food and so the Christmas menu is a treat. Starters might look like gin and beetroot Staithe Smokehouse salmon with cucumber, dill, crème fraiche and rye, or perhaps warm Golden Cross goat’s cheese fig and onion tart. Mains include seared seabream fillet alongside white bean and Jerusalem artichoke stew with red wine sauce, as well as classic dishes like roast Norfolk bronze turkey or prime aged roast beef with pig in blanket, roasted sprouts, hot honey carrot and parsnip, roast potatoes,
cranberry sausage stuffing and gravy.