Category Archives: Lunch Group

I don’t know about you, but I am REALLY missing my proper fish & chips and a good steak! (apologies to all you vegans out there!). And, of course, our gossip exchange and silly mini-quizzes. Obviously, nothing else to report but don’t forget to let me know the names and details of your favourite lunch venues so that I can start to plan our 2021 lunch programme. Please contact me via the U3A Beacon system or phone me directly. Many thanks, Sandra.

I can’t believe how much better off I am financially since there have been no lunches to attend over the last two months or so! But if there was a choice, then I’d rather have a full social life and an empty purse rather than the other way round. I would be very grateful if you could let me know the name and details of your favourite lunch venues so that I can start to plan our 2021 lunch programme. Please contact me via the U3A Beacon system or phone me directly. Many thanks.

Let’s hope they let us all out before Christmas as I have already booked the Christmas Lunch at our usual venue, The Albert Hall, Nottingham. Hopefully though we may be able to fit in one or two more lunches before Christmas!

For those who don’t know, if you would like to join us for lunch, just put your name down on the list at the monthly meeting and where requested pay a small deposit and also give your menu choices. We make our own way to each venue but if there is someone who doesn’t drive, just ask the co-ordinator who will try to get a lift for you. During the meal a paper quiz is completed with the answers at the end of the meal. If you have a particular favourite restaurant please let me know as we may not have yet visited it.

To contact Sandra, the group leader, please use the form below:-

It seems a long time now since the Lunch Group last met and I for one am really missing both the company and the smell of Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding! I thought I might let you know the names of our most popular venues and then when we are all released from self-isolation you might like to pay them a visit; I’m sure they will much appreciate your custom.

Two of our most popular venues are The Thorn Tree at Woodlinkin (one of the George’s fish restaurants chain) and our own Hucknall’s Arunothai Thai restaurant just off Farleys Lane. They contrast vividly in that George’s restaurants are always busy and the size of the excellent fish is amazing, whilst Arunothai’s dishes are of the “small but perfectly formed” variety. They both cost about the same; the former for just fish and chips and the latter has two courses for the same price.

Arunothai won the title Thai Restaurant of the Year in 2019. Arunothai’s owners Adrian Smith-Culshaw and Sutas Arthit received their trophy at a glittering ceremony at the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester. I understand that during “lockdown” Arunothai are doing home deliveries so why not treat yourself?

Sadly many pub restaurants have been badly hit by the current situation and as many of you know, the Little John at Ravenshead has decided to close its doors permanently which is very sad as the Lunch Group did visit them some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. So, let’s all look forward to our next lunches, hopefully in the not so distant future.

To contact Sandra, the group leader, please use the form below:-

Believe it or not, the Lunch Group has been meeting for over eleven years as it was one of the first groups started when Hucknall & District U3A was first set up and in that time, we have visited well over one hundred different pubs and restaurants for lunch. The number of diners varies each month but in the beginning there were as many as 40 members attending. The average these days is around 30. There have been one or two more favourite venues repeated, two of which have been the Christmas lunch at the Albert Hall in Nottingham and our own Arunothai in Hucknall. Fortunately there have only been a couple of places that have disappointed us as the majority have been excellent. I won’t name them in case I get sued for discrimination but we know who they are, don’t we? We even included a lunch on the Nottingham Princess Riverboat, and one or two excellent fish & chip restaurants.

I decided to include a small paper quiz at our lunches so that instead of people getting up and leaving immediately after the meal, they stayed a little later to get the answers to the quiz and to socialise a little more.

We always meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 12 noon (unless otherwise stated) at a different restaurant each month. The menus vary in price and content but hopefully average out over the year at a reasonable cost. It is an opportunity for members to meet together socially and try out different restaurants which, as individuals, they may not have had the chance to try before. We hope members will find something of interest to their “tastes” and I always look forward to meeting up each month. I would love to hear about your recommendations for reasonably priced venues within a ten mile radius of Hucknall as we have been going for nearly twelve years and are running out of new venues! However, people are very reluctant to go south of the River Trent as this means driving through Nottingham.

When putting your name down, if the menu is available, either at the meeting or on the website, could you please indicate your menu choices at that time. Please note that at our lunch group visits members should purchase their own drinks at the bar as adding everyone’s drinks to the food menu causes a lot of administration problems.

Obviously at this time of social distancing and self-isolating there are no lunches planned for the near future but watch this space! Keep safe everyone!

To contact Sandra, the group leader, please use the form below:-