Mr Men are back at Beefeater restaurants with a brilliant new kids menu. I still remember the Mr Men Beefeater meals from back in the 1980's! It's lovely to see this partnership being revived as part of Beefeater's 40th birthday celebrations. As a lifelong Mr Men & Little Miss fan I was absolutely thrilled to be invited, along with my family, to the launch event on Saturday. Not only did we get to sample the new menu, but we got the chance to meet the author and illustrator Adam Hargreaves, who delighted the kids with a demonstration of how to draw Mr Tickle!
Adam Hargreaves is of course the son of Mr Men creator Roger Hargreaves, and as a child he had asked his father the question "what does a tickle look like?" which led to the first Mr Men story - Mr Tickle. At the Beefeater event, the story of Mr Tickle was read out to the children, whilst Adam Hargreaves drew classic scenes from the book. It was truly wonderful watching some of our favorite characters come to life. All the kids were given paper and crayons to draw along with the illustrator and he even signed their creations at the end of the event.
Even though I did visit Beefeater restaurants as a child, for some reason I've never actually been there as an adult or with my own children. I wasn't expecting the kids menu to have so much choice and variety beyond the usual nuggets or fish finger options, but this is a real family friendly menu with plenty of options that will appeal even to the fussiest little Mr Fussy!
There are three types of meals available for kids ranging from a one course main plus squash for £4.49 to the full three courses (starter, main and pudding) with squash for £5.99. The eleven different main meal options include; Mr Noisy's Bangers and Mash, Mr Messy's Spaghetti Bolognese and Mr Strong's 4oz Flat Iron Steak. For starters there are; veggie sticks, garlic bread, breaded mushrooms or cheesy nachos. Sides include basmati rice, peas, corn on the cob, veggie sticks, baked beans and chips - any of the sides on the main meals can be swapped which is a useful option to have! There is also a choice of five different kids desserts. Options on Sunday include traditional Sunday lunch.
Here's what we ate on the day:
Mr Noisy's Bangers and Mash - my youngest son loved that his meal came with it's own gravy boat! He's a bit of a gravy fiend so he really did enjoy this one.
3oz Steak Burger - my eldest found it difficult to choose between all the delicious looking options on offer, but in the end he decided to get the classic 3oz Steak Burger. Next time he wants to try Mr Strong's 4oz Flat Iron Steak!
10oz Rump Steak - The adults were treated to a grown up meal. Mr Grocery Gems plumped for the rump steak - it's much bigger than it looks in the photo above and was also cooked to perfection. It was served with thick cut chips, mushrooms and a small side salad.
Chicken & Ribs: I had the classic Beefeater fare of chargrilled chicken and barbecue ribs. It's hard to see the chicken in my photo but there was a large portion under the ribs. The chicken was delicious and I loved the side serving of coleslaw too, it was gorgeously crunchy and tasted home made. The kids and Mr Grocery Gems helped themselves to most of the ribs!
At the end of the meal the children were all asked to create their own ice cream sundae based on a Mr Men character. My kids creation was named Mr Strong's Egg-celent Ice Cream Sundae and featured "egg" decorations that they made from marshmallows with yellow sweets in the center. Adam Hargreaves very kindly went to each table and spoke to all the children about their creations - it was a really wonderful end to this great event.
I can't resist posting another photo of the most memorable section of the event where the children learnt to draw Mr Men from Adam Hargreaves. At the end he told them his personal favorite Mr Men character is Mr Bump, who is one of my favourites too (along with the squiggly Mr Messy!).
The brand new Mr Men & Little Miss menu is now available at all 142 UK sites. All kids meals come with a special 16 page Mr Men themed activity book and a balloon. Beefeater are also running a Kids Eat Free promotion every Saturday from 12-5pm, with a free kids meal for every paying adult. I've already seen the Mr Men banners outside my local Beefeater and I'll definitely be taking my kids there to enjoy a Mr Men themed lunch again!
Many thanks to all the Beefeater staff and the organisers for such a fantastic event!
For more information:
www.beefeater.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeefeaterGrill
Twitter: @BeefeaterGrill #BGMrMen
