To think that this menu isn’t suitable for children?

[Mummyofabear]

A few months ago I booked to take my children to Matilda in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall this month (October), I had to book hospitality tickets because those were the only tickets left at the time of booking. And then today have been sent an email with the hospitality details and this is the menu! They don’t have a separate children’s menu either even though Matilda is a family event! AIBU to think this menu isn’t suitable for children? My children have autism and are very fussy so the only thing that they will eat on this menu will be the desserts but even then I don’t think there’s much on this menu that most neurotypical children would eat either? In my opinion it’s not suitable for families or children even though it’s supposed to be a family event!

I’ve copied and pasted the menu below incase the image doesn’t work:

Snacks (served pre-show):
Black garlic polenta crackers

Seaweed tapioca crackers

Canapés (served pre-show):
Glazed beef skewer, chimichurri

Parmesan churros, tomato and Parmesan sauce (V)

Cold Bowl (served pre-show):

Pumpkin seed houmous, maple-roast pumpkin, pomegranate, pickled pumpkin ribbons, mint oil

Sliders (served pre-show):
28-day dry-aged beef patty, crispy bacon, tarragon and chive aioli, confit garlic,
served with potato hash puffs, truffle mayo

Moroccan-Spiced lamb slider, grilled onions, sumac mayonnaise & pickled cucumber,
served with buffalo cauliflower

Dessert canapés (served during the interval):
Mango, passion fruit, coconut pavlova

Millionaire's chocolate mousse, salted caramel, vanilla sablé

Milk and Cookies

Drinks:

Trebbiano, Rubicone, Novità
Sangiovese, Rubicone, Novità
Estrella Galicia 4.7%
Ginger bitters (soft cocktail)
Sparkling mineral water
Still mineral water

Pesto is a funny one. It did used to be high class but now its something that kids eat on pasta as a fast tea. I like a bit of pesto myself but I put it in the same bracket as tomato ketchup.

All of it is mainstream and yes it's very unusual never to have eaten pesto.
Pasta and pesto is a very normal meal for children as is hummus.

Confit garlic isn’t ’pretentious’, it’s just food.

I'm vegetarian and I would eat almost none of that! I loathe cauliflower, I don't like truffle (sorry it smells like feet it's vile). Parmesan isn't vegetarian. My very not fussy ds13 (favourite foods are Indian and Mexican) would pick at bits of it. It's really not a great menu for the price at all. Yabnu

Yes, I sometimes flavour potatoes with it! It's just a handy flavouring isn't it? Sold everywhere.

I'm a bit salty about truffle at the moment. (a) - it is on every menu in London, so overkill and (b) it is very expensive. Took DS out to a decent Italian recently - both order pasta, waitress turns up with additional cheese and truffle. Asks about cheese and then starts onto the truffle. I stopped her and said, hold on there is a supplement for this? Yes, £12 per plate for the truffle only. 50% the cost of each main course. They did the upselling again for dessert and my review did reflect that. So again, I think the RAH would be better to offer a children's menu, and I dont mean total rubbish as some other PP's have suggested would be the only alternative.

Sounds great my kids would have hoovered all of that.

No, at best, you would be eating something delicious that you had never tried before.

Yeah, upselling is annoying, especially if they don’t tell you in advance that there’s an additional charge (not even sure that’s legal!). There’s nothing wrong with it as a food in itself though, if you like it.

So do you like the taste of everything you have ever eaten? Do you not understand that a glaze changes the flavour (which I assume is why it is used) and that it may make it highly unpleasant?

Chimichurri contains chili and thus the meat will be spicy. I can tell when something has had pepper added at any point so any chili added is going to be hot.

It sounds fine. Hummus and crackers, burgers with potato tots and chocolate mousse. What could be more child friendly?
Food at the RAH is usually pretty decent.

But why assume that children aren’t going to like the flavour of the glaze? Or that they won’t like chilli?
My 9 year old’s favourite meal is chicken laksa.

Depends on the kid

OP I think if you have a box at the RAH you'll be able to order pizza although it doesn't appear on any online menu. The last 2 times we've had a box there that was the case- there was a qr code to scan to order ( one of my children is fussy too!). Think it comes from the Italian restaurant there.

ooo never done that! will try it thank you. I stick it in sandwiches.

This is meant kindly.

If you know your children are, in your own words, very fussy, why would you book such tickets without knowing what is on the menu?

You didn’t have to book the tickets, you chose to.

Rather than bashing the menu - which looks pretty standard for a hospitality ticket - I’d be planning what I’d be packing to take for them to munch on.

Even if you do think it's a bit pretentious....we are discussing a VIP experience at The Royal Albert Hall. What would you expect? What would your menu be that people would be happy paying £250 a ticket for?

Yup, this. My 3 year old GD's favourite dinner is pasta with pesto.

No I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t be. Every dish includes something I would find unpleasant. Why would you think that I would find any of it delicious?

I have tried to push myself to eat new things (esp before I was diagnosed) but strangely none of it stuck.

Then don’t try those foods. You know you won’t like them, so don’t eat them.
Doesn’t mean an entire generation of children won’t like them though.

We don’t have a box, we have the VIP lounge package.

Because some, especially ND, won’t because the flavours are too strong or the texture isn’t nice.

Of course some will love it but it’s by no means a given.

I'm sure you've read this thread, it'll probably be fine, it's just the fancy language.

No but it’s not surprising that some ND kids won’t like them.

And as I say, outside of MN, many won’t have tried them before.

It’s not a given that anyone will like anything. Doesn’t mean places shouldn’t serve it though, as part of a VIP package. What would you serve that everyone is guaranteed to like?