The Magic Lantern, Preston North Road, North Shields

Feb 28 2010 by Eddy Eats, Sunday Sun

Being hungry, however, we chose to add a starter each. A man of habit, I opted for prawn cocktail at £3.85, while Mrs E plumped for classic nachos topped with Cajun chicken strips for £4.35.

The menu stated a choice of beef, pork or turkey for mains, but at 1.50pm – the time we had reached the front of the queue to order – pork had sold out, so we both went for beef. We also had to order our desserts there and then, so I went for chocolate fudge cake with ice cream, and She Who Must Be Fed chose the cherry Bakewell cheesecake.

The starters arrived within 10 minutes. My plate boasted a mound of prawns with salad and sauce, along with a lovely hunk of baguette and butter, while the nachos filled the plate and were topped with what were described as “gorgeous” Cajun strips.

As we polished them off, the waitress asked if we wanted the mains or wanted five minutes to let the starters digest. We opted to wait for about 10 minutes to give ourselves a little more room – we didn’t want the roasts compromised.

When they arrived, we were a little bit disappointed. The two Yorkshires on each plate were clearly not homemade, and the beef was too perfectly sliced to have come straight off a joint.

The carrots were fresh but overdone, but the peas were nice, as were the roasties, new potatoes and the gravy. There were also roasted parsnips, of which I am a bigger fan than the wife, so I had hers.

After the starters, the roasts just didn’t compare. They were perfectly edible, but seemed a little bit too pre-packed and processed for our liking. Never mind, we thought – the desserts could redeem it and, don’t forget, it was very cheap.

So we waited for our desserts. And waited. And waited some more. We waited so long in fact that a group of three who came in as we were finishing our roasts had time to order and eat their roasts, and then get served and eat their desserts, while ours were still not forthcoming. By now, it was 10 to four and lunch was rapidly running into teatime.

After asking once for them and getting no response, we decided one last attempt to claim them.

However, the waitress informed us: “You’ll just have to be patient – everyone wants puddings. It is a Sunday, you know.”

That, we could’ve handled – had the place not emptied somewhat since we’d arrived, and had we not seen that group of three, as well as a few other couples, who’d ordered an hour or so after us, get to devour theirs.

So we gave up and asked for our money back. They refunded the £2.95 we had spent on the desserts, and although we were happy for the refund, a pudding would’ve been better.