A venue that ticks all the boxes; at the centre of all the action, a saviour of sore feet and a sanctuary from the English elements.
For someone, like me, who feels the cold, English racing events can always be tricky choosing what to wear. I’ve found my new favourite venue; PARADE where you can wear something you really like and want to wear rather than choose something warm as you are worrying about getting wet, cold and lots of standing around stuffing hand warmers into pockets. I have been known to find novel ways to hide hand warmers on my person, in a bid to not freeze!! Shhh… don’t tell anyone. In PARADE it is the perfect temperature so no need to worry!
Arriving in PARADE you realise this is not your usual race day. They have thought of absolutely everything and it is all the little details and attention that make it so special. You arrive and can have VIP parking right by the racecourse (or they arrange you a taxi/or helicopter – please delete as applicable) and then you walk across the racecourse enjoying the lovely atmosphere and into PARADE which has a gorgeous Miami-style feel to it with stunning decor and a lovely glass of pink Laurent Perrier champagne handed to you as you walk through the door.
The tables are spaciously laid out with lovely white linen and beautiful vases with roses on them. We soon sat down at our table which has your race card waiting for you and even that was personalised with my name on it. For those who are not sure on where to place their bets a brilliant chap came to our table and both educated us and also kept us all very entertained telling us who we should put our bets on – I had my pen to the ready circling all those I should be putting money on and I’m pleased to say a couple of them were winners (although I only put a small amount on but still I was very pleased with myself and didn’t lose money like normal). Lunch arrived and everything felt very relaxed and lovely… as I sat chatting to Laura (who I spent the day with in PARADE) soaking up the atmosphere.
Another great thing about PARADE is its location – it is based by the finish line on the race course and you can choose to be either inside or out to watch the racing. Both have excellent views of the finish line… Oh, I forgot to mention the lovely Sommelier who came over to see us. He was charming, knowledgeable and understated and he chose for me a lovely French Rose to accompany my lunch. The starter was pork belly and black pudding with rhubarb and delicious selection of home made breads. This was then followed by cod with a delicious pea puree – the green was so vibrant and delicious and this was probably my favourite dish of the day but I also enjoyed the delicious lamb to follow (just the right amount and not over facing) followed by a lovely light vanilla custard pudding which was very fresh and light intermixed with berries.
Throughout our lunch we chatted, drank, and got up and down to watch the racing which all seemed to conveniently to take place between courses. We enjoyed time on the lovely roof terrace and also headed out on the downstairs viewing platform – it was all so relaxed and easy and the day flew by.
There are so many lovely things about PARADE but one of the nicest things is that there is no queuing, no sore feet from lots of walking and trekking about and there is an overwhelming relaxed luxury vibe without being pretentious. No standing on ceremony but all just so beautifully done without trying too hard, if you get what I mean. You can go outside into the excitement but also stay in the PARADE atmosphere which feels very special and has its own intimacy. It needs to be seen and felt to fully understand it. The beautiful pinks, lovely fabrics and amazing touches really do make it feel something very special.
We finished off with some more lovely nibbles before enjoying a quick listen to the DJ who put some great tunes on once the racing was finished.
p.s the make up lady in the loos was amazing too. I need to go back for some more tips!!!
