Tags
bar, beer, calamari, dining out, dinner, family, Food, octoberfest, restaurants, samuel adams, smoked salmon, summer, YUM
With the summer finally cooling off, we took the opportunity to have dinner at Loxley’s with boys. Scott had been there before and had said that it had neat “tree house” seating, so the boys and I were totally on board.
The drawbridge, with impressive fountains and koi pounds on either side.
Hungry? Aren’t they always? These pond dwellers were each over a foot long!
It totally exceeded all of my expectations — the restaurant is attached to a pretty generic hotel, and, when I learned that it was actually meant to be Robin Hood themed, I was afraid that it would be really hokey and gimicky. But, it totally wasn’t. It has an indoor section, which I didn’t even visit. With two outdoor areas of wonderfully rustic seating, great stone and wide wood plank (some is pressed concrete) flooring, and wrought iron accents, we had to eat outside, for sure. Other than naming some of the dishes after the literary inspirations, the “theme” was very organically (that’s my favorite word lately) established through mood and decor (in other words, no men in green tights or chubby friars strolling about).
Dining in our own Sherwood Forest tree house!
The upstairs bar is in the background.
The food was phenomenal, as well. I wish I had taken pictures of it, but my phone battery was (as is too often the case) close to death. We all enjoyed a lightly tempura breaded calamari appetizer, with sweet chili dipping sauce. The boys had chicken breast tenders; Scott had a light parmesan chicken pasta; and I ordered a smoked salmon and herb cheese sandwich on super crispy/chewy ciabatta bread, with sweet potato fries that had amazing flavor.
The first Samuel Adams Octoberfest draft of the season. Warm, caramel goodness!
Can’t wait to go back and try some more of the menu — it was so hard to choose just a few things the other evening.
squirrel circus 
I love that you still got picture of the beer though — very important! Also, I love the tree branches sticking out of the walls. Looks like a great place to have a meal! =)
Yup – took that picture right away. I’m as bad with a good beer as I am with popcorn at a movie….um, finished before the previews (or appetizers) are done!
Place looks amazing! LOL @ Jessamine – true though.
Got to keep my priorities in line – ha ha. Waitstaff everywhere chuckle at Scott and I. He’s the one with the chicken Caesar salad and Diet Coke, and I’m the one with the lager and rack of ribs. Go figure! (BTW……I am duly appreciative of the hummingbird metabolism I inherited from my dad’s family!)
Wouldn’t mind a hummingbird metabolism myself – but alas it settles on the tyre, ha ha!
What a neat place. And to have great food is such a plus, usually these them type places don’t worry about food hoping to distract you with the surroundings but the food sounds great. Does your family get mad at you for taking pictures of the food? I tried taking some quick snaps of my vacation meals & John disowned me.
They laugh at me….the funniest thing, really, is that I used to be SO easily embarrassed and self-conscious that I would NEVER stand up in a restaurant and take photos….but…now, I do. Odd.
the place looks so amazing … 🙂 and the merry men seem to be having fun…
They were sufficiently merry, yes. 🙂 I totally want to go back with friends and enjoy one of the two bars….