What It’s Like Dining at the Olympic Restaurant in Alnwick, England

Updated June 24, 2020.

My younger brother turned 30 (thirty!) this year, and my gift to him was travel. Because what else would a travel blogger get for a family member’s milestone birthday? He has been fascinated with anything that floats or (especially) sinks ever since he was little, and the Titanic is the ship that sparked his interest.

That spread to the White Star Line and beyond, so it came as no surprise when he mentioned wanting to visit the Titanic Museum in Belfast and have dinner at the White Swan Inn’s Olympic Restaurant, whose interior was recovered from Titanic‘s sister ship, the R.M.S. Olympic! This unique restaurant is located in Alwick, Northumberland, England, and it was easy enough to make the trip there. Here’s the whole experience!

Ready for dinner!

The Dining Room

The Olympic Dining Room itself, meaning the paneling, woodwork, windows, moulding, etc., were once the First-class lounge onboard the R.M.S. Olympic. Guests came in this room to play cards, socialize, watch films, discuss the politics of the day, and more. Famous passengers include Charlie Chaplin; Mary Pickford; Douglas Fairbanks; and Edward Windsor, the Prince of Wales; all of whom passed through this beautiful room when it was the First-class lounge!

The Olympic Restaurant, White Swan Hotel

In fact, the Olympic was so popular with famous film stars of the 1920s, it was known as the Film Star Liner! Since this is the Year of Movie Moments for the blog, I couldn’t let that fun fact slip through the cracks!

Original details: stained-glass, windows, moulding, woodwork

The woodwork, windows, moulding, and fine details have been restored to their 1911 splendor, and walking in felt like we had just stepped into Edwardian Britain.

Intricate woodwork details

Dinner

Now for the main event! Dinner at the Olympic Restaurant is pre-fixe, so you will order an appetizer, entree, and dessert from their menu, which changes seasonally:

The menu from our dinner!

Appetizers

The appetizers all sounded good to us! Joel got the duck and I decided on the soup.

Joel’s smoked duck
It’s a little green-ish, but I promise it tasted wonderful!

Entree

Each entree sounded wonderful, so the choice was difficult! Each was delicious, and the presentations were nice, too!

Joel’s chicken supreme
My grilled sea bass

Dessert

Well, to me it’s not dessert if it’s not sweet, but my brother chose the cheese plate! And since this dinner was for his birthday, I didn’t give him a hard time about it!

Joel’s cheese plate; bleu, cheddar, and I don’t remember the cheese on the far left. Also served with grapes, celery, crackers, and fruit chutney
My pear and almond tart with ice cream!
My “little” brother and me. Here’s the proof we were there!

We were quite full by the time we finished, and very glad for the experience! I can highly recommend dinner at the White Swan Hotel’s Olympic Restaurant if you find yourself in or near Alnwick!

Breakfast

But we didn’t stop with dinner! We also stayed at the White Swan Hotel, so we ate breakfast in the Olympic Restaurant as well. We walked in to find a delicious looking buffet table of juices, cereals, pastries, fruit, yogurt, and more:

Buffet Table

We were also given a menu for hot items we might want:

Breakfast Menu
Joel’s Classic Traditional Breakfast
Haddock and Poached Eggs (Admittedly not as elegant as last night’s dinner!)
Pear Danish and Chocolate Croissant

Our experiences at the Olympic Restaurant and the White Swan Hotel were both wonderful! The hotel itself is over 300 years old, making 100+ year-old the dining room seem terribly young!

Details and Decorations

Intrigued? Check out my post of the Unusual Things about Alnwick!

Want more about England? Don’t miss my United Kingdom Page!

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