I am a huge fan of the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. I have gone several times over the years and always had a great evening out. This season has been phenomenal and stepped up a few notches from when I used to go on a more regular basis.
There is new management in town. The Mayfield has been a staple of Edmonton entertainment since 1975. A few months ago they were purchased by the Hilton family and are now managed by Silver Birch. Thankfully the new owners managed to see the brilliance of the dinner theatre and have left it with it’s infamous name. The restaurant inside the hotel has been dubbed “Stages” to keep in a partnership with the Dinner Theatre. So we are left with some old, some new.
What’s old? The live theatrical entertainment is still there to thrill and entertain you with broadway quality shows and famous actors. What’s new? The level of service that you receive and the quality of the food has been stepped up several notches. It is no longer “just” a buffet.
As my nickname suggests, I am all about the food. When I was invited to this event at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre I was excited to try out the food as the hotel has been purchased by Hilton. The food that has been provided in the past for the countless meetings and tradeshows I have attended has always been beautifully presented. I felt just like a kid at Christmas, waiting.
The rest of the hotel is under construction/renovation but the dinner theatre corner has been kept intact and is still open for business. Immediately appreciated is parking located right outside the venue. There was an awful storm brewing that night.
The way that the Mayfield does dinner theatre is buffet style. They have dinner from 6pm to 8pm and then the entertainment starting promptly after dinner. I like this format. It gives you time to really enjoy your food and some conversation before the show starts.
The seating arrangements were very nicely done. There were just the two of us seated at our very own table. That is not the case with the competition. It was nice to be able to have a more intimate setting and conversation with my bestie. It just makes the evening that much more pleasant.
The table setting was very formal. Stemware, utensils, plates and linen napkins all arranged artfully on the table.
The buffet is located in a different hall attached to the theatre. This keeps the noise and the activity away from the theatre. The hall that the buffet was located in was very warm. This made some of the items that were supposed to be served cold, rather warm.
Mayfield Dinner Theatre Seafood StationMayfield Dinner Theatre Dessert Station
As you can see from the photo above, the presentation is beautiful as always. Everything was labelled as to what it was.
My dining companion does have a severe allergy to mushrooms. If you give the kitchen enough notice, they will be able to specially prepare a meal for the person with the allergy. My guest did go and look at the website to make sure that she would have no issues. Kudos to the staff for being forward thinking enough to do this for people.
This was a lovely way to start off dinner. Cold smoked salmon, fresh mussels, boccaccini and pickled beet and feta salad.
As I had mentioned before the temperature in the banquet room was very warm. This transferred to the salmon. It was still very tasty but “limp”. The mussels were tender and fresh. The pickled beet salad was my favourite; a great mix of flavours, tasty and zingy.
The Mayfield Dinner Theatre Buffet offers Prime Rib with au jus and Yorkshire Puddings. As you can see, I like mine rare. The Prime Rib was fantastic and the Rosemary au jus was a great partner.
Now on to my favourite part of the meal – dessert!
This was Saskatoon Berry Bread pudding with Grand Marnier Custard. It looked very pretty. I was disappointed with this one. The custard was very bland and I could not taste the Grand Marnier.
This lovely is Pumpkin Spice Mousse. It is not nearly as large as it appears. It is served in a shot glass and garnished with a gooseberry. I really loved this, but I like anything to do with pumpkin, and love all of the spices that go into pumpkin pie. My dinner companion said that it had a little too much spice for her liking, but I quite enjoyed it.
This was my superstar of the night, Espresso Panna Cotta. Beautiful, creamy texture, lovely hint of espresso flavour. Again though, the heat in the banquet room caused the Panna Cotta to be a little on the runny side.
Overall, the meal was a very enjoyable experience. There were a lot more food choices than what I have presented here. All of the presentation was absolutely beautiful in the banquet room. (My plating skills are obviously very lacking!) The two hour window to enjoy the meal is also a huge plus.
THE SHOW
The History of Rock n’ Roll; Stars and Stripes. In a nutshell, the entertainment is going through the American history of Rock n’ Roll, starting from its roots. You have a wonderful narrator that gives you a running history lesson, heavy on the entertainment!
The music is all done by a live band. The musicians and actors/singers are very talented; lots of energy and great voices. These folks did a great character study. The Rock n’ Roll legends that they are portraying on stage were spot on. Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis had the body language down perfectly; Elvis was suave and kissing the backs of hands, charming all the ladies.
The evening was filled with really great music and performances. The audience was swaying to the music and often clapping along. The cavemen were a great opening number, you will love them!
My favourite part of the evening was when they got to some obscure references of 50’s music and one of my all time favourite artists – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Again, the very talented actor did a very good impression of Jay. Usually when his name is mentioned, I get blank stares. His songs are hilarious fun.
If you love the music from the fifties and sixties then you really need to go and see this show. Tickets would be the best Christmas present for a music lover in your life! Want a great date night? Check out this show!
