Experiencing a dragon banquet at Brighton's Royal Pavilion

Especially so given the unfortunate state of so many modern buildings.

There’s great value in keeping majestic old structures alive.

The Royal Pavilion is a fantastic example of this. Truly an icon of Brighton from the outside, but even more entrancing is its fantastical inner world, a fever dream of imagined oriental realms and ostentatious wealth.

Zack is a regular at the Pavilion (Image: The Argus)

While some old buildings are fortunate enough to be conserved – as a museum perhaps, a pretty but fusty relic of the past – there’s something irresistible about a historic structure being used for what it was originally designed for.

Like watching a play in an ancient amphitheatre; it just feels right.

And though the Pavilion is in many ways a fine museum, it retains more life in its blood than just that.

Thanks to Brighton and Hove Museums, the public can still experience the Pavilion doing what it does best; playing host to extravagant, opulent banquets.

The Banquet Room is an absolutely stunning place to dine (Image: The Argus)

The mind-bending palace was of course conceived by ol' Georgie boy IV as the ultimate party house on the beach, with hosting and hedonism very much at the forefront of his mind.

And to this day, on special occasions, the Pavilion still whips out its finest silver and sends out the invitations.

The Christmas banquet at the Pavilion is an annual tradition, but this year, for the first time, something altogether different occurred – a ‘Palace of Dragons’ Banquet, on July 2.

A ‘Game of Thrones-inspired’ feast for the senses, the theme played on the replete array of dragons that are central to the palace’s interior.

There is nowhere quite like the Pavilion for a banquet (Image: The Argus)

Arriving just after 6.30pm, we were ushered into the grand kitchen for a welcome ‘dragon punch’ cocktail – a vibrant green concoction.

Having picked up a rather eye-grabbing jacket on the day - a last-ditch effort to satisfy the ‘dragon chic’ dress code - I entered with slight trepidation about what other people might be wearing.

There was nothing to fear.

We walked into the kitchen to be greeted by a kaleidoscopic display of outfits, including beautiful Chinese dresses, glamorous tuxedos, and a thickly-bearded man dressed as a Gaul in full golden armour.

A bright green glass of Dragon Punch got the evening underway (Image: The Argus)

After imbibing dragon punch and some Sussex sparkling, we adjourned to the music room to be royally entertained.

Even just being taken through the psychedelic hallways as an esteemed guest was quite thrilling.

Once in the spectacular music room, we were treated to a string quartet and a troupe of dancers.

I’m not sure if there was a thematic reason for the quartet playing the themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and Titanic, but I was all for it.

A quartet of dancers put on a fantastic display before dinner (Image: The Argus)

After the elegant dancers had amused us, and the bubbles had enlivened us, it was time to take our seats in the banquet room.

I’ve gawked in awe at the wild decadence of the centrepiece room many times before, but always with a slight sense of how much cooler it would be to actually dine there.

For once, I was not wrong.

This was experiencing the Pavilion on a different level – the level it was intended to be experienced on.

The food was Chinese-inspired, served in a sharing style (Image: The Argus)

You’d have to go a long way to find a dining room that compares with the dazzling madness of the Pavilion’s banquet room – further still to find one you can buy a ticket to eat in.

The food, like the palace’s interior, was sort of Chinese – noodles and fried rice, teriyaki chicken thighs and glazed prawns, all served in large sharing platters in the middle of the table.

Misra and I were seated between the High Sheriff of East Sussex and Zack Pinsent, a local lad known nationally for his dandy Regency attire.

Zack recounted that in Chinese culture, the youngest person at the table serves the eldest, as a mark of respect.

Ever appreciative of being called young, Misra sprang into action, diligently dishing out dinner for a rather pleased-looking older gentleman.

Being led through the Pavilion as an esteemed guest was quite a buzz (Image: The Argus)

The whole evening was a magnificent joy. Clearly there’s plenty of life, and plenty of pleasure, left in the old Pavilion yet.

There was just one problem.

"I’m used to this royal life now," Misra said, informing me that I need to acquire a palace for her in the next two years.

Which seems unlikely.

But at least she’ll only have to wait until Christmas for the next banquet.

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