It’s true, we eat with our eyes.
And there’s much to see when it comes to dining at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s Rooftop Restaurant – from the plates of food themselves to drinking in the scenic window views – arguably the best in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Relaxed fine dining is the vibe here with a cool industrial chic setting the scene for your culinary experience. RSC posters plaster the stripped back bare brick walls to momentarily distract from the sweeping River Avon.
Perched atop the RSC Theatre, this gem of a restaurant wraps neatly around the circular auditorium and is the perfect choice for building up an appetite for Shakespeare. Indeed that’s what we did and the themed cocktail menu to celebrate the current run of Much Ado About Nothing, was a fun opening act to our evening.
The Rooftop Restaurant is open daily from 10am for tea and coffee, and 11.30am for dining, whether for lunch, dinner, Sunday lunch or, as we experienced it, pre-theatre dining, available on show days.
The set menu option is always to be welcomed and represents good value at two courses for £29.95 and three courses for £35.95. And it’s a crowd pleaser too with something for all palates.
I went for the Tartlet of Creamed Leeks baked with Caerphilly cheese, hollandaise sauce, rocket & spinach starter while hubby polished off the Chicken & Apricot Terrine, with spiced pear chutney and crispbread.
Other options included Wild Mushroom Veloute, truffle oil and chives, served with sourdough; Harissa Cauliflower Fritters, chickpea & pomegranate salad, red pepper and hummus, chimichurri dressing; and Cajun Marinated Potted Shrimps with cream cheese topped with dill butter and served with ciabatta crostini.
The second act certainly didn’t disappoint, from my Beef Feather Blade braised in a rich red wine sauce with olive oil mash, buttered carrot and savoy cabbage – to hubby’s Red Bream Fillet, garden peas, green beans, new potatoes and chive butter sauce.
Other options included Vegan Shrimps with basmati rice, kimchi, roasted celeriac, crispy kale, lemon and green herb oil; coq au vin –Slow-Cooked Chicken with pearl onions, mushrooms and pancetta in a rich red wine sauce with creamed celeriac, cavolo nero crisp; and Slow-Cooked Pork Belly, saffron fondant potato, piccolo parsnips, garden peas, cider & apple puree and sage jus.
A selection of Sides, from Truffled Mac & Cheese and – the ever-popular – Chunky Chips with Maldon Sea Salt, are also available.
The food was too tasty to not leave room for an encore and the spotlight quickly drew me to my favourite sweet treat – Apple and Blackberry Crumble, but, as is the theme, served to its own script – in a filo basket with oat crumb and vanilla custard.
Gently encouraged by the manager though to try something other than one of his go-tos, Warm Golden Syrup Sponge Pudding, hubby took a punt instead on the Amarena Cherry & Dark Chocolate Tart with black cherries, plant-based Chantilly cream. He later agreed it had been a culinary risk well worth taking and proved to be the perfect epilogue to his pre-theatre feast.
I will definitely be returning to the RSC Rooftop Restaurant – and have my eye on one of their Cocktail Masterclasses, available every Friday from 8pm, in the rooftop Cocktail Bar.
With standout service and menus, this restaurant is one of the top dining choices in Bard’s famous town, but especially if you’re looking to life the curtain on your RSC theatre experience -in true style.
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