Theatre Food

I like the cakes and snacks from the coffee shop at the national

Menier Chocolate Factory vote for me, had a really lovely lunch there for my birthday in February.

The Globe does a great brownie. The NT has recently started selling these little packs of fudge in different flavours. About a billion calories but MY WORD they are delicious. The Southwark Playhouse meal deal is good - a freshly made wrap/sandwich, salad and a glass of wine (or soft drink, whatever that is) for £7. Royal Court used to famously do the best chips in London but haven't sampled those for many years.

I don't know if it's to do with being outside and cold but the Globe's hot chocolate is always delicious.

The NT do (did?) an amazing tiffin slice thing.

The Bee (Wetherspoons) 30 seconds walk from the RSC, probably the cheapest food in Stratford UA.

The Court once let us "steal" someone else's burger!

Used to work almost next door so used the swan frequently, the burgers are pretty good.

Which brings me on neatly that the Food Standard Agency do a sterling job and give anywhere that handles food marks out of 0-5, where 0 being terrible and 5 being excellent, you may have seen their green sticker with a rating on it in shop doorways, however in England this isn't mandatory, but in Wales it is. I think this system is excellent, as it gets the vendor to raise their standards and introduces market forces to close poor places down, food establishments that score below 2 go into special measures.

Also places that score highly can charge a little bit more and this system urges properitors to update their equipment, so puts money in the economy.

I will go into places that score 3 and above, but prefer 4/5 if I can.

As I said I think this system is nearly brilliant in every way, I think in England it should be mandatory that the rating be shown on entrances, just like Wales.

Talking of Wales the Sherman have redeveloped their cafe service in recent years partnering with a local business 'Foxy's Kitchen' and they do some nice food. They also do a nice 'Play pie and pint' night as well.

The Swan is pricey and very very noisy and has weird little stools to sit on unless you can bag a nice comfy booth. But the food is quite tasty. The restaurant upstairs is actually very nice. You have to book and there is a pre theatre menu with enough choice for meat, no meat, fish people. But the service is weak. And it can be chilly in the winter. But the views from the windows are lovely especially on a pleasant summer evening. 
The food in the courtyard there always looks v nice but I haven't eaten it yet. They do sell nice snacks but then they stopped selling the chocolate covered Brazil nuts. Huh. 
There is a cafe on the ground floor which sells soup etc but I've never found it a convivial place to sit. 

There are so many food outlets in Strarford the theatre had to come up with some thing good to compete. So they installed a too small uncomfortable and run of the mill sandwich and cakes you see everywhere in the ground floor foyer. Then they put the more expensive restaurant on the top, very nice, weak service and ok food. Good views. You have to book. Allow plenty of time before a show. Opposite the theatre is a Carluccio, again book and a fish and chip shop! 

At Bristol Old Vic's 250th Birthday Weekend yesterday, Mike Shepherd of Kneehigh spoke several times of the importance of "delicious food" in awakening people to open up to creativity, giving specific examples from his time as a maverick teacher in the 1960s or 1970s and in the present at Kneehigh's Asylum in Cornwall.

He also gleefully told of his teenage experience in Mevagissey, after espying his neighbour decapitate three of her geese, of returning after dark and burning down the neighbour's geese shed on the stroke of midnight, killing all the geese, which he cited as a seminal moment that inspired his life as a theatremaker.

Didn't eat there but the new grill menu at the Lyric Hammersmith looked pretty good