Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark
Street, London SE1 1RU
12/01/2014
She said: I’ve often found it
frustrating when I have a clear, long Sunday free and wouldn’t mind a bit of
theatre but the West End is closed for 50% of the weekend…So I was delighted to
be able to book a meal and a show at the Menier Chocolate Factory for a special
occasion. Set in, yes, an old French chocolate factory, the restaurant is a
bright, large room with dark wood floors and furniture. There is a slightly
raised central dining area with other tables set around the room alongside the
brick-exposed walls and period windows. I guess due to the nature of the
building, the room was pretty cold with little help from the electric heaters;
one elderly couple next to us spent an excessive amount of time moving the dial
of one such heater with little effect. Still, the room is very atmospheric and
though we were one of the first to arrive, it quickly filled up with
pre-theatre diners, mostly of a well-to-do, older-ilk, no doubt due to the
Voltaire performance we were seeing. I was disappointed Menier didn’t have a
cocktail list. A Sunday Bloody Mary would have been perfect but they did have a
choice of two specials: hot cider or a glass of fizz with elderflower so we
toasted with the latter. Although there is a pre-theatre menu, I opted for a la
carte. My starter of smoked salmon with a spicy potato cake and orange crème
fraiche was so-so. The salmon was good but the potato cake luke-warm and
cardboard-like and if there was any orange in the crème fraiche it missed my
palate. However my main course of artichoke and sage tortellini was divine. I
ordered a sticky toffee pudding for dessert but thankfully a lady next to me
received hers just as I placed my order; I could see it was a mountain of
sponge with just a thin sticky topping so I quickly switched to the brownie
which again was a delicious juicy rich chocolate delight. My latte was piping
hot just as I like it and in the size I like it – big. By the time I made it in
to the theatre my belly was full and my mind ready to engage with the absurd
world of Candide. I would definitely recommend Menier for future dinner-theatre
dates.
He said: I love the Menier theatre, with
its small, in-the-round stage where you can catch every actor’s most subtle
expression. It’s a long way from the giant, mechanical productions pumped out
by the West End sausage factory; the jewel box feel of Menier shows reminds me
of high school plays (except with talent to boot): you feel like it belongs to
you and you belong to it. The restaurant itself has a nice, laid-back vibe, but
the food is just ok, nothing special. The thing that stood out for me was how
quickly the food came out. You can understand that with the play starting at a
fixed time, and with 80 or so dinners all arriving at roughly the same time,
the kitchen will have to make some compromises. There was nothing wrong with
any of it, just that it lacked finesse: it seemed to me a bit like assembly
line cooking. Still, the drinks were nice and it was a great day out, and I
would go back, but with expectations adjusted: the Menier is about theatre on
the stage, not on the plate.
