Unless you’re prepared to sneak a bag of chips into one of the pods on the town’s ferris wheel, there can’t be many better views to eat in Stratford-upon-Avon than the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s Rooftop Restaurant. The relaxed dining venue is located on the third floor of the main theatre, built in a curved shape and lined with windows offering panoramic views over the town skyline, Bancroft Gardens and the River Avon, which are especially wonderful on a sunny day like the one when my partner and I visited.

It’s a lovely spot for a drink (there’s a suitably extensive wine list) or cocktail (ditto, many with theatre-inspired names), and a weekly Masterclass (£25 per head) offers an insight into the intricate science of mixology. Meanwhile the recently revamped food offerings include lunch, afternoon tea (the one I saw being devoured by one table of guests looked magnificent) and a pre-theatre set menu (£29 or £35 for two or three courses respectively).

All the dishes are freshly prepared, with the majority of ingredients sourced from local suppliers such as Barry the Butcher – which is literally round the corner – Marks Cotswold Bakery and Jude’s Ice Cream.

The new menu is the work of head chef James Eaves, who was appointed last year and has an impressive CV courtesy of roles at a range of top hotels as well as the University of Warwick. He’s the former chairman and current vice president of the British Culinary Federation, and a lovely fella to boot – not only friendly to chat to (more on that later) but involved in a number of community activities including being the lead chef for Birmingham Christmas Shelter since 2018.

Since arriving at the Rooftop his stated intention has been to elevate the venue’s food offering, and on the basis of a busy restaurant and the excellent Sunday lunch enjoyed –which was very much as case of much ado about something (beware, the puns have only just started) – he’s making good on the promise. A number of other exciting foodie developments are also in the pipeline – inside and outside the RSC venue – with details due to be revealed soon.

In the meantime we were more than happy at the thought of a three-course Sunday lunch, so skipped the selection of nibbles on offer (all £5) and headed straight for the starter menu. On occasions like these I normally demand (as if) we choose different dishes, but on this occasion we both identified a genuine standout option – prawn and crayfish in citrus mayonnaise with baby watercress (£9.95). Garnished with tangy capers and sweet orange segments, the zesty and refreshing combination was bursting with chunky fish as well as flavour and an absolute delight. I might have licked the plate clean if I hadn’t been gabbing on about how the combination would make a brilliant sandwich filling.

The first act over with, we proceeded (“if food be the music of love, play on…”) to the mains, and this time did manage to find alternatives to each other. My partner adores a traditional Sunday roast and after debating to beef or not to beef (too easy) opted for roast sirloin of Hereford beef that came with a huge Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, winter greens, roasted roots and a jug of roast gravy (£25.50). To say she enjoyed it would be an understatement – the plate arrived piled high with food (no sign of any Shylock-style scrimping) and went away empty. Between mouthfuls she happily reported that everything was cooked to perfection, with special mention for the delicious root vegetables and beautifully-prepared pink meat.

The main constituent of my choice was also perfectly pink, in the shape of chalk stream trout served on prawn and mussel risotto with dill cream (£20). Packed with tasty pieces of shellfish, the creamy risotto was a delight, and a lovely accompaniment to the subtle flavour and texture of the trout fillet. The combination worked beautifully, although it occurred to me that a little extra greenery, ideally asparagus when it’s in season, might take the dish to even greater heights.

I stopped short of suggesting my idea to chef Eaves when we chatted, but think he’d have taken it in good spirits, not least because he revealed he does a bit of food reviewing himself, in addition to mentoring chefs and judging at culinary competitions. Instead I asked for a dessert recommendation, and he pointed me in the direction of the apple and blackberry crumble with vanilla ice cream (£7.95), which was already down to the last two on my shortlist, and proved an excellent suggestion. Effectively a deconstructed version of the age-old classic, it featured a crunchy crumble mixture scattered over beautifully cooked fruit (the apple chunks a perfect bite) in a colourful but delicate sauce containing some of the fruits’ juices.

There was nothing delicate about my partner’s sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and honeycomb ice cream (£7.95), but that’s exactly the way it should be. Okay, the presentation might have been more refined, and the dish augmented by a sprinkle of red (velvet?) biscuit crumb, but an impressive chunk of sponge and jug of sticky butterscotch sauce was what it was all about, and every mouthful – especially with the ice cream – was devoured with relish. Getting into the swing of things, my partner acknowledged it was exactly “as you like it”.

The same could be said for the venue and our thoroughly enjoyable, and highly recommended, lunchtime dining experience. The food and wine were genuinely worthy of a curtain call, the staff friendly and attentive without ever being overbearing, and our opinion mirrored that of Celia in the aforementioned classic. “We like this place and could willingly waste our time in it.”

5 stars

Reviewed by Steve Adams

Photo by Sara Beaumont (c) RSC