Eating Before The Show?
I had a great Turkish meal before the new production at the Arcola last week. And it cost next to nothing. Most theatregoers, if not most critics, organise their outings around where they are going to eat either before or after the show. In London these options are becoming increasingly exotic.
A visit to the King’s Head or the Almeida in Islington can lead you to one of several excellent Chinese restaurants along Upper Street, or to the Lebanese restaurant (often my choice) on Theberton Street. The West End is the usual lottery unless you are going to splash out at the Wolsey, J Sheekey or the Ivy.
But the East End is now characterised by some especially wonderful ethnic choices: the Balti restaurants along and around Brick Lane if you going to Wilton’s Music Hall; the Vietnamese venues along the road from the Hackney Empire; and the Turkish grills and cafes around the Arcola along the Stoke Newington Road.
I associate regional theatre-going with certain restaurants, too: the Yang Sing, or Mash and Air, in Manchester; Lamb’s in Stratford-upon-Avon; Mamma Leone’s family Italian just across the road from the Sheffield Crucible; the Darbar in Kirkgate, Leeds, one of my all-time favourite Indian restaurants; the Doric Tavern for great home cooking in Edinburgh during the festival; Rogano’s and the Ubiquitous Chip for a special occasion in Glasgow.
As a general rule, I recommend eating before Shakespeare and after musicals. Nothing much worse than sitting through the cannibalistic horrors of Titus Andronicus to put you off you liver and bacon in Joe Allen. On the other hand, a couple of dry martinis could make even The Drowzy Chaperone seem a reasonable hors d’oevre to a well-grilled steak in Orso.