Act one, scene one, a table in theatreland
OTHING BETTER s e t s t he s c e ne for a night at the theatre than a good meal — and in three acts, if time allows for dessert. Plenty of West End restaurants within comfortable reach of the major theatres offer special menus before curtain up. And those with tickets for the National Theatre, or indeed any of the other South Bank cultural attractions, can start the evening in style at a restaurant three floors up at the Royal Festival Hall.
At Skylon, the best seats in the house are the tables adjacent to the bay windows.The views of the river and the capital’s sights may not be uninterrupted — although staff point out that as the trees lining the promenade shed their foliage, the winter vista will be considerably enhanced.
Décor has a nostalgic feel as the restaurant takes its name and appearance from the structure built for the 1951 Festival of Britain, albeit with a significant nod to modernity. Dining areas are intersected by a bar popular with the cocktail set.
For the pre-theatre crowd — and also for post-theatre diners — there is a setprice dinner at £28 for two courses or £32 for three, offering a decent flavour of the Skylon cuisine. Although seasonally adjusted, it does, as we found, include reasonable fish and vegetarian options. Between the two of us, the favourite was a simple but warming entrée of tomato and cheese risotto. For a supplement, you can continue the fromage theme by substituting an assortment of English and French cheeses for your pudding course. But once apprised that the ice cream and sorbet possibilities included Drambuie and coconut — separate flavours, I stress — it was no contest.
Wine is on the pricey side but there is a good selection available by the glass, some excellent discoveries among them. You would be well advised to take advantage of the expertise of charmingly knowledgeable sommelier Marco, who has one of the best jobs imaginable in compiling this wine list.
Although man supposedly cannot live by bread alone, I would be very happy to defy the saying at Paul, the small bakery and patisserie chain, with its near-impossible-to-resist French loaves.
Now its Covent Garden branch in the heart of the theatre district has extended its eat-in fare with an all-day