Food imagery was used quite generously by William Shakespeare in his plays, making one wonder whether the bard, apart from being a master of his craftsmanship with words, was also a culinary connoisseur. And a theatre trail through London only confirms the belief that if a stage performance ought to offer a holistic experience, then a good meal is a concomitant.
In and around Leicester Square and Covent Garden, the two neighbourhoods that constitute the nerve-centre West End, London’s theatre hub, and also Hackney off-West End, the gastronomical delights abound. From lip-smacking biryani to an exotic grilled Dover sole, you are spoilt for choice no matter which corner of the world you are from.
A stone’s throw away from the Society of London Theatre, at St Martin’s Courtyard, is J. Sheekey, a seafood restaurant that has zealously maintained its old-world charm in terms of decor and a menu that is bound to send your hunger pangs soaring. I decided to sample the fish pie and was completely bowled over by the melt-in-the-mouth concoction of finely mashed traces of potato and boneless cod fillet. And the portion was so generously sized that I was glad my friend and tour guide Jane Chapman from VisitBritain was willing to come to give me a helping hand.
Talking about being bowled over by taste, to tell you the truth, I was actually bowled over by that horse shoe-shaped bar the moment I stepped into J. Sheekey. With extensive glass and woodwork gracing the interiors of the eatery and yellow lighting to temper the mood, one couldn’t certainly have asked for more.
While it took me a while to decide on my pick from the a la carte menu, one of my other friends and travel companions, Swede Ehva Lopp, didn’t waste much time to zero in on the seafood platter. And soon I knew why, as Ehva’s ‘order’ came to grace the lunch table in all its pomp and gaiety.
Delectably spread out on a large oval-platter was a thick bed of crushed ice on which regally rested a never-ending collection of oysters, clam shells, squids, shrimps, lobsters… all hemmed in by a carefully crafted wall of fresh crabs ready to be de-shelled. Wait. We are not done yet! This entire assortment was capped by a crowning glory of giant tiger prawns. Didn’t Obelix say, “Good food never harmed anyone?”
Oh, by the way. I polished off that fish pie in no time, no matter how daunting a task it had threatened to be at first glance — prompting a light jab from my Swedish friend Thomas Pultz from across the table: “So you managed to finish that”, even as Thomas tucked into the juicy white meat after cutting open the shell using a crab-cracker, with the dexterity of a goldsmith.
Clearly, J. Sheekey had spoilt us with its ‘ensemble cast’.
Later in the evening, we had a ‘date’ with Shakespeare: Macbeth at the National Theatre. But well and truly before the bard’s mastery over the famous ‘banquet scene’ could enrich our intellectual landscape, I had been enriched — gastronomically — by our very own luncheon banquet in the heart of London.
But the point is if you are in the mood for a theatre and a quick, light bite before heading for an evening show of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at Apollo or 42nd Street at Royal Drury Lane, stepping into Leicester Square Kitchen, right next to the ticket office, may be a wise choice.
The world cuisine, along with a carefully chosen lineup of beverages, at the fine-dining restaurant of the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire is just the right place to shake off all your jet lag and spruce you up for some pre-theatre gossip.
Sample those soft, mildly-spiced chicken skewers with some lemon rice. Or if you are keen on jazzing up the night, try something Mexican, with smoked paprika ribs and tiger prawns tacos. I’m sure it will get you talking about Jamie well before you hit your Apollo seat or sink into one of those hospitality lounge sofas at Royal Drury Lane.
Coming back to Shakespeare (well, I can never have enough of someone who had bound food and theatre in an immortal bond with his golden line: ‘If music be the food of love, play on’ — Twelfth Night), a visit to Globe Theatre — on a day that had started off with rain but gave way to a crisp breeze and a bright sun later in the afternoon — got me in high spirits.
At the Bull Room of Swan restaurant, overlooking the beautiful, sparkling Thames, the menu card caught my eye. British, locally sourced ingredients form the foundation of the restaurant’s menu, which keeps changing with the seasons. And synching perfectly with a Shakespearean ambience, the printed sheet before me on the table had A Midsummer Night’s Dream Afternoon Tea on offer. But it was a little too early in the afternoon for Earl Grey, or so I thought, and settled for smoked salmon instead, prompting a “Wow! That looks yummy” from my Malaysian travel companion Mindy Teh.
While Mindy got busy with her camera to ‘catch’ the pink lobes on a spotless white plate, I was reminded about the baked salmon at Cafe Route in Hackney, two nights ago. The baked version was slightly tangy with a more full-on flavour, compared to the smoked one, which was milder and more discretely salted and spiced. Which was better? Honestly, it’s a toss-up.
Big breakfasts. Brisk walks. All-day shuttles. Theatre nights… I could feel London growing on me and me falling in love with the city of my childhood dreams — hook, line and sinker. And at the fag end of yet another busy-busy day in Old Blighty, that corner table at the Sea Containers restaurant, in the smart and swanky Mondrian Hotel by the scenic Southbank, was my kind of place for a cool selfie and a lively banter with my friends Jane, Robin Robinson from Canada and Lissen Jacobsen from Denmark. Meghan Markle to Brexit, Finnish schools to Dubai winters… exhilarating, as those lamb skewers and deep-fried squids kept us company.
The bard had serious doubts in the efficacy of a cook who wouldn’t ‘lick his own fingers’. Ironically, it took a fast-food chain across the Atlantic to perhaps understand the full import of that Shakespearean concern, to have come up with the tag line: ‘It’s finger lickin’ good’.
And it isn’t Katy Perry alone whose crooning ‘Bon appetit’!
