Stefanie C Peters

I am always impressed when I visit Stratford-upon-Avon by the quality of the restaurants. As long as you stay away from some of the chains, it is difficult to go wrong. While I would love to spend enough time in Stratford to produce a definitive guide to dining in Shakespeare’s hometown, I thought for my most recent trip that a food diary might represent some of what I love about Stratford.

I haven’t been to this place yet, but their sign
makes me laugh. Photo by Elemsee.

Best lunch: Russons Restuarant, Church Street
After I arrived on Friday afternoon, I went in search of a light lunch. Having been recommended to try out Russon’s, I found a chicken salad with goat cheese on their lunch menu. The chicken arrived piled in the midst of greens, with the cheese resting on top, formed into a patty and lightly fried. All had been drizzled with a house dressing I couldn’t identity—something a bit tangy and a bit sweet. The inside of the goat cheese turned out to be nearly molten and ran onto the salad when I broke into it. I’m not usually a salad person, but this would be worth going back for.

Best dinner and dessert: Edward Moon’s English Brasserie
I had eaten here before and went away raving, so I came back as soon as I could. An appetizer listed on the day’s specials menu—scallops with a strawberry and mushroom sauce—sounded too interesting to pass up, so I ordered it in a dinner portion. Strawberries? Mushrooms? I was skeptical, but the result was an interesting mix of flavour. The strawberries added tang to the mushrooms and scallops. It was perhaps a wise choice of the restaurant to list it as an appetizer; the interest in the mix of flavors is wonderful but best in small portions.

For dessert I ordered a rhubarb cheesecake. It had a grainy texture that was a surprising but welcome change from the normal smooth-as-butter affair.

Best tea
I’ll mention two places because I didn’t find the perfect cream tea while I was there. For the tea itself, I was most impressed with the Henley Street Tea Rooms, which was the only place to serve me a pot made with loose tea rather than a bag. I didn’t have their cream tea (I will next time), but I did try the cream tea at Shakespeare Hotel on Chapel Street. The highlight was the size of the clotted cream bowl they gave me—it might have been larger than my tea cup.