The brooding darkness surrounding the local and national restaurant industry has been exemplified by a social media posting by Kray Tredwell, Chef Patron of 670 Grams in Digbeth, in which he pointed out that he may have to close his Michelin-listed restaurant in the coming months if the number of diners coming through his doors does not pick up.
I myself have not visited there for a while. I find Digbeth unappealing and getting there, though in reality it is a perfectly simple thing to do, to be a prospect too unappealing to enable me to pluck up the energy to strike out and head in that direction. The problem is that chefs think these areas with their ‘cool and hip’ (two adjectives, I fear, almost certainly to be sneered at as uncool and unhip by those who feel they are cool and hip) shabby chic, hipster inhabitants will be home to a younger trendy population eager to eat a relatively expensive, multicourse meal. But it seems that they are not so eager to do so as I was told by a senior front-of-house figure at a restaurant in the Jewellery Quarter - when the restaurant first opened in the Jewellery Quarter, the young and the well heeled were expected to flock to the location - instead it turned out to be the older (and well-heeled) inhabitants of the Jewellery Quarter who made up a sizeable part of their clientele. Cool locations are fine if the cool locals are prepared to turn up and support a restaurant located there but it seems those particular individuals are not so keen to do so when they can stuff premium burgers and upmarket pizzas down their gullets.
Kray may have a problem.
On a different note, I travelled to London sitting in the excellent Premium Standard carriage of Avanti West Coast heading for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to see what turned out to be the theatre’s latest execrable production of a Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, which starred Tom Hiddlestone whom, it seemed, the audience made up largely by women in their thirties, had turned up to see regardless of whoever was the playwright. They giggled ecstatically whenever he declaimed a line (via a microphone) though if he had been reciting The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck I expect their reaction would have been no different.
On two occasions during the play Hiddlestone contrived to bare his torso which thrust his female audience (and probably some of the males as well) into excited enrapturement. It was a grim night for Shakespeare. It was predictable I suppose, the moment I bought the pink programme. Pink programmes always spell doom for a Shakespeare production. The RSC has sold a good number of pink programmes in recent years and the production has inevitably always proven to be disastrous and dire.
Despite the appalling waste of money involved in buying a ticket to see Much Ado About Nothing as well as the additional cost (£10) of the pink programme, there was a silver lining to visiting the theatre. It seems, the theatre has recently introduced a pretheatre dinner service in the gorgeous chanderliered Grand Saloon on the upper floor of the theatre and this seemed like a very useful place to eat prior to sinking into one’s seat and enjoying - or otherwise - the play.
Firstly, as I arrived early an Eliza Doolittle cocktail in the Cecil Beaton Bar, nicely atmospheric and mood setting and ultimately relaxing, and then an accompanied trip to the Grand Saloon to take in the the pleasant spaciousness of it, the remarkable art, the grand chandeliers and to be comfortably seated, though my chair was a little low for the table, to study the menu and order the food and wine.
This was a simple three course meal with four appealing choices for each course. The dishes were unpretentious, good value - especially for London and served in such an attractive setting - and enjoyable. The menu was bistro-style and included for starters, parsnip soup which almost lured me, smoked salmon, a warm goats cheese salad and my choice, a tasty pork terrine served with a sweet but pleasingly acidic half pickled onion - though a whole one may have been kinder - and a couple of cornichons.
The main course was about as straightforward as one might wish - tender ox cheek Bourguignon with a couple of perfectly cooked carrots, a tasty mash and watercress. Straightforward and enjoyable - the meat nicely unctious in its sauce and well seasoned. Who could ask for anything more? There were alternatives - I might easily have chosen an alluring fish pie or perhaps the roasted chicken breast with lardons, winter kale and mash. I had a glass of very drinkable Spanish Malbec to accompany it.
My least favourite dish was the dessert which was a Black Forest coupe containing some rather unusually textured cubes of chocolate brownie which I didn’t particularly enjoy with some pleasing brandy cherries and cherry sorbet and whipped cream. I might have chosen sticky toffee pudding or crème brûlée or a cheese platter (Bath Blue, Baron Bigod, Tor pyramid with quince jelly) which, given my general lack of enthusiasm for desserts, might have been my best choice.
Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the dessert, I had enjoyed my meal and I was pleased with the price. I descended to the front stalls in a contented frame of mind though this was soon dispelled by the appallingly crass production of a Shakespeare play which was then to be unraveled in front of me. Had it not been for the pleasing dinner, my evening would have been an utter washout.
Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛.
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