It really was one of those glorious English summer days when the dog and I arrived on our return to the Hotel du Vin in Stratford-upon-Avon. The hotel was dressed for the season and the sun with the lovely front garden - the champagne terrace - nicely kitted out for lounging residents to sit outside the gorgeous, Georgian building watching the world go by and sipping their drink of choice undisturbed by everything beyond the garden wall. Lucy (III) the Labrador and I wasted no time in our own version of lounging and then moved on to the courtyard in the centre of the hotel and, finding a shady nook, settled down to a light lunch.
I coupled a bottle of cherry-flavoured Belgian beer - well, I had come to Stratford to see The Cherry Orchard starring Kenneth Branagh and some Americans - which was remarkably moreish and surprisingly expensive with a pissaladière topped with sweet, tender onions - the sort you’d find in the hotel’s signature French onion soup - and olives and salty little anchovies. The pastry was externally crisp but with a soft and peasantry chewy interior and for under £5, it was an excellent dish to be savoured and enjoyed again for lunch the next day which is just what I did.
The time soon came around for a pre-theatre dinner at the hotel.it also happened to be happy hour and I indulged myself in drinking two kir royales normally £14 each for £8 each. The day was going along happily and dinner did not spoil it.
I started with a very pleasing crab and Gruyère quiche served with a chicory, parsley and caper salad. This was very good. The crab was sweet and the quiche luxurious and nicely balanced by the crisp chicory leaves which were not viciously bitter as they often are. A very good dish.
I then had côte de porc cordon bleu which was very generously portioned, crispily coated, nicely cooked - not dry and overcooked at all - and pleasingly tasty. The ham and Gruyere blanket between the pork and the breadcrumbs was satisfactory and the cheese nicely melted. A small blob of celeriac remoulade had littkle flavour and contributed nothing to the dish. Apple would have been better. There should always be apple around somewhere if pork is the centrepiece. By that maxim, I stand. But this was an enjoyable, nicely executed main course and the pork was respected by the chef.
The dessert was very good - a lemon tart, fresh and just the right hit of citrus, not too vigorous nor aggressive. The pastry was lovely and crisp and the raspberry sorbet was a good contrast though the flavour of raspberry did not come through very strongly.
The next day, history repeated itself and I once more delighted myself with another splendidly rustic pissaladière topped with anchovies, olives and sweet caramelised onions washed down by the cherry beer and of course I later took advantage of happy hour to avail myself of another kir Royale at a bargain price. Such pleasure!
After the dinner of my first evening at the Hotel du Vin, I made my way to the Swan Theatre to see the starry-casted The Cherry Orchard. Alongside Kenneth Branagh there appeared two American stars, living the dream I suppose of appearing at Stratford, and other British notables including Guy Henry, a very good actor. The production seemed to consist of a stream of actors shouting at each other and an intolerably huge diversity of accents - posh English, common English, American, Northern Irish, something Mediterranean, I think, making it difficult to follow just what was going on. It just didn’t feel right and it certainly did not feel Russian. But ultimately it was poignant as Firs (played by Michael Elwyn) dies faithful to the end but left behind and forgotten. An end of era tale, generally well acted, and an unsettling feel of to it of England in 2026.
3 - 4 August 2026
Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛🌛
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