Menier Cafe

I’ve been coming to the Menier Chocolate Factory restaurant for years. I really enjoy eating here prior to a play or show. It has a rustic barebrick victorian look to it, which only adds to the atmosphere.
I’ve never had an meal from the Al la C. arte menu, as I find that the set menu is really good and ample (I have ahd the Classic Menier burger from this menu, but can’t really classify that as A la Carte).
The good thing about the set menu, is that it is always themed against what is being performed at the theatre. As the show I was going to see was Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, the set menu was:
Starters–
Bang-​bang chicken
Zangara’s Minestrone soup
Main–
McKinley’s Beef Carbonnade (with mash)
Bubble & Squeaky (with poached egg)
Dessert–
Death by Chocolate
Blood orange sorbet
In case your wondering, McKinley is suspected of trying to assasinate Franklin D Rooservelt and McKinley was the 25^th US president, assasinated by Leon Czolgosz.
The price for this performance was £12 for 2 courses and £15 for 3. I managed to get the meal deal when I booked the show, which made it even cheaper.
I went for the Bang-​bang chicken which had a delicious spicy salad to compliment the chicken. It was nice and light, which is just as well, as the main was very filling. I had the Beef Carbonnade. I also had a side of green vegetable selection, with a portion size enough for two. The two courses defeated me I had no room for a desert, not even a sorbet.
The service here is friendly and efficient, as most diners are against a show start deadline. I one organised a large group of people, and they blocked off the raised centre of the restaurant for our sole use. We were also able to return to have our dessert during the interval. I was very impressed.
You don’e have to see a play or show to dine here. I look forward to it everytime I return. It gets 5 stars from me for the food, service and excellent value.

This lively eaterie is about 5 minutes’ walk from bustling and vibrant Borough Market. It’s in a long street which, at the Borough Market end, is somewhat featureless. The Café is in a large Victorian-​looking building that also houses an off-​West End theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory, and an art gallery, Menier Gallery. I had lunch there recently with 2 friends. We enjoyed ourselves.
The floorspace is dominated by a large, raised wooden platform that contains most of the tables at which customers sit. Dotted around it at ground floor level are other tables. My friends and I had one of the latter. It was fine at first (because the place wasn’t crowded). When, however, the restaurant filled up with customers who were dining before going to a matinée performance in the theatre, things were slightly different. We were directly overlooked by two people on one of the higher tables. I found that a little disconcerting!
The food, service and ambience are very good indeed. My friends and I selected dishes from the set-​price, pre-​theatre menu: £15 for 2 courses; £18 for 3 courses. I had cream of pecan soup with chives; Hungarian beef goulash, served on a bed of tagliatelle; and treacle sponge with vanilla bean ice cream. It was all delightful. We had a bottle of Pinot Grigio with our main course and a coffee each at the end of the meal. The bill came to a very reasonable £27 each, including service.
Menier Café is a convivial restaurant that is ideal for a leisurely lunch with friends or for pre-​theatre dining. I would certainly be happy to go there again.

I was in the café for wine and some grub on the opening night of a friends exhibition next door. Great cosy atmosphere, and the platters served up to keep the hunger at bay were excellent. I possibly eat my weight in Kalamata olives. Never a bad thing methinks!

When I arrived, I was not greeted by a maître d’. No not even a sweet smiling waitress ushering me inside. Instead, it was the chance of a mischievous, scurrying rat to run haphazardly across the raised seating area. Maybe this has something to so with the age of the building or credit crunched dustbin collectors, but I sat with my legs raised for the duration of the meal.
The service was fast and attentive, the décor was fabulous and the carnivore platter was large, yummy mini sausages and lashings of parma ham although was not convinced by the chewy wild boar pâté. The restaurant incorporates all the charm and history of this renovated chocolate factory, using bare brick and timber beams offset with mellow sounds and candlelight.
For what you lose in quality of food, you gain in ambiance. There’s even a pre-​theatrical menu before you step next door to the thespian factory!