Lunch in Stratford-upon-Avon: The Vintner's Tale

Before we go on to whether there's anywhere good to eat in Stratford, a quick note about the last post, in which I was unsure about how much we'd paid to get into Shakespeare's Birthplace. Well, yesterday I was rummaging around in my jacket pocket, as you do, and found the tickets for both Shakespeare's Birthplace and WarwickCastle. So, as a point of order I can now confirm for the record that as a couple we paid £28.00 for the Birthplace (2x£14.00) and £22.80 (2x£11.40 - but we did get half price admission) for Warwick Castle.

The Birthplace kept us occupied for about an hour, and we weren't terribly thrilled with the experience. Warwick Castle was a fabulous experience - if you forget the food (and believe me we're trying) and filled an entire day. I'll leave you to decide for yourself which provided the best value - as you'll see in a later post, there is a little more to come from the Birthplace - but I suspect you can already guess which one I'd go back to...

Anyway. Food. We're rather fussy about eating out, and have been known to spend longer looking for a place to eat than we have spent eating in it. However on this occasion I'd done a bit of research on the interwebs and so we had a vague idea that Sheep Street might be the place to go. With the aid of the handy little map we'd picked up in the tourist information centre we navigated our way to what would seem to be Stratford's restaurant centre.

We made our way up and down the street and were pleased to note that, in spite of the presence of the pub belonging to a chain of mediocre pub/restaurants* most of the food establishments there seemed pretty good. Menus were interesting, varied and suggested that they were prepared by people who knew what they were doing.

We eventually settled on The Vintner, an impressive timber framed facade which looked fantastic and proclaimed itself to be "The place to eat and drink". Who were we to refuse?

Stepping through the door we found ourselves in a relatively small bistro area which fairly buzzed with conversation and the happy ringing of cutlery on crockery. We were met by a smiling member of the black clad serving staff (why do servers in restaurants always wear black?) who directed us up the stairs and seated us at a cozy little table for two. The decor was a pleasing mix of dark wood and light walls with flashes of colour provided by jars of preserved peppers and tomatoes. The building dates from the late fifteenth century, and the temptation to make the place all "Ye Olde Worlde" must have been pretty powerful, but at the same time any kind of wholesale modernisation would not only have been unforgivable, it would also have looked strange. The Vintner strikes an excellent balance, blending modern design within the ancient timber frame.

As our drinks and menus arrived - note to self, The Vintner in one of those rare establishments that will serve sparkling wine by the glass - we mused on whether Shakespeare might have bought wine from this building. As I said, it was built in the late fifteenth century and it was certainly in use as a Wine Merchant's premises at the time Shakespeare was living at New Place**. The possibility that we'd just walked through a door that the adult Shakespeare might actually have walked through was oddly tantalising and somehow resonated more than the rather flat and sterile vibe we'd experienced at the birthplace. I'm pleased to note, incidentally, that the Vintner itself doesn't play up this possibility. There is no mention at all of Shakespeare inside the restaurant, and only a passing mention on their website.

We were still musing on whether Shakespeare might have visited the place to order a butt of sac when the food arrived. As I so often do, I'd ordered a burger. Because my wife has more imagination, she went for a twice baked Gruyere Soufflé with Watercress and Beetroot. In an attempt to keep up with this level of sophistication I upgraded from the Vintner Classic Burger to the Vintner Piggy Burger, which was essentially the Classic Burger with the addition of some barbecue pulled pork on top. Served with fries and "fully garnished"*** I have to say that it was delicious.

 I eat a lot of burgers in a lot of places, and have developed a scale which gives them a score between 1 and 10. The worst burger I have ever eaten - served to me in a hotel on the north coast of Scotland - was  0.5. To date I have never awarded more than an 8. I reckon that The Vintner served me a 7.5, which is, I have to say, high praise indeed. The burger itself was seasoned to perfection while the pulled pork topping was succulent and bursting with flavour. They lose out a little because they insisted on calling the chips "fries", but since the "fries" were pretty close to perfection - crispy and golden like a chip should be - I'm happy to forgive them.

Nothing had died to make my wife's soufflé, so naturally I didn't try any. She herself declared it to be "Alright". She was a little underwhelmed by the texture apparently, although the watercress and beetroot salady thing that came with it was pronounced "really nice" so I think I'm declaring Mrs Snail's meal to be a no-score win.

Our hunger happily sated we were then left with that most difficult of lunchtime queries. "Would we like to see the dessert menu?" Always tricky this. The thing about having dessert at lunchtime is that you know you'll feel over full all afternoon, and you'll feel guilty because you're trying to cut down on all those sweet things. On the other hand, well, it's dessert. The afternoon was getting on though, and feeling that we'd wasted our morning by trekking around the birthplace we wanted to get on and see a bit more of Stratford. So, with slightly heavy hearts, but hopefully somewhat lighter girths we declined dessert and asked for the bill.

It's a decision I still slightly regret, because as we stood to leave the table behind us was served with a tray full of glasses overflowing with the most indulgent Eton Mess I have ever seen! The waitress caught my eye and grinned. "Sure we can't tempt you?" We were tempted indeed, let me tell you. Still, it does give us a reason to go back...

And, should we ever find ourselves in Stratford again, go back we shall. Mrs Snail's soufflé may have been a little lacklustre, but then I have no real idea how one would go about lustreing a soufflé, so I'm minded to overlook it. In general the food was excellent, the service was impeccable and the ambience of the place was friendly and inviting. One of the top two dining experiences of our whole two week expedition - and one I'm keen to repeat sometime relatively soon!

*I'm not naming them, but you know you're picking from a list of about five, and since they're all basically the same it doesn't really matter.

**Which of course is why the place is called "The Vintner".

***If I'm honest I have no idea what that means. This came with some lettuce and tomato, onion and pickle. It was lovely, but "fully garnished"? In the eye of the beholder, I suspect. I could have added bacon - which in the absence of pulled pork I would have done, or Monterey Jack Cheese - which I have never seen the point of. The Americans are very good at a great many things, but cheese making is not one of them.