Eating Around a Curtain Time in Stratford

Stratford eats around the curtain. If there is a play on, half the town is trying to be finished by 7.15 and the other half is trying to get a table at 5. The Sheep Street restaurants know this and will do something about it if you tell them when your curtain goes up.

Sheep Street

Sheep Street is the street to know. Loxleys at number 3 serves a two or three course pre-theatre set menu Monday to Saturday from midday to 6.30pm, at £24.95 and £28.95 on its own website, alongside the full menu, and lunch dishes from about £7.50. It books through OpenTable from its own reservations page. The Vintner, at 4 and 5, opens for breakfast at 9.30am and has a plain rule: tables booked between 5 and 6pm count as pre-theatre and are back by 7.15, and anything between 6 and 7.30pm you ring about on 01789 297259. Lambs, at 12, sits in a building the restaurant dates to the early sixteenth century and serves in two blocks, lunch from 12 to 2pm and dinner from 4.45pm, so the early table is already a pre-theatre table. It is closed for lunch on Mondays, and dogs are not allowed.

Under the roof of the theatre

The RSC's own Rooftop Restaurant is open Monday to Saturday from midday, and from 11am for tea and coffee on matinee days. It is card only, and the RSC publishes a pre-theatre menu on its site. Book it when you book the play. The other option is the riverside pub at the bottom of the hill: the Dirty Duck on Waterside serves from midday to 9pm most days and to 8pm on Sundays, and if a show is on it fills up early.

Dogs, allergies and private rooms

Dogs are welcome at the Old Thatch Tavern and the Dirty Duck, are allowed in the bar area only at the Vintner, and are not allowed inside Lambs, though its outside courtyard takes them in suitable weather. The Rooftop Restaurant asks you to mention food allergies when you reserve online, and Plantarium has gluten-free options on many dishes. The Vintner has a private dining room for up to 18.

Sunday, Monday and the rest

Sundays are shorter. The Vintner's a la carte runs midday to 4pm, Lambs opens for lunch from 12 to 3pm and again from 6pm, and Loxleys runs a Sunday roast from £20.95. On Monday Lambs is closed at lunch and opens at 4.45pm. If you want something without a booking, the Old Thatch Tavern on Greenhill Street serves food to 8pm Monday to Thursday and 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and takes bookings by phone. Plantarium Cafe, in the Minories courtyard off Henley Street, is fully vegan and walk-in only, and is closed on Sundays.

Breakfast and coffee

The Vintner does breakfast from 9.30 to 11.30am every day, and the RSC's Riverside Cafe opens at 10am daily, with free entry to the building. Plantarium opens at 10am Monday to Saturday.

What has changed

The Stratford Herald reported in February 2025 that a run of independents had closed, among them Edward Moon on Chapel Street, which had traded since 1989, and Caffe Vineria on Wood Street. Salt, which held Stratford's first Michelin star until 2024, closed in 2025. The Ivy was announced to open on the High Street on 29 September 2026, and the Garrick Inn, a Greene King pub on High Street, is closed for investment and due to reopen on Friday 16 October. Check any restaurant you are relying on, and check on the day if it matters.

Hours and prices are from each restaurant's own website on 29 September 2026.