Restaurants

Before a performance, this place can be a nightmare. After standing in a shambolic queue for ten minutes, ignored by the harried waiters, we beat a hasty retreat. On a quiet Saturday afternoon, it was a different story. The trappings of contemporary cool (sleek white plastic tables and chairs, and cheery orange walls dotted with blow-up Peter Blake photographs) provide a laid-back, modern feel. Light streams in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The succinct, appealingly simple menu focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients, offering chunky, poshed-up sandwiches, salads and Welsh Black Angus burgers. A superb deli plate featured deliciously smooth, smoky moutabal (puréed aubergine), nutty own-made houmous, glistening pickled anchovies, tabouleh salad, olives and warm chargrilled artichoke hearts – the best we’ve eaten in ages. Grilled chicken served with nan and topped with cool, minty raita and a feta and mixed leaf Roundhouse big salad were both generously proportioned but slightly bland. We wished we’d gone for the safer bet of smoked salmon on sourdough, or focaccia with breaded lemon sole and tartare sauce. Service was exemplary; the waitress even squeezed our orange juice by hand after the machine fused. Note that the terrace is for beer and barbecue only, and is usually only open on Saturday and Sunday.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008