Riverside Studios Restaurant & Bar

As well as providing a welcome prelude to an evening of fringe theatre or independent cinema at the Riverside Studios, the site’s bar-restaurant is worth visiting on its own merit. Exposed piping & ventilation shafts, alongside sleek, modern furniture, create a buzzy, urban atmosphere, conducive both to bar-dwelling drinkers & those after a three-course meal. Meantime ale & lager are on tap, pleasing attention is paid to sherry, & there are plenty of easy-drinking wines on the short but effective drinks list. A bar menu incorporates charcuterie platters & a smoked-chicken Caesar salad. Alternatively, choose from the restaurant menu: say, ham-hock terrine followed by whole pan-fried plaice with a caper berry beurre noisette, then a port-&-sherry trifle. Prices are reasonable & staff generally attentive.