With husband in tow, HEATHER BARRON tries out the new bistro at Sunderland Empire ahead of a performance of Strictly Ballroom...

HAVING had our booking postponed for two years by the pandemic, we set off eagerly to see the musical stage version of the hit 1992 Australian romantic comedy film, Strictly Ballroom, at Sunderland Empire Theatre.

The voice of the director – Strictly Come Dancing judge, Craig Revel Horwood – introduced the show with an Aussie twang, and the lead parts were perfectly executed by Strictly’s Kevin Clifton, and Eastenders’ star, and Strictly runner-up, Maisie Smith.

Determined to make the most of a day away from the laptops, husband Pete and I decided to splash out, and have lunch beforehand.

Not being familiar with the Sunderland eateries, I typed ‘restaurants close to Sunderland Empire’ into the interweb, which revealed that the theatre now had its very own bistro – Pizza Al Teatro.

‘Our sourdough pizzas are freshly made on site and ensures you can enjoy your meal and get to your seats ready for show-time.’

À la Craig Revel Horwood, I thought; ‘How fab-u-lous, dahling!’, paid a £20 deposit and booked us a table for 1pm, to give us plenty of time to wine and dine before the 2.30pm matinee.

We drove up – congratulating ourselves on taking a nifty spin turn away from a horrible snarl-up on the A1, by diverting to the A19 – and quickstepped to the theatre just a couple of minutes after 1pm.

Our friendly waitress, Sarah, showed us to our table, informing us that the restaurant had only been open for a week, and was proving very popular.

It’s a strange layout, but I suspect the theatre is making the best use of any available space to increase revenues in these difficult times.

Tables and chairs were arranged along what seemed like was once a short corridor, which then fanned out into a half-moon shape, with more seating. I counted about 36 covers, with just four other diners eating when we arrived.

It’s a limited, but reasonably priced and tasty-sounding menu, with vegan options available. In the spirit of making the most of our day out, we decided to kick off with a Burrata Prima sharing platter starter (£8.95), comprising burrata, olives, artichokes, mixed grilled peppers, and grissini. 

There was plenty for two, without spoiling our appetites for the pizzas to come – a Diavola (£11.50) for Pete – ‘The Devil’ pepperoni and Calabrian spicy Nduja sausage, with a sprinkle of chilli flakes for good measure – and a Bianca (£10.95) for me.

Not my usual choice, as I do like a tomatoey base, but, the creamy ricotta base, topped with garlic mushrooms, wilted spinach, and finished with extra virgin oil, sounded enticing.

The decision whether to order a couple of glasses of rosé, or indulge in a full bottle, was made for us when Sarah said that if we didn’t finish the bottle, we could take what was left in plastic cups into the auditorium, or come back for it in the interval.

Although lacking in atmosphere, we admired the décor of sage, beige and mauve, with gilt trimmings, and a couple of ‘just GORgeous, dahling!’ central lights, while a few more customers were seated, then received their pizzas…while we waited…and waited…for our food, glorious food – which, ironically, was playing in the background.

At 1.55pm (why so early?) the announcement to take our seats in the auditorium was made. We looked at each other. Still no food, glorious or otherwise, while people who arrived after us were being served.

Eventually, at 2.11pm, The Devil arrived, with Sarah panting that the Bianca would make an appearance in just a couple of minutes, and apologising that it had been so busy and there was only her and the chef to deal with everyone.

I looked around. There were nine diners in the bistro.

Now, I’m not a fast eater, and I wanted to use the toilet before the show started – and, ladies, you know what the queues are like in theatre toilets!

The Bianca finally arrived at 2.20pm – more slow waltz than quickstep. By then, my hungry hubby had devoured his Diavola, with the verdict that it was “very tasty”, but there was just no time to eat mine without giving myself severe indigestion.

Reluctantly, we were persuaded to return for a fresh-cooked pizza in the interval, which, we were assured, would be a good 20 minutes.

So, at the end of the first half, we made our way, as quickly as we could, back to the bistro, to share the pizza as there was no way I would get through all of it on my own. I wish I could say that the Bianco had been worth waiting for, but it was decidedly bland, and we sat like a sad couple in the otherwise empty Bistro, wolfing down what we could.

We managed half of it in the ten minutes we had before the second-half bell summoned us back to our seats, downstairs in the stalls.

The total bill would have come to £59.40, but – to be fair – we weren’t charged for the two pizzas, we were offered free interval drinks, and the apologies were profuse.

Having set off with such high hopes, we really wanted the Empire’s new addition to be a success, but I’m sorry to say that the overall dining experience turned out to be quite a drama. In fact, it was all a bit dis-ast-rous, dahling!

FOOD FACTS

Pizza Al Teatro, Sunderland Empire Theatre,  4-5 High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3EX

Book online: www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire/your-visit/

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 8, service 5, surroundings 7, value 9