Not the least pleasing feature of the revamped Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford is the wonderful Rooftop Restaurant. I am referring here to the look of the place (though its food is pretty good too, as we shall see).

Readers can judge for themselves from the pictures on this page. What they can’t enjoy, though, are the views from its windows — principally, the superb one over the River Avon, taking in Holy Trinity Church and the park beyond.

It was at a long table looking out on this vista that drama critics and their guests were invited to eat last Thursday in a gap in the schedule between performances of King Lear and Romeo and Juliet. You naturally get pole position when you’re eating as guests of the management. What you don’t get is a bill.

For the record, what the lunchtime and early evening fixed-price menu costs is £11.50 for one course, £15.50 for two courses and £18.50 for three. You can order this up until 6.15pm after which, with the curtain about to rise (metaphorically) in the adjoining theatres, the place proceeds to function as what might be styled a ‘destination’ fine dining establishment.

There you might start with Colchester oysters, tartare of Cornish mackerel with rhubarb or scallops with sea kale, go on to hake in Parma ham, braised mutton with lamb sweetbreads (yes please!) or bubble and squeak cake, and finish with, say, warm fig tart, blackberry and gin jelly or white chocolate mousse with tangerine compote.

Chris Barber, late of The White Hart in Nettlebed, had a hand in planning here. As a former personal chef to The Prince of Wales. he can truly be said to be well versed in food for royalty, if not necessarily the princes, kings and queens strutting the stages below. I wondered whether the chefs had considered dishes suitable to what’s on. One for King Lear, for instance, might feature samphire, the gathering of which is the “dreadful trade” alluded to by Edgar in the scene beside the cliffs at Dover. For Romeo and Juliet? A full-scale Italian banquet fit for the Capulets.

The ‘Quince’ in Rosemarie’s starter (she took it at first for apple purée) ought, I suppose, to be awaiting a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here it was spooned alongside a slice of nicely juicy (if not conspicuously generous — good thing we had plenty of fresh bread) Old Spot and duck terrine.

I began with a salad of poached salmon, with green beans, English leaves and hollandaise, which was also available in larger size as a main course. Actually, forget the green beans. There weren’t any, and it’s only looking at the menu as I write that I find there should have been. The hollandaise was not much more than a smear.

Rosemarie’s main course was a delicious moist cake of Hereford beef, with a round of fondant potato, carrots and sprouting broccoli. There was more than she could eat, so I had a small meat course to follow my excellent fillet of bream with a well-managed risotto (the rice sticky but not sloppy) with parsley and ‘Brown Shrimp’ (the singular being the mot juste).

Neither of us wanted pudding. The rhubarb sponge mentioned on the right was sampled by my critic friend Malcolm. He praised the crumbling, fruit-packed sponge with, as he said, the merest suggestion of lemon. The custard was good too.

We drank glasses of the Chilean sauvignon blanc — cheapest on the list — which was fine.

We are back at Stratford next month for Macbeth. What shall I fancy then? Eye of newt? Adder’s fork? Tongue of dog?