David Elliott
Close Up musical was brilliant much better than some of the critics said. Dance, singing scenery all great. Theatre seats had too many people squeezed in .Take out one per row for safety & comfort. Quaint building near Borough market & good view of the Shard
Lorraine V
Very quaint setting. Seating more comfortable than expected. Box Office staff very welcoming. Nice atmosphere and good view from seats. Saw Close Up, which was a fabulous production with a very talented cast and live music. GREAT first experience and would definitely come again.
RyKas 13
Cute theatre, always has interesting productions on and a nice atmosphere. Located not far from London Bridge Station.
Seats are a bit uncomfortable after awhile, they are bench style but has good ranking for views of the stage.
Shame the restaurant is no more, staff friendly and cute little bar for drinks.
Mark Hayward
The Menier Chocolate Factory used to be a buzzy, zeitgeisty, award winning theatre with an art gallery and exellent pre theatre dining space. Coming here now is pleasant enough, but there's a sense things have moved on, and the Menier has been left behind. The dining space and art gallery are, alas, no more.
The Menier is proud of its past - posters of theatre productions that have graced the stage here adorn the walls - but where is today's history in the making?
I was at the Menier to see a new musical, "The Third Man," (based on Carol Reed's film noir classic) set in a shady post-WW2 Vienna where nothing is as it seems, not least the death of black marketeer, Harry Lime. Though Don Black's lyrics rarely rose above the mundane, the score, with its clever echos of Weimer cabaret, was a different matter entirely. Together with the staging and direction by Trevor Nunn - which was a minimalist, monochrome, delight - a wonderful sense of mood, time, and place was established. This was a seductive, 'come hither, come zither' production.
Derek Griffiths, children's TV icon of (my) yesteryear, has a small role in this production. He stole every scene he was in. An act of light fingered larceny that was a joy to behold.
May Jackson
It was lovely to see that this theatre has survived lockdown. Almost every production I've seen is memorable. I noticed that the bustling cafe is no more. I hope they're able to restart that in the future. The charging bar at the back is up and running.
I visited to see The Third Man, which I found rather charming and lovely (contrary to some of the reviews). There is a large ensemble cast. The quality of the songwriting was very high. Accompanied by a live orchestra up in the gods. What's not to love.
See it if you can a ticket, some of which are being heavily discounted to £10.
Tom Bailey
CLOSE UP- TWIGGY
Fantasic musical... great music and a stage full of brilliant actors 👏 taking on the Twiggy story 👍 there was nobody trying to outshine anybody....even at the end the leading cast members in the show just blended into the total cast to take a standing ovation from the audience. Great support from the musicians making the whole experience a theatre night to remember
Brian Bishop
Love the theatre. Always have. It is quite unique! Wish it were a bit bigger and a bit cooler. The musical show was about Twiggy. Written and directed by Ben Elton. Perfect balance of story with music of the time and some personal choices that are not of the era. The cast was excellent and the audience responded.
Karen B
It is a bit of a different venue for a theatre. It feels like an abandoned warehouse with a theatre in one part and is less obviously a theatre from the outside due to the look of the building
The seats are long padded benches that don't tip up which causes problems if you need to pass others in the row, but they are reasonably comfy and well-tiered.
Karen Atkinson
Very good production of The Third Man. Innovatively staged - and a musical version. Really enjoyed it - great space and friendly staff. For people with reduced mobility it could be quite challenging.
Martin Webster
Lovely, welcoming "off West End" theatre. They have the ability to pick wonderful productions and the current show, Close-up the Twiggy musical, is one of them.
Paul Williams
Love this venue, it never disappoints. Inadvertently, we booked our show and a table in the Resturant the exact week before we turned up. It was our fault entirely. The staff we excellent and very understanding of our situation. They found us a table in the Resturant and as an act of kindness they did not charge us any service charge. Also, the lady in the booking office could not have been more helpful. She was able to find us seats and allowed us to transfer our tickets. Excellent customer care. As for the show, funny, well acted and would love to see it transferred to the west end.
Rebecca Stammers
Lovely venue and absolutely marvelous show... My teenagers and I loved watching The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 ....Great acting by all and so very funny, in parts... Highly recommend!
Robert Avery
The themed meal to the play evenings are excellent and we have done a few most recently Funny Girl and Adrian Mole. Excellent food and entertainment reasonably priced in a very warm and intimate setting. Love it.
Isabel Jane
Fabulous production. One of the best I've seen this year and it has had some stiff competition. Fabulous cast and excellent direction. Everyone should see Love in Idleness. The theatre was a hidden gem as well!
Zhenya Kaloyanova
Aaah, the deserts and the plays ...to die for. Love the interior and authenticity of the place.
Lesley Paterson
Loved my second visit to this intimate gem of a theatre, this time to see Love in Idleness with a fabulous cast. Was an absolute treat......loved all the characters, the story line, the costumes.......and the excellent acting! I love that you are almost within touching distance of the cast yet their professionalism never falters and they never make eye contact with the audience. I cannot recommend this play highly enough........we started as soon as we left the theatre by extolling its virtues to our cab driver!!!
Alex Grover
Great little theatre. Excellent show today (Adrian mole) definitely would recommend.
Malcolm Kingsbury
Would recommend seeing the show. Haven't laughed so much for a long time from start to end. It was obvious the cast enjoy performing the show and got a well deserved standing ovation. Not one to be missed.
Lynn King
Prior to this visit we would rate this venue as 5*. We were so looking forward to returning for our third visit here but unfortunately we were not impressed with the quality of food being served. Both our meatball starter which, was bland and only served warm, had the same sauce as my husband's main dish of Pappardelle with a ragu sauce. Both sauces appeared to be a basic tomato soup.
However, the production of Love in Idleness was very entertaining and very well produced. Love the atmosphere of this small venue. We will return but will probably look elsewhere to eat which is a shame.
We notice from other reviews Chocolate Menier Factory do not respond!
Linda Cowland
One of my favourite theatre venues in London. Very friendly, good food and have loved every production I have seen there.
Roger Allan
Menier theatre handles excellent productions and make great use of a small theatre.
Adrian Mole musical was excellent with a great cast and I enjoyed it a lot. It finishes 9th Sept so anyone wanting to see it need to move fast.
Very happy to recommend this lively theatre.
Nici Robson
Amazing food, amazing staff, amazing theatre’ 👍
Rory Arnese
It's a lovely theatre. Quirky and traditional. The seating changes per each production; and they have some excellent performers. Also some duds too :). Good location and very unique.
Deborah Lovell
Lettice and Lovage - just perfection. Sometimes you know you are watching something a bit magical which you won't forget for a long time, this was it for me.
Mark Palmer
It is almost tempting not to tell anyone about the Menier Chocolate Factory. Charming little theatre with reasonable and friendly restaurant and bar. Great plays and casts are the norm and you accept the gamble that not yet a long west end run - or someone has spotted something from broadway or elsewhere.
Simon Bell
I do like this theatre some great shows including lettuce and Lovage was great. Big emergency outside at the end.
Juliet Dunn
The play (Lettice and Loveage) fantastic with stellar performances from Felicity Kendall and Maureen Lipman.
Theatre is lovely (first visit) but think the seat numbers should be moved and a few tickets sacrificed to ensure that larger than average patrons have room and are not taking someone else's seat as well as their own. We were all squished in!!
Christine Youds
Great evening out. Wonderful venue, first class service & food and fantastic play. What's not to like!
Sue Gough
My favourite theatre. You always thrill. Saw Barnum today - spectacular, thrilling, wondrous. Thanks to cast and everyone involved.
Samphire And Salsify
This place is not a destination restaurant. The tired male toilet sign amongst other things gives the whole place a student union feel but the staff are so warm and friendly that it doesn’t matter.
No Expert
The matching of menus to what is on at the theatre does not really work, i.e., a 70′s based play merits 70′s style food.
Grumbling Gourmet
The space is well put together industrial lost and found. Jam jars with tea lights, mismatched furniture, rough hewn wood, exposed pipework and brick. It feels curated, but not affected. The set menu pleasingly changes dependant on the show, regionally re
Becks Dobson
We were greeted with a beautiful old warehouse building that, true to its name used to be the site of a chocolate factory, now houses a restaurant, bar, rehearsal room and theatre. We had just over forty five minutes to order and eat which was always going to be a push, despite the very friendly and accommodating staff, so any expectations of a relaxing lunch went completely out of the window.<br/><br/>Mum went off-piste and ordered the burger (£11) - patty, bacon, cheddar, relish and lettuce - served with chunky chips and a small pot of ketchup on the side. Predictably, the behemoth that arrived was vast and a little on the dry side but for someone who doesn't tend to order burgers that often, devoured in double quick time.<br/><br/>I went for the carne sharing platter, the size of which is in the name. A vast plate of chorizo, parma ham, teruel lomo was fringed with two slabs of duck and ham hock terrine (dry but I soldiered on), tzatziki (underlyingly fizzy but also soldiered on), olives and huge amounts of warm khobez bread. At £15, the portion size of some of the elements was more than ample but the ingredients themselves were a little lacking in flavour, taste and finesse. I didn't manage to finish as time was against us so I felt a little bit done in when handing over my card for the bill but reassured that we hadn't opted for a pricier menu.
No Expert
The Menier Chocolate Factory, (so named because the building is a former chocolate factory), does not make enough of its name, there are rarely any chocolate based dishes on the menu, which is a bit disapointing. The building incorporates a gallery, a small theatre, a bar and a restaurant. <br/><br/>On the food front the Restaurant has gone down hill over recent years. Last time I was there, they were trying to match the set menus to what was on at the theatre, which did not really work, i.e., a 70′s based play merits 70′s style food.<br/><br/>There are some pluses - they do have an ok selection of inexpensive wines and the staff are friendly.
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