The hubs and I snuck out for a lovely weekend in Stratford and on the Saturday we dined at the Church Restaurant and took in one of the most hilarious shows! The ladies of the Broadsway truly added to our dining experience and is most definitely one of the highlights of our visit to the cozy town of Stratford.
We had dined in a Church before (during our Ireland travels) and so this wasn’t a new experience for us but it was just as novel and exciting to be dining in what used to be a Church. Drinking in Church has got to be on a bucketlist somewhere right? Check and Check! The Church Restaurant came highly recommended to us and so we knew we’d be in for a truly delicious experience when the Stratford tourism board hosted us for dinner there. We arrived at 8:00 p.m. for dinner and also had tickets for the Broadsway performance that evening as part of the Stratford Summer Music Cabaret. On arrival we were warmly welcomed and I started our evening with an Old Fashioned cocktail.
Once seated our orders were taken and I enjoyed a lovely antipasto plate. Yes it’s for two people but I didn’t mind eating most of the cheese, pate and gravlax on feature. Especially because the hubs had ordered Panko Crusted Crab Cakes for himself. The crab cakes were done well and extremely fresh. We had definitely started the meal off on the right note!
Honestly, I’m laughing at myself now, but when I saw the word cabaret my mind registered burlesque and clearly had I connected the burlesque and Church angles together I would have laughed at myself a lot sooner! The Broadsway show was not only extremely PG but the three ladies were absolutely hilarious together. They have an energy that the audience feeds on (well… we’re feeding on the delicious food too!) and despite a majority of the restaurant’s patrons being much older than the hubs and I, we totally had a great time and didn’t for one minute feel out of place. The broads have such great chemistry between them and while some elements were probably rehearsed, they continued to make each other laugh which had me giggling like a school girl.
As the ladies did their sets I savoured every piece of my Grilled Calves Liver which came with sautéed vegetables, aligot potatoes and smoked peameal bacon in a veal reduction. The portion was huge but as I sat laughing and bopping my head I finished every last bite. The hubs also enjoyed his Braised Lamb Shank which came with some polenta fries. We paired a lovely bottle of wine with our meal and finished it all off with the Hazelnut Cappuccino Torte. The Frangelico mascarpone and dulce de leche had me licking the plate. I cannot lie.
Now we enjoyed this lovely dinner and performance without the kids…I’m not sure if they allow kids during the performance but I did see a baby dining earlier in the evening. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring Little Monkey and Baby Boy here during a future visit- perhaps for lunch!
The Church Restaurant is most definitely on our top spots to dine in Ontario, let alone Stratford and if by any chance you have the opportunity to see the three broads together, do it! Julie, Heather and Diane are quite the threesome and they truly deserved the standing ovation they received that evening.
