Over the lockdown, the Restaurant industry has suffered the most. Majority of the eateries were forced to downsize, shift or shut down completely. The whole dining experiences have changed and evolved, though sometimes this is not always for the best. While many restaurants and cafes have managed to make outdoor dining an enjoyable experience, a lot of them failed due to being located in a noisy neighborhood, or a lack of large outdoor space. In times like these, the owners of the popular “Meat the Cheese” restaurant franchise were able to create something magical: a peaceful Theatre Bakery with cosy and serene ambience. After its launched and success in Karachi, Theatre Bakery came in the heart of Lahore, MM Alam road and DHA.
While the cafe and live bakery opened up in 2022, they were only operating in their outdoor area during their first months in business, and it was not until recently that guests were able to experience Theatre’s warm and inviting indoor seating. Right off the bat, the café gave an air of a lazy weekend breakfast space. The vintage tile floors, the tinted mirrors and all the other little features kept catching our eye as we looked around.
The menu, printed on the back of our placemat, offered a large selection of breakfast and main course items, and we certainly felt spoilt for choice. In the end, our party of three settled for the Steak and Onion Marmalade (served with bread), the Onion and Champignons Burger and the Wonderous Waffles. We ordered a few Cappuccinos and a Lemon Ice Tea as well, though the coolers and lemonades were not available.
We waited a good 30 minutes for our food, but it was well worth the wait. The cafe was quite full on a weekend morning, so it is best to visit during the 8 am to 10 am slot, in order to avoid sitting in an overcrowded space.
Overall, the food was adequate, and was worth the above average prices. Individually, the writer liked the Steak and Onion Marmalade the best. The sandwich was hearty and tasted wonderful. The onions were caramelized, which gave them an almost jam-like consistency. The steak bits were juicy and perfectly seasoned on the bread, and even though the filling itself was quite moist, the bread did not go soggy. The fries served with the sandwich seemed to be fresh and not the frozen variety.
The Onion and Champignon Burger was juicy and satisfying, as it also came with a hearty helping of fries. The mushrooms and onions in the burger actually elevated the flavor of the fresh patty, as opposed to overpowering it. The bun was fresh and soft, which wonderfully complemented the filling.
The Wonderous Waffles were served with a dollop of whipped cream and a side of peaches and mangoes. The waffle was sweet but not too crisp, and it may have needed just a few more minutes to reach the right level of crunch. However, the sweetness of the waffle and whipped cream was balanced beautifully by the tanginess of the mangos and peaches. Our sweet tooth was satisfied, but we yearned for more. We ended up ordering a round of desserts to enjoy with our coffees and tea.
The Pistachio and Strawberry Macaroons, however, failed to impress, as they were packed with sugar and did not seem to have any of the flavour that they promised. Instead, the star of the show was the chocolate éclair, with its soft and fluffy choux bun, and velvety soft filling that was not overpoweringly sweet. Even though we had eaten to our heart’s content at that point, we took home a few treats from the bakery. This included the Focaccia bread, Mango Tart, Lotus Cheesecake and the Strawberry Danish.
The hero of our take-home purchases was surprisingly the Lotus Cheese cake. The perfect blend of sweet and softness. Between the three of us, we ended up spending about Rs. 6000 which is a little on the steep side, but the price was justified by the experience we had. We would surely visit the cafe again, if not for the gorgeous ambience, then solely for that Lotus Cheese cake.
