The Restaurant at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford

I went with a group of friends, the food was not great and the venue just doesn’t have an atmosphere.

Was a really lovely meal, worth every penny with very friendly staff. Kate, was our hostess, very smiley and very welcoming and great customer service. The show was brilliant too. Thank you

We had a lovely Evening meal the restaurant food was lovely and staff were very attentive - our waitress for the evening was Elena and she was extremely knowledgable about the menu we will definitely be returning

First visit here for a pre-show dinner, fantastic food, attentively looked after by Khloe who was a credit to the venue, thoroughly recommend.

Was a really nice meal, friendly staff. Katie, was very smiley and very welcoming. Great customer service, good food, just what you need before a comedy gig.

Had an excellent meal before the evening show in the Orchard Theatre. Food was great and my waitress, Jane, was friendly and efficient.

We had a great meal and found the restaurant staff very helpful and friendly. John went out of his way to ensure we had a perfect evening. We look forward to eating at The Orchard again.

Enjoyed a marvellous pre-show meal with my friend. Food was excellent and our waitress Jane was friendly and efficient, informing us that we had the table for the evening, so we were able to have our interval drinks in comfort. Great time had - thank you Jane!

Very relaxed start to the evening,table fir the duration of the show. Food was excellent and Elena was very helpful and superb at her job. Will return. Thank you Elena. The show was great.

Great value, good food and exceptional service from Kate! The restaurant is a lovely way to eat and relax before the show and at the interval as your table is yours for the whole show. We had the 2 course menu with a bottle of wine which was excellent. Would recommend and we’ll be back.

We had 2 courses with wine in the restaurant before seeing the brilliant touring production of The Shawshank Redemption. There’s a good choice of food including a better than usual vegetarian offering. You get a choice of red, white or rose wine and get a whole bottle. We had mains and desserts - proper desserts with custard! The staff are great; we were served by Khloe who checked everything was ok without being intrusive. You get to keep your table for the interval too. It’s a really nice way to start your evening.

We had the Indulgence Package. What an incredible experience; such a wide range of tastes and excellent service from Louis.

Jane, our waitress was very helpful and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble for her. I enjoy eating at the theatre pre-show, my only reservation is the cost. £7 for a bowl of soup with two small pieces of bread is rather steep!

Fabulous service and great quality for the price. Jane could not have been more helpful and the food was excellent

Our first time at the Orchard Theatre, we had lunch served by Khloe before our show, she was fantastic.. very accommodating and quick, food served hot and very impressed with our meals. Thank you Khloe and team.

Excellent service, served by khloe who was very helpful. Food was lovely. Definitely recommend. We will return

A surprisingly great lunch before our theatre matinee. The food was really nice. I recommend starter and main over main and desert.

Good food, good place and excellent service. Happy with the kindness of Kleoe. Going to dinner and enjoying the theatrical functions is wonderful.

Excellent food for a reallt good price. Amazing service from Khloe. Would definitely recommend. I had the duck and my mum had jambalaya. Both amazing.

Kate our waitress was really lovely, thanks for a great time. Will surely be back for part two.....

Excellent food , portions large , very good service , our server Jane was knowledgeable and extremely pleasant !

We were fortunate to have Jane looking after us again (3rd time). Jane is funny and makes sure you're well looked after. The food is tasty and the selection pretty good. It's a bonus having the table for the whole evening so you have somewhere...

A great value restaurant with good food and just excellent and friendly service from our waitress Jane.

Went as part of a burlesque evening. The staff were uniformly cheerful and very helpful. (Including on the phone answering some queries). They set the atmosphere for the whole evening. Food was pleasant and promptly served. Special mention forJack who laid on everything - we...

Had a lovely meal and our waitress Jane was very attentive and very helpful. Great start to a fantastic evening.

This was our first pre theatre meal experience before seeing the commitments, it was amazing. The complimentary drink, food was amazing. A really enjoyable experience before the show. Our table was reserved for the interval and our drinks were waiting for us.

Loui the restaurant manager was amazing. The food was amazing. The wine was amazing. A really enjoyable experience before the show. Our table was reserved for the interval and our drinks were waiting for us.

Visited orchard theater but never been to restaurant before. Our son bought for us as a present. A brilliant start yo the evening. Nothing was too much trouble. Excellent food and service. Highly recommend. We will certainly be dining here again.

Visited the Orchard on Saturday to watch Death Drop and had a meal beforehand. All the staff were friendly and helpful and very accommodating to me as I'm on crutches. On arrival, I was greeted by Loui the restaurant manager, who was very welcoming. Our...

Having booked a reservation for a meal, and advertised then a ‘luxury’ package to add to it, containing some pre-meal canapés and a trio of mini desserts for the interval, which sounded like a perfect addition to a special night out, we received something rather...

This is our first time to the Orchard theatre and we decided to book the restaurant too. Well we wasn't disappointed.! We booked for 5pm giving us plenty of time.before the show. We were taken straight to our table which was nicely positioned. We were...

Painfully slow service in restaurant......pleasant and polite staff but service lacking in efficiency and continuity. Long long waits to order food and drinks and long waits until service. This has put us off dining there in the future.

This was the first time that we’ve eaten in the Restaurant before a show. We had pre-booked and went straight to our table. We had olives and bread to start and can highly recommend the pork belly, jambalaya, goats cheese tart and fish and chips...

We visited the orchard to see Whitney Queen of theNight, which was excellent but let down by the meal in the restaurant. Starter and dessert were good. But we waited over an hour for our mains. When they arrived one meal was disappointing and the...

Booked a table at The Restaurant. Once booked the table is yours for the whole evening so you can come back in the interval of your show to relax and enjoy another drink. Our waitress was super friendly and asked before we ordered anything if...

Have eaten here pre-Covid and always enjoyed the food and good service. Rather disappointed with some aspects of first meal back there last night. I had the starter which at £8 is quite steep, for this I had some prawns (would argue they were King...

Great restaurant, warm atmosphere, fantastic food and friendly waitress. You couldn't ask for more. We had a lovely time and couldn't fault anything.

Very good meal served by a very pleasant waitress. The Tableware was sparkling which made it appetising from the start. Our table was ours for the evening so no rush and plenty of time to eat before the show. Prices were average not overpriced. Overall...

from start to finish every thing eas perfect , the meal was excellent served by a very nice helpful waiter ,not rushed plenty of time to eat .would defo go again and again

Really good tasty food.Our waiter was very friendly and helpful, and all four of us enjoyed it and would recommend again

It was lovely to be able to relax with a meal before the show. Food was tasty, waitress really nice and the fact that we could order a drink for half time and come back to the table was the icing on the cake.

The food choices l made were fine, good portions and hot. The experience of the restaurant was spoiled by the very expensive wine, and unpleasant beer, a draught which tasted somewhat stale. Over half of the beer was left undrunk.

Lovely Dinner and dessert cooked beautiful waitress service 100% star helpful and social I like that. Good show after lovely night altogether.

Another wonderful meal at the Orchard Theatre. Very welcoming atmosphere, our lovely waitress was attentive and friendly. The food was cooked to perfection and arrived piping hot. Highly recommend this restaurant.

The food was excellent and the staff very friendly and helpful nothing was too much to ask, will do it again

Really enjoyed our pre-show meal again. The restaurant never fails to deliver good food from an exciting menu served by friendly helpful staff.

Everything was overcooked, dry, inedible. The mezze was like no other mezze I have had, hardly a nod to the middle east -- Jackfruit? Burnt peppers? Dry hummus? The bread was the only good thing about it. The burger was dry. The tagliatelle was overcooked, and the veg in it were awful. I have emailed the general manager and suggested they change totally the menu and the chef!

My first visit to the Orchard restaurant and probably my last. Service was way below what I would have expected. The food was bland and very uninspiring.

For my mum's Christmas present I treated her to both tickets to the ballet and pre show dinning. The reception we got was superb and made the whole event even better. We both had really tasty, well presented mains and desserts in the very comfortable and pleasant restaurant. The service was faultless and unrushed whilst waiting for the show. The theatre has had a major refurb and it shows,new more comfortable seats and new lighting really improved the whole experience, so much so we booked our next show whilst still here!

My daughter and I came to see Sleeping Beauty

Added on a dinner deal to our evening at the Ballet which gave us a two course meal; food was very good. Chose the Burger which came with fries. We added onion rings as a side order for which we had to pay extra. A complimentary glass of wine was offered on this occasion but I don't whether that is always the case. We also ordered coffees for the interval and these were ready and waiting for us at the table we had used for dinner which was much better than having to order at the very busy bar during the interval, so well worth doing. Our waitress was excellent, very helpful and attentive. Would definitely recommend if you want to add a little something special to your evening out.

Enjoyed our meal, meal consisting of 2 courses plus glass of wine included in ticket price. Good choice of starters, main courses or desserts to choose from. Service very prompt and staff courteous. Food extremely tasty and recommended as a good way of starting an enjoyable night out.

Food was fine, restaurant was OK, but staff were running from table to table and taking ages to serve because there was just too much to do.

Good service. Smiling waitress. Pis was hot potatoes could have been a bit hotter and had dried out losing their " creamy texture"

We came here as part of a dinner deal of £48 each for the show (Dial M for Murder) and a two course dinner. The food was very good with a reasonable range of dishes under the circumstances. Service friendly and helpful also.

We opted for the show ticket and meal and were not dissapointed. The ticket/meal option offers a 2 course meal plus a drink. We chose to share a seafood platter and then both went for Steak & Ale pie , mash and veg, We did not have to wait for long and the food was excellent . The staff was very atentive and we enjoyed the meal in very nice surrounding in the Upper Bar. We took the option of having a dessert at the interval which was waiting for us with the drinks that we ordered.

arrived to enjoy a Luther vandross tribute night. They were great. Staff were good and went out of their way to help where they could. Thank you Tal. However, waited 50 minutes for our mediocre food. That was after being told what we had ordered wasn't available. Started again, couldn't have run out so just a poorly managed kitchen. we had booked to eat in the restaurant together but UNBELIEVABLY Dartford Council doesn't appreciate those of us who are disabled. Our friend is in a chair following a stroke and couldn't join us upstairs so 2 of us had to sit downstairs, not ideal. No excuse Dartford BC, you should have installed a lift when built it in the 80's and before the law changed, but there are affordable options that would allow your patrons to maintain their dignity in dissability.

Good food, and a prompt service all served by an exceptional young lady who went the extra mile in ensuring everything was ok.

Sadly very disappointed late service a lot of food unavailable despite early arrival and undercooked items .

Great meal, generous portions and good food. Service was excellent - friendly staff who served us promptly and with a smile.

You had a great choice of food.always enjoyable .also having a free glass of wine was a surprise.a extra bonus .

We had a meal in the restaurant before the show started which made it a special, the food was excellent and service from the staff first class, really is well worth the visit before a show.

The staff were very friendly. We were seated straight away and didnt have to wait long to be served ( but werent hassled by staff either). Food was delicious and nice sized portions. Would definitely reccomend.

Our first visit to the restaurant. The staff were friendly and the food was good. Easy to order a drink for the interval and was ready and waiting at interval time. Though we are not dessert eaters, it was good for those that are to have the option to have their dessert at the interval. Would definitely have a meal her again.

A disappointing meal. The beef stew was very gloopy and the meat pieces 1cm square. Very tiny portion that I finished in a few mouthfuls. Not good value at all. We complained but the waitress said sorry the best chef wasn’t on. The other meal was a burger and chips which was ok.Pudding was not home made. Shame they can’t get it right.

Treated like royalty.. staff are lovely and make you feel very comfortable. Food was amazing 10 out 10 Show was brilliant.. My mum really enjoyed her birthday Thank you very much

Really enjoyed our meal again. The food was superb and the staff attentive and friendly. Not too expensive either.

We visited the Theatre for my husband's birthday and I decided that we should make it just that little more special by having a meal before the show. We decided to have a main and dessert, rather than a starter and main, and the food was lovely. The portion size was perfect - not too big and not too small - and the flavour was excellent. I had a vege curry with rice and it was "to die for", as was the fruit crumble and custard that followed. Super value, too. Also, our young waitress was really nice. What more could we ask?

Disappointing. We have eaten here before and the food has been good. However, on this occasion the ribs we ordered were tough, and the accompanying sweetcorn was almost impossible to eat. I ordered waffles for dessert that were so dry, even the ice cream that came with them did nothing to save them. The service was also slow, even though there were plenty of waiting staff. We only just managed to get to our seats in time. It shouldn't take over 90minutes to serve two courses.

My friend and I went to eat prior to the show. The food was first rate, very well presented and the service first class. We will definitely go to dine on our next visit.

We have food on every visit on average my husband and I try to go at least once a month but depending on what is being shown that takes our fancy everytime we have been the food standard has been superb we have never had a bad meal there I unfortunately had an accident a few months back and ended up being in a wheelchair for a couple of months we explained this to the restaurant team and this was accompanied with no if or butts everything is not too much trouble all the staff are really polite friendly smiling and are given such a really warm welcome this little gem of a Theatre and their superb restaurant are highly recommended by my husband and myself you will not be disappointed we are taking all the grandchildren on boxing day and again we are all having a meal

as always the meal was fine, unfortunately traffic problems meant that it took over 2hours to get to the theatre meaning our meal was rushed. It might have been helped if we could have ordered our meal sooner after we arrived at the theatre.

My other half and I do enjoy this theatre, we recently went to see a show and always eat in the restaurant before, the staff make us very welcome and for the money the food is excellent, we order an interval drink and that is served on the table we dined at, so making sure we have a seat, would highly recommend.

a small menu, but very well presented. Staff very pleasant and accommodating- would definitely recommend it.

We had a wonderful meal in the Orchard theatre. The food was hot and plentiful and excellent service. Will definitely dine there again

Meal ticket purchased with show tickets. We decided on the 2 course option (main and dessert) Hubby chose fish and chips, which was ok. It was supposed to come with mushy peas, but what he got was a shot glass sized portion of normal peas. I chose the beef stew, described as ‘slow cooked beef, with root vegetables and mash potato ‘. What I got was what looked like half a tin of beef big soup, with a portion of mash, seriously no bigger than a dessert spoon. Very disappointing. Waiting staff lovely, and very helpful. Dessert was very nice, I had the waffles with salted caramel ice cream and sauce, hubby had apple and blackberry crumble with custard, which we enjoyed. Wouldn’t rush to eat there again, but it served a purpose, with the show starting at 7.30pm

Reserved a table here for a meal. There was not a lot of choice but what we did get was very nice. They were very accommodating to my friend who was having a problem with eating and served her up some mash at her request. Would certainly do this again. Drinks were ready for us on the table at half time.

Everything was going so well, my wife ordered a apple and blackberry crumble as she took her second bite she found a hair. The staff were very apologetic and replaced it but took a while.

Pre theatre meal. The first time we have eaten here. Nice restaurant area and super service from the staff. Best theatre restaurant we have eaten in. Food was hot and delicious. Huge portion of ribs, only slight criticism was the portion of the chilli and garlic chicken was small, but had lovely flavours. Will eat here again now.

Food was really good, great choice on the menu. Waitress was very friendly and nothing was too much trouble. Would definitely go again.

We ate here before seeing the show so we needed to be served quite quickly. Even though there appeared no more than two women waiting on tables our waitress was very welcoming and took our order very quickly. We ordered fish & chips which was delicious, hot & fresh. Coffee was good and my granddaughter’s dessert was tasty. Overall I was very pleased with the service and the meal a lovely start to a night at the theatre.

Great evening Great Food great Choice Food Great Service Well worth a visit to this exceptional local theatre with Amazing show coming up well worth a visit and booking the Restaurant to make it that little bit more special

The food and service were absolutely excellent. Have eaten here before, and always very satisfied. Top notch food.

The restaurant looked lovely - all candles and low lighting. Service was very good and I had plenty of time. I wish I had read these reviews before though as I chose the beef stew - grisly and tough meat. The over all flavour was nice but it was difficult to eat because of the poor quality of the meat. Fish or chicken (which I usually choose) would have been a better option. I had dessert in the interval - apple and blackberry crumble with hot custard - lovely.

Very long wait even though got to restaurant early. Wasn’t offered a drink, had to keep getting the waitresses attention. To be fair our starter was good and plentiful. My friends meal was fine but mine was terrible. I chose the beef stew and the meat was all chewy and horrible. Had to send it back (very unlike me) by this time it was 7.20 pm and the show was due to start at 7.30 pm, so I was offered a dessert for the interval instead which was really nice. I noticed that the lady on the next table also had the same dish and she had left all of her meat - really spoiling the experience. It wasn’t good service or value for money on this occasion which is a shame because the idea of a meal before the show is great. I wish it had been a different outcome, did appreciate it’s busy but feel service needs to be speedier as things can go wrong and there isn’t enough time to rectify any issues.

We booked the meal deal when we made our booking having eaten in previous shows, as always the food was exceptional but the delay between courses was too long, we received our starters in good time but our main course took ages it eventually arrived at 1910 after chasing it up and the show was due to start at 1930 so was a rush to eat and get to our seats so not really able to enjoy our meal, the staff very excellent and very apologetic but they were rushed off their feet & doing the best they could they could definitely do with a few extra pair of hands to help during this busy time

Good perfect.good choice.could have been hotter .shared starter was great .worth the money .good choice of starters main and dessert .everyone enjoyed food .

First time we have done this and the food was lovely. My husband had the ribs chips and onion rings. We shared the fisherman’s platter for starters. I had the chilli chicken with rice and pak Choi which was lovely the only slight down side was 2 small bits of garlic bread was £3.50 overall was really nice. Staff was really nice too we had a waitress called Natalie and she was very helpful

Fabulous meal and show deal - food is good quality “bistro style” menu! The staff are very friendly and, if you get to the restaurant around 90mins before the show starts, relaxed environment to enjoy a meal! Recommended 👍

All in all a pleasant meal before the show. New chicken and garlic dish particularly nice. Strawberry tart still slightly frozen, but didn’t spoil experience. Waitress quite blasé troughout our meal, plonking down main dish with a solemn ‘there you go’ This was noticeable when watching the other cheery waitresses with customers! Needless to say we did not tip our waitress, instead gave our appreciation to a lovely young lady who served us wine - well done!

The meal was excellent with a good choice of dishes at competitive prices. Also a wide choice of drinks available. The service was friendly, efficient and welcoming. A perfect start to a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

We booked a meal before the show. The restaurant doesn't have a great atmosphere and the menu is limited. But when the food arrived it had obviously been freshly prepared and was piping hot. It's really convenient and a good choice for a meal before a show.

We booked a table for a pre-show meal for the matinee, we were seated quickly and placed a drink order and starters, the drinks arrived but the waitress forgot to order up the starters, we had olives with bread as a sharing plate, this arrived without the oilbabd vinegar, the waitress said she would get this and then forgot again.

My brother and I went to see the matinee performance of The Mousetrap on Tuesday 18th September. We had booked lunch along with our tickets and, at the time, l had explained that l was unable to get upstairs to the restaurant. They assured me that a table would be reserved for us in the bar area. We arrived quite early and our table was already set up and reserved for us. The food was fantastic and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to say a massive thank you to our lovely waitess Jenny who was fabulous and really made our visit enjoyable. This is a fantastic theatre and, even though we travel there from East London, l would rather go here than the West End. Cannot praise it highly enough. Lovely theatre, fabulous staff and wonderful food.

Never had a bad meal yet the food is simple but fantastic well cooked hot and really really tasty order drinks for the interval and your table is reserved to come back to

Oh my goodness I have been to the orchard a few times the food is always superb I have had lots of course off the menu it is the best I have had for a long time there is no waiting for courses served always hot and fresh the staff are always lovely cannot do enough for you the prices are reasonable their is a menu for the inclusive plus a menu for other food if you wish the drinks are slightly more expensive but you expect that I always book a meal and a show now try the food you wont be disappointed in any shape of form happy dinning enjoy x

There was a really good selection of food available but not particularly as described in the menu though. Changes were made to what actually appeared however the food was reasonable and the waitress was really lovely . I had eaten before but it wasn't to the same standard portion sizes have definitely shrunk .

As usual the meal and service were exceptional. My only wish would be for the menu to change a bit more frequently. Being a regular theatre goer and enjoying a meal before the show, the menu is now overdue a change, perhaps go back to changing every season?

We had a great time lovely food, they didn't have the wine we wanted so they let us try another and give us extra, great service would go again.

The food was great along with exceptional caring service to give my 97 year old mother in law a great evening. Our meal was served in the bar area to save her having to climb the stairs to and from the restaurant.