Eating in or near the Globe Theatre in London

The Bramah Tea Museum is close by and would be good for a meal before the play. Otherwise a picnic on a bench by the Thames is what I did and enjoyed it very much. I bought a sandwich at the Globe and frankly it was overpriced and dull. You would do better elsewhere.The food at the Swan looked average at best. Don't know about the Hard Rock but my bet is that it is really expensive.

Can I make a suggestion that I think you might really like. On the other side of the river from the Globe is a pub called The Samuel Pepys ( or TSP for short ). It's found on Stew Lane off High Timber Street. You can get a reasonably priced meal there and a good pint of beer. Then walk over the Millenium Bridge to the Globe and the wonder of 'Lear'. TSP is a pretty authentic pub and will set the atmosphere for an evening with The Bard.

As for Hard Rock Cafe - I'm not surprised they don't print the prices, highway robbery is rarely advertised ! It's one of those occasions where a compromise may be needed. Offer to buy either a meal OR a soda and a comemorative tee shirt. If your offspring have any sense they'll take the latter option and you'll spend less cash ( but I use the word less in a very loose association with it's normal concept ).

Last summer, my teenage kids wanted to eat at the hard rock cafe (and see the vault with all the rock memorabilia next door). As I recall, the numbers were the same as eating at an American Hard Rock cafe, but these numbers were in British pounds, so twice the US price. So to get an idea, look at the price menu in the US and then change the $ to GB pounds. I think it cost us $100 for a family of 5 to eat there. My kids loved it. Priceless!

We saw Titus at the Globe in May 2006. We just grabbed a sandwich at a Tesco across the river and ate it before the show. Don't bother with the Swan - it's over-priced.

Make sure and spend the extra money to get seat cushions while at the Globe. They're about 5 pounds each but, after a 3 hour performance, you'll be glad you splurged. FYI - 7 people fainted during the performance we attended - most likely due to standing. Of course, Titus A. is a bloody story!

Kevin,
Next door to the Hard Rock Souvenir store is a pub. Last time I got my shot glass at HRC and ate at the pub.. fish and chips for 8 pounds (give or take). The food was very good, and I also got to check off "eating in a pub" from my list.

Most pubs have great menus and reasonably priced, btw.

HRC menu is like all others.. burgers, etc and its 10 bucks and up.

Also around the theatre are alot of eaties. Just get there early and find places with prefixed menus.

Check out http://www.timeout.com/london/ for listings of restaurants around the neighborhood, and within your budget.

Try Tas Pide, around the corner from the Globe, maybe 1/2 block away. It's Turkish with lots of options. I don't eat meat but my son is a big carnivore and we were both happy. We enjoyed the decor as well and had good service. We did go to Hard Rock, toured the vault (free with coupon) and then had nachos in the restaurant. T'ain't cheap. But my teenage son enjoyed it. Especially all the Scandinavian girls working there!