Open Mon–Fri 10am–11pm; Sat 11am–11pm; Sun during shows
The style:
As soon as the sun shines you’ll want to escape the frenzy of King Street and head to Brera’s roof terrace. Designed by landscape architects Adam White and Andree Davies, it’s large and leafy with some cool climbers, medium-sized trees and stylish seating. Music (at just the right volume) is played through outdoor speakers and there’s also a BBQ.
Italian pizza company Brera runs the spacious café and bar, giving it a relaxed, continental feel. There is communal Wagamama-style seating in one area, leather sofas in another and a more intimate simple raised restaurant area overlooking the terrace.
The crowd:
The Lyric’s bar area fills up quickly before a show – so get there early if you want a table. On Saturdays there are usually afternoon shows for very young children so the café/bar is probably best avoided at these times if you’re looking for calm. On our visit (with no show on) there was a casually-dressed couple in the restaurant area and a group of young friends gossiping on the sofa.
The food:
Unfortunately we had picked one of the only wet evenings in May for our visit, so a BBQ on the roof wasn’t possible. The award-winning hand-made-to-order pizzas, using Italian farina flour would have to do instead. My funghi e rucola (£8.45) had generous toppings of fine mozzarella di bufala, flat black and porcini mushrooms, peppery rocket and pungent truffle oil on a thin, crispy base. Unfortunately my Italian friend was less than impressed with her rustica (tomato, mozzarella, Italian sausages, fennel finished with a splash of salsa verde) which was too oily. Our creamy tiramisu (£3.25) lacked punch (I had one from an Italian deli the following day which was in another league).
The drinks:
We enjoyed a couple of glasses of good Chilean sauvignon blanc (£5 for 175ml). The bar offers a good but short selection of wines, draft and bottled beers. The bar’s highlight is its award-winning coffee – made from hand-selected coffee beans direct from the farmers, from three different regions round the world.
Meal for two, with wine, around £50.
