Just under 400 years ago today, William Shakespeare shuffled off this mortal coil and went to the great theatre in the sky. He was a great one for using food in his writing and, if you are that way inclined, there is a comprehensive database of his grub-themed scribblings here.
I’ve always had a soft spot for his line ‘If music be the food of love, play on’. It usually comes to mind when I’m in a restaurant trying to have a nice quiet meal with the missus and the restaurant manager has a Spinal Tap moment and decides to crank up the world’s worst music to eleven.
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<span lang="EN-GB">Examples that stick in the memory are the Highland hotel that played the theme to the Dambusters at breakfast; the Italian trattoria that gubbed us with gabba over our gelati and the short-lived Byres Road bar diner that thought a Motorhead Vs The Sex Pistols mash-up was appropriate for a Sunday afternoon. I’m not even going to start on the Mariachi band that marches from table to table at a Tex-Mex place in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Austin</span><span lang="EN-GB"> demanding money with musical menaces.</span>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Deciding what constitutes the right music in the right restaurant at the right time is a personal choice. One man’s Meatloaf is another’s Chris De Burgh. When it works, it enhances the meal. When it doesn’t then I’m not sticking around to see the dessert menu.</span>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Edinburgh</span><span lang="EN-GB"> restaurants with live music are fairly thin on the ground. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Glasgow</span><span lang="EN-GB"> has a lot more. Here’s a selection of 5pm members that often lay on live music with their menus: <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Alla_Turca">Alla Turca</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Arches_Cafe_Bar">The Arches</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Art_Lovers_Cafe">Art Lover’s Café</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Brasserie_at_Oran_Mor">Oran Mor</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Brel">Brel</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Cafe_Cossachok">Café Cossachok</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Capitol">Capitol</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Maggie_Mays">Maggie May’s</a>, <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/Cottiers">Cottiers</a> and <a href="https://www.5pm.co.uk/Browse/Restaurant/The_Hold_@_Admiral_Bar">The Hold @ the Admiral Bar</a>. </span>
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