Where to Eat and Drink at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Most people eat on site here, and that is what the gates opening 90 minutes early are for: a picnic on the lawn, or food and drink bought at the theatre.

Bring your own

You may bring a picnic and eat it on the picnic lawn, or in Queen Mary's Garden next to the Box Office. The theatre would rather you bought from it, but the rule is a yes.

What cannot come in:

• Sharp knives. Pack accordingly, which in practice means cutting things at home
• Hot food bought elsewhere. A takeaway on the way through Marylebone will not get past the gate
• Open drinks bought elsewhere, a pint carried in from a pub included

Bags are checked at the gate against these and the rest of the prohibited list.

What is on site

• The picnic lawn, for your own picnic or anything bought here
• The barbecue, The Grill and The Pizza Oven, and the last two can be bought on the day with no ordering ahead
• Covered Dining, which is the one to want if the forecast is poor
• The Summer Café
• The bar, which is one of the longest in London

Anything you want to be certain of is pre-ordered rather than queued for, and the cut-offs are 10am for a matinee and 3pm for an evening performance.

Two things about the timings:

• Hot food service stops 30 minutes before the performance, and earlier on a busy night if they are working through the orders. Cold food runs until the start and through the interval
• The bar stops serving five minutes before the performance

What happens to a pre-order if the weather stops the show is on the weather route.

Into the auditorium

Drinks from the bar can come into the auditorium with you. Food cannot, and that includes your own picnic. Eat it on the lawn and go in empty-handed.

Cards only, as everywhere on site, and there are two water refill stations if you bring a bottle.

Restaurants, bars and hotels nearby

The restaurants, bars and hotels are in Marylebone and around Baker Street, back the way you came. Inside the park itself there is the Regent's Bar and Kitchen, on the path that leads down to the Box Office.

The picks below are for the evenings when you want a proper dinner or a drink first. The walking times are to the theatre itself and include the walk into the park, which is about ten minutes from Baker Street on its own.

Restaurants. Three, in rough order of how much of an occasion you want the evening to be. Coppa Club Marylebone, at 31 Marylebone High Street, is an all-day restaurant and bar, about 15 minutes' walk. Santo Remedio is Mexican, on two floors on Thayer Street, about 20 minutes. Orrery by Pierre Minotti, further up Marylebone High Street at number 55, is French fine dining and the one to book when dinner is as much of the evening as the show, about 15 minutes.

Bars and pubs. The Volunteer, at 245 Baker Street, is the closest to the park at about 10 minutes, so it is the one for a drink on the way in. Sir John Balcombe is a pub on Balcombe Street by Marylebone station, about 15 minutes. Artesian is the award-winning cocktail bar inside The Langham, about 25 minutes away, and it stays open until 2am (midnight on Sunday), so it works as well after the show as before it.

Hotels. The Landmark London is a five-star hotel on Marylebone Road, opposite Marylebone station, about 15 minutes' walk. The Langham, on Portland Place and home to Artesian, is about 25 minutes, and like the Landmark it is the one to book when the hotel is meant to be part of the trip. Dorset Square Hotel is a Firmdale hotel of 38 rooms, about 15 minutes, and the pick if you would rather stay somewhere smaller.