Our (Short) Chocolate Trail at Stratford

Chocolate Barr's in Stratford

We went to two of the three chocolate shops in Stratford before catching a show. Yes, this small city has three chocolate shops! We didn’t have much time but it would have been great to go on the entire Stratford Chocolate Trail featuring 25 restaurants and shops that offer a range of cacao-based goodies. They do love their chocolate! We checked out Rhéo Thompson and Chocolate Barr’s. The third chocolate store was Rocky Mountain, which we can access closer to the GTA, so we no longer went here.

Rhéo Thompson bars and Dark Chocolate Mint Smoothies

At  Rhéo Thompson, I got some  Dark Chocolate Rhéo bars as well as Dark Chocolate Mint Smoothies. Twice the price at the theatre concession stand, these are melt-in-your mouth goodies that are hard to resist. The dark chocolate for both the bar and smoothies were not bitter and were very smooth.

Chocolate Minties and truffles from Chocolate Barr's

At Chocolate Barr’s, we got some fruit jellies (just because) and more mint goodies!! The fam LOVES mint chocolate. We got milk chocolate covered minties and an assortment of truffles—strawberry cream, chocolate covered cherries and coffee cream. So divine. Because we like milk chocolate more than dark, we really enjoyed their mint chocolate. Every bite was savoured and enjoyed as much as the Mint Smoothies we had from London. While each bite was heavenly, it was also a reminder that we were almost running out. I wonder when we can go back?!

According to their tourism site, at Stratford: "come for the chocolate, stay for the plays.” It truly is a destination for chocoholics. 

Pre-Show Dining: Stratford Thai Cuisine

For our lunch before the matinee at Avon Theatre in Stratford, we decided to check out Stratford Thai Cuisine. We came just in time, with the restaurant opening only a few minutes before we arrived. By the time we were well on our way with our meal, the place was packed and there were folks already waiting for the next available table. Whew. Just got lucky without reservations! With lovely chandeliers and linen tablecloths, I almost did a double take, thinking they would be very pricey. At about $11-15 per dish, it is quite comparable to Thai Basil.

Service was prompt and the food was delicious. We started off with shrimp Tom Yum soup with lemongrass, lime leaves, fresh chillies, mushrooms, tomatoes and spring onions. They also had some broccoli in there, which was the only thing that threw me off. It was on the sweet side but DD#2 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They didn’t scrimp on the shrimp either.

We then shared, family-style, our traditional favourites--Curry Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Beef Red Curry. We also tried the Chef Recommended Crispy Garlic Chilli.

The Curry Pad Thai was really good and was one of the best I’ve had recently. The noodles were beautifully sautéed with the egg, tofu, bean sprouts, ground peanuts and chicken. The added curry gave a nice punch.

Curry Pad Thai @ Stratford Thai

The Pineapple Fried Rice was a nice all-in-one dish with stir fried jasmine rice, cashew nuts, pineapple chunks and peppers. It was a bit on the small side to share, but we all got to have a spoonful or two.

Pineapple Fried Rice @ Stratford Thai

The Beef Red Curry was just ok for me. While the beef was tender, the curry was not thick enough, nor was it spicy enough for me.

Beef Red Curry @ Stratford Thai

The Crispy Garlic Chilli was surprisingly nice—like a twist on the Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken. The diced fried chicken was very tender and moist, lightly battered and sautéed in a rich chilli garlic sauce.

Crispy Garlic Chilli @ Stratford Thai

Our orders were just right for our party of 5 (with 2 kids). We had to save space for dessert as we were planning to check out some of the chocolate shops nearby. Would definitely come back next time we catch a show!