Last night, I took a break from my phone (after snapping most of these pics) and had dinner, followed by a show in Matunuck. Yep, I'm talking about Bistro By The Sea and Theatre BTS. Funny thing is I've either never been to Theatre By The Sea or I was there with my college boyfriend ages ago (drawing a blank...) and I don't want to give him any press, so let's stick with the never been angle. Anyway, I was feeling kinda meh, but ended up having the best time!

My friend S. had been texting me last week because she'd gone online and gotten us tix and I was like - Wizard of Oz? I've seen it on tv dozens of times. Not. Into. It. Boy, was I wrong! The show was fantastic. The whole cast was on point. Spoiler Alert - The Cowardly Lion steals the show. He was a favorite. (S. and I both agreed on this. We also raved about the guy playing The Scarecrow.) Thankfully, there was a/c or climate control, in addition to the ceiling fans that have probably been there for a while. I mean I can't imagine seeing a show there without a/c. Good thing we don't have to anymore, right? (For the record, it's usually always cooler closer to the water, but still...hats off to the diehard attendees from back in the days before a/c, cc or whatever.)

The really big surprise and delight of the night tho was Bistro By The Sea, which we both adored. And S. is one of THE toughest restaurant critics (not in an official capacity or anything but still) you'll ever run across. (Not kidding.) We started with two of the Ruby Slippers, which were fun, in a theme cocktail by the beach sorta way. (The other drink was The Wicked Witch - I think? - and since we both identify way more with Dorothy than Almira Gulch, we went with the Slippers.) We moved on to beet salads, followed by the Cod for her and the Asparagus Ravioli for me. All of our food was fresh, delicious, and lovely to look at it. Our service was consistent too. And our waiter was pleasant and personable. Again, S. is a stickler for quality across the board in any restaurant she visits and she was pretty pleased.

Imagine my surprise then, when later, before the curtain went up on 'Wizard' over in the Theatre (Fun fact: I went back and changed every theater to theatre at 2:15am this morning. Or did I?), I looked up the Bistro online and saw a handful of reviews trashing them. Uhhh, WTH?!? Now, I don't know exactly what the deal is with all of that, I will, however, tell you that we had a blast from cocktails to mains (See what you learn from watching Below Deck Mediterrean on Bravo? Apparently, entree is incorrect terminology? Since when?) to the actual show. You. Should. Go.

PS - There's also an adorable gazebo bar outside on the lawn where you can grab a drink before the show starts or during the 20 min. intermission. In addition, The Bistro is open for lunch before any of the matinees and after the night performances for coffee and dessert. We had some coffee and a piece of carrot cake for the road.

PPS - My friend Jessie says they have the most beautiful gardens in the state there too. I'm saying I'd love to own one of those little cottages right on the beach, just before you get to the Theatre.

Ciao for Now,

Patty J

Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of us