[3] Mel Gussow of The New York Times stated in 1981 that it "is overly voluble and attenuated, but [...] filled with astute observations on aristocratic malfeasance as well compromise and cowardice on the part of the lower classes.
"[5] University of Washington professor Stephen Weeks, who saw the play in 1992 at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, lauded Restoration as "easily the wittiest of Bond's intertextual adventures [...] Lord Are is a masterly comic creation by any standard".
[6] The Guardian's Lyn Gardner dubbed Restoration "a play that rings with wild laughter, and chills you to the bone" despite being "slow to catch fire".
"[8] In 2002, Christopher Innes dubbed Restoration the "only play to rise above this simplification in the recent phase of Bond's career" in which protagonists lack complexity and are either virtuous or evil.
[14] The Spectator's Mark Amory praised the performances of Davis and Bishop but wrote, "Some of the words of the songs are simple and strong [...] the music is pretty, and the idea of the actors stepping out of character to express themselves directly to the audience sounds effective.