17 Best restaurants and places to eat in Covent Garden

1 Bunsik

Purveyors of the viral K-dog – turbo battered savs or Dagwood dogs. These calorific snack see a hotdog skewered the battered and fried twice and loaded with various dirty additions. Most popular is the potato and mozzarella K-dog, but you could also try the octo-leg K-Dog too. 

Address: 62 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0BU

Website: bunsik.co.uk

2 Donutelier, Charing Cross Road

Donutelier by Roladin takes the intricate craftmanship of the world’s greatest fashion ateliers and applies it to the beloved doughnut.  The boutique bakery and its team of pastry chefs showcase each step of the doughnut masking and designing process. Each of the doughnuts will be handmade and are so artfully decorated it seems almost a shame to eat them.   

Address: 48-50 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0BB

Website: donutelier.co.uk

3 Luci, Long Acre

The Aqua Restaurant Group (also found in the Shard) has opened an ‘Italian dining bakery’ on Long Arce in the style of Milanese cafes. The venue’s bancone counter on the first floor comes stocked with fresh baked goods and Al Forno dishes, while in the upstairs dining room, diners can order a la carte.

Address: 136 Long Acre, Covent Garden WC2E 9AA

Website: lucirestaurant.co.uk

4 Seven Dials Market

Created by food stall incubator KERB, the food here is good, tasty and fast. The recently opened Bar Nana serves up fresh juices and cocktails, if you’re lucky in a banana contraption, but there’s also pizza, curry, bao buns and so many things in between. 

Address: Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, WC2H 9LD

Website: sevendialsmarket.com

5 Marquess of Anglesey’s rooftop bar, Bow Street

The Youngs pub has reopened following an extensive makeover that includes the addition of a rooftop bar. It comes with a retractable roof, and is ready for dinner reservations as well as just a couple of pints or a cocktail or two – a great place to have up your sleeve for a pre or post-West End show drink.

Address: 39 Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 7AU

Website: themarquess.co.uk

6 Gaucho, James Street

It’s been 10 years since steak house Gaucho have opened a new restaurant, and it is now bringing the flavours and colours of Buenos Aires to the West End. With all the glamour of its sister venues, this restaurant plates up premium steaks alongside a menu of Latin American dishes and indulgent cocktails in an art deco-inspired dining room. Open for breakfast from 8am and open to mid-night, also look out for tango performances, live music, djs and pre-theatre dining options.

Address: 8-9 James Street, WC2E 8BT

Website: gauchorestaurants.com

7 Story Cellar, Neal’s Yard

Two Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers opens a Parisian-style rotisserie restaurant. Alongside half or whole chicken served with salad and fries, try a seasonal terrine or perhaps the snail Bolognese on toast with parsley butter. You can also get a variety of shellfish dishes, or something from the grill. For drinks, the focus is on fine wines by the glass plucked from the restaurant’s expansive walk-in cellar.

Address: 17 Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials, WC2H 9DP

Website: storycellar.co.uk 

8 Frenchie, Henrietta Street

Chef Gregory Marchand’s Covent Garden brasserie is one chic affair and a sister venue to Marchand’s Micheli-stared Parisian restaurant. It serves up traditional French dishes with an elegant modern twist which are made with British ingredients, pick from the a la carte menu, or try a tasting menu – which also comes vegetarian – or from a set menu if you’re off to catch a show.

Address: 16 Henrietta Street Covent WC2E 8QH

Website: frenchiecoventgarden.com

9 The Petersham, Floral Street

Bursting of floral romanticism, the Covent Garden outpost of Richmond’s Petersham Nurseries is an elegant affair. The organic Italian kitchen plates up rustic yet refined dishes that speak of the seasons and taste of nature. A sommelier is on hand to help you find the right something to drink, and the restaurant offers a short, but delicious pre-theatre menu too.

Address: 2  Floral Street, Covent Garden WC2E 9FB

Website: petershamnurseries.com

10 Ave Mario, Henrietta Street

Part of the Big Mamma Group that spawned Gloria’s, Circolo Popolare and most recently Jacuzzi, Ave Mario is right on point with the group’s jazzy, over-the-top and extra-as interiors that are embellished in camp Italian flair. Dressed in bold red and white interiors that are busy and glossy, the restaurant serves up super-sized pizzas and pastas, as well as a gelato, which comes in as a 60cm tall “tower”.

Address: 15 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden WC2E 8QG

Website: bigmammagroup.com

11 Cinnamon Bazaar, Maiden Lane

Part of the ultra-refined Cinnamon Collection group, by Chef Vivek Singh which has  several venues dotted around London, the Covent Garden venue is bright and cheerful and serves vibrant Indian dishes to match. Dishes are inventive and creative, and sometimes a fusion of cultures – try the lamb rogan josh shepherd’s pie for something both new and familiar. Come for afternoon tea, a work lunch, brunch or dinner – as a night out, or before or after the theatre.

Address: 28 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden WC2E 7JS

Website: cinnamon-bazaar.com

12 The Barbary, Neal’s Yard

The Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant has been hugely popular since it opened its doors in 2016, so much so, it spawned sibling. A sibling venue to Tel Aviv-style restaurant The Palomar in Soho, the snug intimate venue (just 24 seats) brings Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern culinary traditions together to create a menu of fresh, elegant small plates cooked over fire.

Address: 16 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden WC2H 9DP

Website: thebarbary.co.uk

13 Lahpet, Slingsby Place

Burmese cuisine may be something new to you, but it is well worth getting to know. Think vibrant, flavour-rich dishes with all the fragrance and punch of Thai cuisine coupled with the richness of a south Asian curry. The younger sibling to Lahpet Shoreditch, the West End venue has the same stack of dishes that come with crunch, heat and layers of flavours and textures.

Address: 21 Slingsby Place, WC2E 9AB

Website: lahpet.co.uk

14 3Henrietta Street

In the heart of Covent Garden, this five-storey townhouse is home to three restaurants and the flagship coffee house for The Gentlemen Baristas. On the first floor is Pivot, a modern British restaurant from Mark Greenaway. You’ve also got El Ta’Koy, a Hawaiian inspired street food restaurant already with locations in Miami, New York and Riyadh. Housed in the basement, Pous has created a drinking den ideal for London’s dark nights that serves a sharing menu and a Tiki-inspired cocktail list.

Address: 3 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8LU

Website: 3henrietta.com

15 The Barbary Next Door, Neal’s Yard

In the bustling Neal’s yard courtyard, this neighbourhood wine bar and restaurant is the little sister to The Barbary Next Door. Open from the early morning until late at night, this relaxed but chic joint serves a menu inspired by the fragrant spices and smokey flavours of Moorish Spain and North African cooking, and the wine list focuses on drops from Spain, France and Morocco.

Address: 16A Neal’s Yard, WC2H 9DP

Website: thebarbarynextdoor.co.uk

16 Sycamore Vino Cucina, Great Queen Street

Sycamore Vino Cucina is an all-day Italian restaurant and bar, at Middle Eight hotel on Great Queen Street. Dishes are inspired by Head Chef Paul Robinson’s time spent in northern Italy, and use seasonal British produce. There’s sharing dishes, as well as larger pasta and ‘secondi’ dishes such as torched mackerel, horseradish and pomegranate. Oh, and the bar has 15 types of Negroni.

Address: 66 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden WC2B 5BX

Website: middleeight.com

17 Fatt Pundit, Maiden Lane

The second sibling to the Soho venue, Fatt Pundit brings Indo-Chinese cooking to the table. Steeped in history, Indo-Chinese cuisine was created by Canton and Guangdong emigrants who settled across India and began incorporating Indian spices into their Chinese cooking. For the vegans amongst us, its good to know that there is a plant-based version of a dish wherever possible. Here’s where you can go to try cocktails inspired by the fragrant flavours of India and China too.

Address: 6 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, WC2E 7NA

Website: fattpundit.co.uk