The best Covent Garden restaurants right now
Covent Garden restaurants are not exactly few and far between. In fact, there are almost too many to choose from, whether you're looking for a pre-theatre bite, an affordable restaurant in Covent Garden or Michelin star dining. From fine dining at Spring to the intimate atmosphere at the Barbary, we've rounded up the best Covent Garden restaurants to book a table at. Some of them are so good, they're also on our list of the best restaurants in London overall, so you'd be hard pressed not to find some top quality dishes.
1/11The Barbary & The Barbary Next Door
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for moorish flavours
There are few restaurants in London that are as convivial as The Barbary and its tiny sister site – located just next door – The Barbary Next Door. Both are bar dining; the former is a horseshoe shaped bar and the latter a sliver of space seating just ten diners. This means that you can watch all your dishes be prepared and keep ordering more as you see plates fly off to other diners. Arrive hungry or you risk leaving and grumbling about all the dishes you saw other people having but didn’t have the space to order. The food is based on Moorish recipes so there’s a lot of excellent spices as you take a tour of the best of Tunisia, Morocco, Spain and beyond.
16 Neal's Yard, London WC2H 9DP
thebarbary.co.uk
2/11Ikoyi
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for Michelin star dining
With two Michelin stars to its name, Ikoyi goes from strength to strength and there’s little wonder why; the ethos is to take hyper seasonal, sustainable British produce and cook it with an array of spices from sub-Saharan West Africa. Sourcing is the foundation of Ikoyi’s menu and it shows in the precise, balanced and evolving flavours on the plate and clear passion that the entire team – headed by chef Jeremy Chan and co-owner Iré Hassan-Odukale – has for the food they are putting out. It is a ten out of ten experience and, while pricey, certainly worth it for a special meal.
180 Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1EA
ikoyilondon.com
3/11The Delaunay
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for old world charm
Think of The Delaunay as the grande dame of Covent Garden, an elegant respite from the busy streets where you can slink into an intimate banquette and get acquainted with the food of mittel-Europa. Stroganoff, tartes flambées and schnitzels all make the cut, and breakfast is equally delightful. The price point reflects the more formal nature of the restaurant and it’s definitely one to book at a table at, though you can take your chances as a walk-in. If you can’t get a table, hop next door to the more relaxed Delaunay Counter instead.
55 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BB
thedelaunay.com
4/11Spring
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for fine dining
The imposing neo-classical beauty of Somerset House is the perfect setting for Skye Gyngell’s dining room, where the Australian chef brings her meticulous, seasonal plates to a constant crowd of fans. The menu changes every day, depending on what Skye’s suppliers have been growing, so you might find yourself supping on blood oranges in January, new season asparagus in April, guinea fowl in September and confit winter tomatoes with halibut in December. You never know what the menu will hold, but it will always be cooked with a light touch to show the ingredients at their best.
Lancaster Pl, London WC2R 1LA
springrestaurant.co.uk
CHARLIE MCKAY5/11Joe Allen
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for pre-theatre
Since 1977, Joe Allen has been something of an institution in Covent Garden. Having shut its doors for a while, it's now back and better than ever, offering the same speakeasy atmosphere and comfort food in the style of a New York brasserie. You don't head to Joe Allen for complicated plating and ingredients, but rather your all-time favourites, done in style. The bar is not to be missed either.
2 Burleigh St, London WC2E 7PX
joeallen.co.uk
6/11Ochre
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for sharing plates
Ochre is attached to the National Gallery and offers modern dishes that are as intriguing to look at as the art in the gallery beyond its doors. The plates are incredibly well-presented, as is the room itself with soaring ceilings and a mustard tone running throughout. Sustainability, seasonality and traceability are the pillars of what Ochre offers, which in practice means a menu devised of ingredients mostly sourced from around the UK that changes all the time. The food is rich, the methods distinctly French in their decadence and every mouthful is a sensory overload.
National Gallery, Trafalgar Sq, London WC2N 5DN
ochre.london
7/11Ekstedt at the Yard
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for Nordic cooking
This fire and smoke-fuelled restaurant is ever so slightly outside the bounds of Covent Garden, but it’s close enough and good enough to make the list regardless. Niklas Ekstedt is the chef in charge, hailing from Sweden and on a mission to bring the best of his country to London diners, so long as it can be cooked over burning hot coals. Ekstedt focuses on Nordic wood fire cooking techniques and you know it from the smell and huge wood oven as soon as you step inside. You can order a la carte, but we recommend the nine course tasting menu to truly get to grips with what Niklas is all about.
3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HN
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OLA O SMIT8/11Toklas
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for a relaxed date night
Toklas feels like the sort of restaurant that a chef would eat at on their night off; relaxed, unpretentious and with a hint of St John about it in the select choice of ingredients on each plate. This is not a fireworks and glitter restaurant with multiple distractions – rather, all the talking is done on the plate. It’s modern, seasonal and simple, expertly seasoned and all utterly delicious. The best thing? The menu is designed to be shared, should that be your thing, or ordered as individual plates per person, which is something of a rarity and a joy on the London food scene these days.
1 Surrey St, Temple, London WC2R 2ND
toklaslondon.com
9/11Barrafina
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for tapas
There's tapas and then there's Barrafina, a restaurant that does it with such panache, they have five sites across the capital. There are no bookings, they are all buzzy to a fault and the marble-clad bars where you sample plate after plate of the best Spanish cuisine this side of Madrid are some of the hardest to get a seat at. It's worth persevering and waiting it out as the menu is so tempting at every turn, you'll be back to order anything you couldn't quite manage on your previous visit.
43 Drury Ln, London WC2B 5AJ
barrafina.co.uk
10/11Bancone
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for fresh pasta
The original Bancone on William IV Street is still at the forefront of London’s recent influx of pasta bars. The interiors are slick and cool, the atmosphere is always buzzy and it’s a restaurant we find ourselves returning to time and again. Of course, the main reason for the repeat bookings is the silky pasta and punchy sauces that accompany them. The menu changes to reflect the seasons, with some perennial favourites always there to welcome you; the cacio e pepe is a must (order it to share amongst your table, alongside your own pasta dishes) and the ‘silk handkerchiefs’ need no introduction these days.
39 William IV St, London WC2N 4DD
bancone.co.uk
11/11The Ivy
Best restaurant in Covent Garden for a classic dinner
Ignore the franchise of Ivy Cafés that have populated every part of the UK and head instead for the original and the best: The Ivy West Street. Long before the group took their popularity to the masses, The Ivy has stood proud on this hidden road in Covent Garden, attracting everyone from celebrities to tourists for its menu that now blends the classics – that Shepherd’s Pie – with Asian-inspired dishes. It’s a mish-mash, yes, but it works and you just can’t resist the charms of the Martin Brudnizki-designed interiors and the famous harlequin windows.
1-5 West St, London WC2H 9NQ
the-ivy.co.uk
