London Covent Garden Restaurant Guide

“Fun but fully priced” would be a fair overview of this funky fusion duo – outposts of a glossy US-based chain that started in NYC. The original is found at the top of one of West Europe’s fastest lifts, whisking you to the glamorous 38th floor of the Heron Tower (adjacent to Duck & Waffle, see also), complete with a stylish cocktail lounge and outside terrace. Its newer sibling opened in 2018: “it’s above the market in Covent Garden which is a great location/space (regardless of what currently occupies it!)”. In both spots, all reports agree its luxurious Latino-meets-Japanese bites are super-moreish and “consistently good”. Prices though are OTT, especially as “you can feel like you are in a machine, and they churn out huge numbers of covers so service feels rushed. And it’s big, it’s loud, feels like a bun fight!!” (“Sushi Samba was my 18-year-old daughter’s choice and was not as bad as I feared, but not particularly stand-out either”.)

2022 Review: In the heart of tourist Covent Garden – on the corner of the market itself, near The Punch & Judy pub – this large (200-seat) Italian arrived in late 2019. It’s the first venture outside Italy for Nicolo Marzotti, who has 13 restaurants back home. The jury is still out on whether or not it transcends its tourist trap location (including some seating on a balcony over the main market square).

“Top-class fish prepared well” makes this Covent Garden seafood bar “a welcome oasis in this part of London” and disproportionately popular for its modest size. Happy fans also note that “service is generally prompt and friendly”. On the debit side, the interior can feel “cramped and workaday”, and one or more regulars reckon its performance generally has been a little “chaotic” in recent times (causing a dip in the ratings). Top Menu Tip – “the lunchtime special of fish pie with a glass of house wine for £20 is a steal, particularly in these surroundings”.

“Chic and cosy” Covent Garden townhouse with “very friendly staff” and a “nice short menu” of accomplished comfort food. “The set lunch” and early-evening menu is “very welcome for pre-theatre dining” – and means “you can afford to go regularly”. Like its Shepherd Market sibling Kitty Fisher’s, it takes its name from a historic courtesan with local connections.

Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan was – as of mid 2025 – rumoured to be on the verge of buying a £1 billion stake in Richard Caring’s restaurant empire, of which this famous brasserie chain is the crown jewel. Presumably, he’s more interested in ‘rolling out’ the brand in The Gulf and beyond rather than dropping by for a Salmon Fishcake and ‘Ivy Chocolate Bombe’, but if he’d asked the opinion of our annual diners’ poll, we’re not sure that he’d sign on the dotted line. “How can a restaurant with this heritage produce such uninspired, tick-box food?” is a question merited by its poor ratings, ditto what explains the “very slow and disinterested service”? The answer may be that “you don’t come here for the food, obviously” but for the “gorgeous” interior design and “picturesque” locations that continue to underpin their appeal. Let’s hope for the Sheikh’s sake that the middle classes of the Arab World are as undiscerning as those from the UK!

“Soup dumpling heaven!” – say fans, who experience “the joy of dim sum in all its brilliance” at these London outlets of a Taiwan-based international chain that arrived here to great fanfare in 2018 – branch number four opened in Canary Wharf last year. Perhaps inevitably, well-travelled sceptics say they’re relatively “expensive for what they are” (“foodwise they’re the same as Asia”, but “I was shocked by the pricing of here vs Singapore”).

Down a cute Covent Garden alley, this tiny Scandi café with a handful of seats outside in summer is sweet in more ways than one: “the renowned Princess Tarta is criminally delicious and can be personalised to order… 100% authentic too!”

“Proper old-school dining and a style of service rarely found nowadays” maintains the highest enthusiasm for London’s oldest restaurant: on this site in Covent Garden since 1798, and with “beautiful olde worlde decor” that looks like you’ve just “stepped back in time” to the era of Dickens, complete with “lovely wood panels and old paintings adorning the walls”. Of course the tourists flock, especially Yanks, and have for decades – get over it: it’s still an annual “tried and trusted” treat for many locals who “make an annual pilgrimage and hope the traditions remain for the next generation”. Its “seasonal, rich and wonderfully hearty British cooking” has proved of remarkably enduring quality over many years: “the beef pudding with an oyster? yes please, it’s is as good as it gets” (“superb, suet-encased, served with extra gravy”); and “the game in season is always good if a bit expensive” (e.g. “half a tender and flavourful roast partridge with bread sauce”). Top Tip – there’s also “a super bar upstairs that too many customers ignore”; “a favourite spot for a proper Black Velvet: that magical mix of champagne and Guinness devised during the time when Queen Victoria was in mourning”.

“Famous for being London’s top romantic dining spot with good reason” – this bewitching Covent Garden “haven” comes complete with an “exquisite” rear conservatory, with “a glass roof that opens in summer” and “the treat of a log fire in winter” – and “on the first floor you dine under a vibrant canopy of flowers”. By most accounts the European cuisine is “beautifully presented and tastes as good as it looks” too, although a slight slip in its ratings of late supports those who feel that “it’s more hit and miss since the pandemic”. No change in its “wonderful wine selection” however: “a surprisingly eclectic list of wines, alongside the bonus of an extensive cognac offering (and Armagnac dating back 70 years!”). “A must for a special celebration”.

With “clever”, “good-quality Japanese food” – in particular the “excellent, if relatively expensive, sushi” – and “busy, competent service”, these “fun, stylish and friendly” Scandi-minimal venues are “always buzzing”. Founded in Copenhagen by a pair of Danish-Japanese brothers more than 30 years ago, the company came under new ownership in 2024 with big expansion plans, and unveiled two times F1 champion Fernando Alonso as a major shareholder in April 2025. Recent London openings include a “huge new site” in Islington and Battersea Power Station.

“A simple but very effective formula” that “really works and long may it continue!” – “When you hear the word ‘chain’ you may think of other steak chains best described as ‘bleugh’. Flat Iron isn’t one of them! Each branch has a cool, independent feel, and most importantly, their steak is actually really good”. Now with 15 branches in London (as well as Brighton, Cambridge, Manchester and Leeds), they provide a curt “well priced” menu of “excellent steak and sides”, plus the odd burger, and “the free ice cream cone at the end is a tasty topping to a very good offering”. “A great example of one getting what it says on the tin” and “impressive how they have kept the quality and friendly service going so well”.

2023 Review: This modern pan-Asian in Covent Garden – an import from NYC – offers “playful dim sum”, alongside other “cut-above” dishes. There are “relaxed long tables for groups or cosy red-checked spots for two diners”, and the atmosphere is set by the “fun 90s playlist and friendly team”.