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London restaurant suggestions for theatre-focused visit

We will be going to London in late April to celebrate my husband’s birthday, staying in hotels this time instead of the usual apartments. So we will need 6 or 7 restaurants and I am looking for ideas. We will be staying first in the Inns of Court area (on Fleet Street), and then near Trafalgar Square. We are happy to walk up to 30-45 minutes for a recommended restaurant. No Tube for me.

On theatre nights we will be dining early-ish (one night as early as 5 for the 6:30 performance). We have been happy with Côte Brasserie’s pre`-theatre dining menu in the past, and will probably go there for the early dinner. For the birthday dinner we might go to one of the Ivy restaurants, if there is one that is fairly quiet; I like their menu.

For the others: we like Italian food, seafood, Indian/South Asian, and “modern British” cuisine; casual non-fussy places like wine bars, tapas bars, and pubs/gastropubs. The most important thing is that it not be noisy or “buzzy”, which seems to be desireable for younger people but not for us, especially not for my husband.

I look forward to your suggestions. Thank you.

Posted by
590 posts

I also like Ivy Market Grill, but (at least in my opinion) it falls into the category of noisy/buzzy, which you said didn't appeal. I haven't tried out all of the Ivy places though. I would also have recommended Dean Street Townhouse (Soho) but sadly that tends to be noisy too.

For modern British and definitely not noisy, I'd recommend Great British Restaurant at Dukes (Mayfair). I'd say it's smarter, but not fussy.

Posted by
1454 posts

It’s quite difficult to find somewhere that isn’t noisy and buzzy in the West End. Anywhere decent will also be busy but I guess you want somewhere with more spread out tables and a calmer ambiance.

Clos Maggiore is a French restaurant that may fit the bill. The Delaunay (bistro) and J Sheekey (seafood) would also be good options. Brasserie Zedel (French bistro) at Piccadilly is enormous but it’s actually fairly calm in there.

Posted by
1310 posts

Have you thought about The Wolseley or Fallow? They might fit the bill if you've got the budget.

Posted by
17562 posts

Thank you so much, people (not so much to the AI bot). I will check out all the recommendations, except the bot’s. Dishoom in Shoreditch is too far, and we won’t be going to the 40th floor of any building for a view restaurant. I should have mentioned we do not do elevators. And the Ivy Market Grill has been deemed too noisy, so we will give that a miss.

The Great British Restaurant looks like the place for the birthday dinner—-my husband likes “classy” places so long as they are not pretentious or overpriced, and this appears to fit the bill. I had to look up “Monkfish scampi” as that sounds like an oxymoron, but I see it is a newish riff on fish and chips, and looks very appealing. Is that a Tom Kerridge invention that has become widespread?

For the rest, since we actually have only 3 theatre nights, we are not limited to the West End for the other 4. City of London, Holborn, Lincolns Inn Field, or other areas to the east or north would be fine. I know the City is the financial area and used to be quiet at night, but now I see lots and lots of restaurants on the map. (Maybe they are mostly daytime lunch spots?)

And if appropriate we could use the bus to go a bit further afield.

I do have some dietary restrictions which seem totally random—-things like aubergines and onions, for example. So I need to vet menus pretty carefully to make sure there are appealing things I actually can eat. Spanish and Italian food seem the easiest for me, but I can generally find something good at an Indian restaurant as well, and my husband really likes those flavors. If all else fails, it is a burger for my husband and fish ‘n chips for me—-but with crumbs, not batter. Or a nice salad (hold the onions) with a bit of grilled chicken or salmon on top.

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9261 posts

AI Bot reported to webmaster

25 minute walk away from Covenant Garden is the Cio Bella Italian restaurant. Right next door is The Lamb pub.

You can easily walk into Chinatown from Covenant Garden.

EDIT: In Chinatown is Joy King Lau. Went there twice. This was before the management change and perusing Trip Advisor reviews sounds like the place went downhill. Too bad.

Posted by
477 posts

An Italian option that I have used a few times recently. And like a lot. Has 3 central locations. Great negronis and the food has been good.
www.bancone.co.uk

They tend to need reservations for the tables. But, you can usually get a seat at the counter.

Posted by
17562 posts

No need to alert the Webmaster. I don’t think AI posts actually violate the guidelines, and personally I find them kind of amusing.

Ironically, I was actually thinking of looking at places between Liverpool Street Station and our hotel on Fleet St. for one evening, as we will be walking back from that station from a daytrip to Cambridge. I thought it might be interesting to stop for dinner on the way (but I would have to change our return ticket on the train to a later time). I did see the Duck ams Waffle in the area, but did not look into it yet. With a nice “pub-style” name like that, I never imagined it would be 40 stories up in a new high rise building.

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477 posts

If you get off the train at Liverpool Street, there's a branch of Eataly just at the Bishopsgate exit.

Posted by
1310 posts

Gunpowder in Spitalfields is very highly regarded. I've never eaten there but I walked past the other day and the waiter standing at the door gave me a friendly "hello" when he saw me looking in. Immediately endeared me to the place.

Posted by
5866 posts

Near Liverpool Street Station is Ottolenghi Spitalfields (although the aubergine and onion restriction might limit choices).

I’m not sure Dishoom will meet your criteria. The three I have been to (Kensington, Kings Cross, and Soho) have all been noisy in the evening,

I’ve also heard good things about Gunpowder (mentioned above), but have not been there.

Posted by
17562 posts

Laura, I appreciate the comment about noise at Dishoom,

Gunpowder looks very interesting—-I will show that menu to my husband and see what he thinks.

I love Ottolenghi’s recipes and cook from two of his cookbooks at home, where I can pick and choose ingredients and substitute where necessary. When we were in London for 3 weeks a few years ago we had two lunches and one dinner at Ottolenghi venues, including Spitalfields for take-out lunch (I don’t think they had tables then). And my birthday dinner was at Nopi, which was great. Looking at the menus, I find a number of dishes I will be able to eat—-maybe passing the onions or whatever over to my husband. We always share plates anyway! So thanks for the suggestion.

Posted by
5866 posts

including Spitalfields for take-out lunch (I don’t think they had tables then).

They’ve always had tables (Spitalfields is one of the larger Ottolenghi restaurants), but you might not have noticed them if you just stopped at the takout counter and didn’t continue around to the dining room.

Posted by
701 posts

Last May, we enjoyed Notto pasta bar, a few blocks west of Piccadilly circus. Booking ahead (the day before) advisable. I too, am sensitive to noise and don’t recall it being a problem but your experience may vary. My friend has certain food allergies, and they were able to cater for her needs.