Covent Garden is home to many a buzzy West End theatre as well as a number of the city’s most influential museums… but it’s also a place to enjoy in its own right and the launchpad of some of London's finest restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and beauty pop-ups. We recommend arriving with two things: your purse and your appetite.
If you plan to spend the day mooching around Covent Garden, come hungry. Those who arrive in time to enjoy breakfast or brunch will find themselves spoilt for choice, but it pays to do your research to avoid falling into the first place you see and feeling disappointed. All-day brasserie Balthazar serves a hearty breakfast feast at their French-styled restaurant. The scrambled eggs and Cornish crab, as well as the almond waffles, and of course the Balthazar steak and egg are three major highlights. Plus, on the weekend they serve brunch until 4pm, pandering to the palates of the weekend’s late risers. Covent Garden is also home to the original branch of modern Indian restaurant Dishoom. Word of their Indian-British fusion breakfast menu has spread far and wide, and on weekend mornings you’ll find queues spilling out the doors, but it’s oh-so-worth it to have a taste of their bacon naan roll and incredibly moreish chai latte. Meanwhile those leaning towards a lighter breakfast should check out the offering in the many colourful cafes of Neal’s Yard. 26 Grains is a stand-out winner with its exciting porridge menu featuring all sorts of healthy ingredients.
Covent Garden is among the areas at the forefront of London’s food revolution, with many of the newest and most exciting restaurants opening their doors here. From trendy Japanese restaurants like Flesh and Buns to classy hangouts such as The Ivy, foodies are seriously spoilt for choice in these quarters. Barrafina is a winner for Spanish tapas, while Chick ‘n’ Sours has revolutionised fried chicken, giving it an injection of Korean tang and elevating the humble chicken burger to gourmet status. Adam Handling opened a second branch of his popular restaurant Frog, which specialises in British seasonal cuisine, in Covent Garden last summer. Meanwhile Petersham Nurseries continues to impress, with its 16,000 square foot venue boasting a lifestyle shop, a delicatessen with its own cellar of Italian wine, a florist and – new to 2018 – two restaurants: The Petersham, already known for its 'elegant and refined à la carte' offering and La Goccia, which is a more laid-back all-day affair. Then there’s the hugely popular Frenchie run by Gregory Marchand, whose previous notable posts include the Savoy, Mandarin Oriental and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant. Here, the menu is inspired by Gregory’s travels to New York, Spain and Hong Kong – with a delicious five-course tasting menu available every day for dinner.
From the hustle and bustle of tourists to the street entertainment on every corner, hours spent in Covent Garden can leave you feeling exhausted. Thankfully, there’s somewhere selling coffee everywhere you look too. Covent Garden Grind serves up a decent cup with a side of trendiness, while Timberyard is popular with the laptop crowd, offering a comfortable space to work from as well as plenty of cakes and snacks to accompany your coffee. The best in the area purely in terms of taste, though, is Monmouth Coffee, the sister branch to the ever-popular Borough Market coffee shop of the same name. Or, if a proper pucker afternoon tea is your calling, there are few places as lovely or stylish to sit down and enjoy this quintessentially British experience at than the Covent Garden Hotel. Prices start at £28 and go up depending on which fizz (champagne, naturally) you’d like to accompany your sandwiches, tea and sweet treats.
The West End has been attracting the crowds in search of entertainment for centuries, so it’s no wonder that much of its pub and bar scene matches the quality of the culture here. Henrietta is a chic townhouse boasting luxe lodgings and cocktails suave enough to suit the surroundings. While if it’s choice you’re after, The Escapologist with its 20-strong cocktail menu is well worth a look-in. Those in search of a decent glass of vino should look no further than 10 Cases, which serves up Old World wines by the glass and a scrumptious selection of charcuterie and small plates. Pubs are a-plenty in these parts, too. The Cross Keys, with its foliage-adorned exteriors is as close as you can get to a village pub experience in the West End. Meanwhile down the road, Mr Fogg’s Tavern is offering a more off-beat pub experience with its quirky furniture and explorer-themed relics hanging from the ceiling. And if your Covent Garden pub and bar experience leaves you looking to carry on into the evening, Phoenix Artist Club, directly below Phoenix Theatre, is a late night cabaret spot and the ideal place to let the drinks flow, as they’re pretty decently priced given the central location.
Covent Garden has recently become the template for what people want from their shopping experience. Here, it’s all about bringing your brand to life – and this is the place where some of the most sought-after beauty brands are opening their boutique stores, selling the entire range of their products and treating shoppers to a fully immersive experience. Charlotte Tilbury, 3INA and Dior are just some of the brands that have set up shop here. One brand embracing our appetite for stores with a niche offering is Floral Street; the fragrance experts have opened their flagship store on what was once the centre of flower commerce. Inside, shoppers will step onto the very Instagrammable Carpet of Flowers and have the opportunity to put together a four-piece fragrance wardrobe, or sit around the large, communal table and learn the secrets to creating a scent. The Chanel pop-up is a particularly fun experience, with events and nail art experts on hand as well as the usual offering of make-up tutorials. Covent Garden is also home to Tom Ford’s first standalone beauty store, which is luxury epitomised with its suspended marble counters, infinity mirrors and meticulous attention to detail. With a dedicated make-up room, fragrance room and colour room – not to mention very impressive technology – the experience is more 'exhibition' than 'retail'.
As well as hosting a range of the more high-end high street fashion brands – Pandora, Ted Baker and Michael Kors to name a few – Covent Garden is also home to some unique, showstopper stores and designer names that, similarly to the beauty offering here, are as much about the experience as the shopping. Inside newly opened The Shop at Bluebird is 15,000 ft of fashion, lifestyle and art. Housed inside a 19th century Grade II listed carriage hall and set over three galleried floors, you don’t need to shop to enjoy the Bluebird experience. Plus, a restaurant and roof terrace will be opening in the space this summer – we’ll keep you updated with the details.Then there’s ARKET, which epitomises the term ‘lifestyle store’ with its Scandi-esque offering of fashion, household goods and a chance to tuck into a delicious cinnamon bun in its on-site café. Dublin-born designer Orla Kiely – popular with the likes of Kate Middleton and Alexa Chung – has her flagship store in Covent Garden too. And don’t forget to have a peek at Planet Aries – a pop-up selling luxury streetwear brand Aries. The brainchild of Sofia Prantera of Aries and Luca Benini from influential Italy-based streetwear brand Slam Jam, the temporary store has landed in Covent Garden and is set to stay until Friday 8 June.
Covent Garden’s present market buildings date back to 1830, while the site itself was a marketplace long before then – since around 1600. Today, the market is split up into specialist areas and is a great place to shop for presents to please a variety of tastes. New Covent Garden Market is a favourite among chefs and florists thanks to its range of wholesale flowers fruit and veg. Meanwhile the Apple Market is overflowing with handmade jewellery, crafts and prints, and on Mondays hoards of antiques and collectables. In the East Colonnade Market, the offering is in keeping with European Christmas market vibes, with stalls selling handmade soap, hand-knitted children’s clothing, sweets and homeware, while in the South Piazza, the Jubilee Market changes its wares daily – offering antiques on Mondays, household goods midweek, and arts and crafts on the weekend.
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