Pre-Theatre Dining in the West End: Area by Area

Getting dinner before a show is a significant part of the theatre-going experience, and getting it right takes a little planning. The West End covers several distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own dining character, and knowing which restaurants are within comfortable walking distance of your particular venue makes the evening considerably smoother. This guide takes the main theatre areas in turn and covers what to expect from dining in each one. Before the areas: the single most important piece of pre-theatre dining advice is to book. The window between six and seven in the evening is one of the busiest periods for central London restaurants, and venues near major theatres fill quickly on performance nights. For Friday and Saturday shows especially, booking several days in advance is advisable. Most West End shows start at 7:30pm. Arriving at the theatre ten to fifteen minutes before curtain is comfortable; arriving five minutes before means missing programme notes and the chance to collect pre-ordered drinks. Working backwards, finishing dinner by 7:00pm gives adequate time to walk to the theatre, use the facilities and settle in. Restaurants that offer pre-theatre menus typically require you to be seated by 6:30pm and out by around 7:15pm; this works well for most curtain times. If pre-theatre menus are offered, they are worth using: they are usually priced below the standard menu, and the kitchen is geared for a quick turnaround at that time. Let the restaurant know you have a curtain time when you book and when you arrive. Covent Garden is the most densely theatre-lined area in London and has more dining options per square metre than almost anywhere else in the West End. The area around the Piazza, Long Acre, St Martin's Lane and the streets between covers a large part of Theatreland, and the restaurants here know that many of their customers have an 7:30 curtain. The range in Covent Garden is very broad, from independent and international restaurants to well-established chains that are reliable if unexciting. Quality and price vary significantly; the most tourist-facing streets near the Piazza can be expensive relative to quality, while the streets running east and west of the Piazza tend to offer better value and a more varied choice. This is the area for shows at the Lyceum, Adelphi, Savoy, Noel Coward, Wyndham's and the surrounding cluster of theatres. For visitors seeing The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre, the whole of Covent Garden is within a ten-minute walk. Pre-theatre set menus are common in Covent Garden, and many restaurants on the quieter streets offer genuinely good value at the 6–7pm slot. Book ahead and walk slightly away from the central Piazza for better options. The theatres along Shaftesbury Avenue, including the Apollo, Lyric, Shaftesbury and others, sit at the eastern edge of Soho, which is London's most concentrated dining neighbourhood outside perhaps Chinatown. The streets running off Shaftesbury Avenue northward into Soho offer an enormous range of cuisine styles and price points. For shows on Shaftesbury Avenue and the surrounding streets, Soho is the natural dining territory. The area is lively in the early evening and the choice is genuinely wide. Chinatown, just south of Shaftesbury Avenue near Leicester Square, is a practical option for a quick, filling pre-theatre meal and is reliably busy on show nights. The Cambridge Theatre and Sondheim Theatre are slightly further east, closer to the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden and the streets around Endell Street and Earlham Street, which have a strong independent restaurant offering in a slightly less crowded environment than central Soho. Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre is well served by both the Soho and Seven Dials options, which are both within a short walk. Victoria is a more practical than glamorous dining neighbourhood, but it has improved substantially and there are now solid options within walking distance of both the Apollo Victoria and the Victoria Palace Theatre. Wilton Road, which runs directly past the Apollo Victoria, has a cluster of restaurants used to the pre-theatre trade. Victoria Street and the streets towards Buckingham Palace Gate also have a range of options. Victoria Station itself has a food hall that is useful for a quick option if you are arriving by National Rail and want to eat before the show without a separate stop. The quality is variable but the choice is broad enough to find something reasonable quickly. For evening performances at either the Victoria Palace Theatre or the Apollo Victoria, arriving at Victoria forty-five to fifty minutes before curtain allows time to eat near the station before walking to the theatre. The National Theatre, the Young Vic, the Old Vic and the surrounding venues are serviced by the South Bank, one of the more pleasant areas to eat before an evening performance in London. The riverside walkway between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars has restaurants at various price points with views over the Thames. The South Bank is slightly less frenetic than Covent Garden or Soho in the early evening, and restaurants here are generally less busy at pre-theatre time than their equivalents closer to the West End proper. The area around The Cut and Lower Marsh, behind Waterloo Station, has a good range of independent restaurants and cafes that offer an alternative to the riverside. For tickets to shows across the West End before or after a South Bank visit, tickadoo covers the full range of available productions. Always book. Even restaurants that do not normally take reservations often have tables held for pre-theatre bookings. A phone call or online booking a few days ahead is almost always worth the effort. Tell them about your curtain time. Restaurants near theatres are familiar with the request and will pace the meal accordingly. If you do not mention it, service may be slower than you need. Be realistic about distance. Allow ten minutes to walk from restaurant to theatre, plus time to buy a programme, use the facilities and reach your seat. A fifteen-minute margin between paying the bill and the curtain is the comfortable minimum; twenty minutes is better. Pre-theatre menus are designed for this. Most include two or three courses and are priced below the standard menu. They are available within specific time windows, typically requiring a seated booking by 6:30pm. Consider matinees. Matinees typically start at 2:30pm and allow for a relaxed lunch before the show rather than the rush of the early evening slot. For planning your full theatre visit, BritishTheatre.com covers shows across the West End and tickadoo handles ticket booking. How early should I arrive at a West End restaurant before a 7:30pm show? Aiming to be seated by 6:00 to 6:15pm gives you comfortable time for dinner and a walk to the theatre. Most pre-theatre menus require a booking by 6:30pm. Finishing dinner by 7:00pm leaves a practical margin before a 7:30 curtain. Should I book a pre-theatre restaurant in advance? Yes, particularly for Friday and Saturday evenings and school holiday periods. The 6pm to 7pm window is busy across central London, and theatres concentrate demand in specific neighbourhoods. Same-day walk-ins are possible but risky for popular restaurants near busy venues. What is a pre-theatre menu? A fixed-price menu, typically two or three courses, available to customers who book for the early evening slot (usually by 6:00 or 6:30pm). They are usually priced below the standard menu and are paced for a quicker turnaround. Which area has the best pre-theatre dining options? Covent Garden and Soho have the widest choice across different price points and cuisine styles. Victoria has improved and is convenient for shows at the Apollo Victoria or Victoria Palace Theatre. The South Bank is a pleasant alternative for shows at the National Theatre, Young Vic or Old Vic.