Eating in Covent Garden/recommendations

[aquarius moon]

Can anyone recommend any good places to eat in/around Covent Garden.

A bit short notice as I'm going there tomorrow.

I've googled The Punch & Judy (which I've also looked down at, but never visited), The Porterhouse, Maple Leaf etc, but would like some advice please.

Has to be a nice pub, rather than a restaurant, not expensive as funds are limited!

Also, has to have a few vegetarian choices.

[Jah Lush]

Avoid the Punch & Judy - it's a packed in like sardines nightmare tourist trap.

[numbers]

try urban spoon you can filter by area/???/food type etc

here's a search below for pubs in that area doing cheap food brings back four results, not sure if any good?

http://www.urbanspoon.com/nfp/52/5130/5150/1/Covent-Garden-Pub-Food-Cheap-eats-London-Restaurants

edited to add: the good old http://bistro1.co.uk/menu/food-at-bistro1-restaurant/ (its a chain) does 2 courses for around a tenner, not huge choice of menu but there's always a couple of veggie options, its Turkish I think so has humus, veggie moussaka that type of thing. it's just off covent garden market/the Strand. I used to go there for lunch a lot, quick friendly service and food was nice.

[StraferJack]

Most of the pubs in Covent Garden are tourist traps and or the worst kidn of chain (ie not nice) - Taylor Walker have loads of pubs around there but the food is grim.

As a tourist area the restaurant scene is picking up around there - and even old reliables such as Sagar would make the vegeterarians happy

http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sagar-covent-garden.html

10 Cases is a bar /bistro nearby might suit everyone

http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/10-cases-covent-garden.html

(yep I'm using the same blogger links, but he's a good one)

[El Pibe]

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/food-for-thought-london-2

[Jessie]

try the Two Brewers, often a pub lunch haunt for me and my colleagues. We get a seat everytime we go http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/two-brewers-covent-garden/c6783/

[aquarius moon]

Thanks everyone.

I'll check out all the links this evening.

[southmark]

Try the Lamb and Flag, one of the oldest pubs in the West End. They serve food upstairs at lunchtimes, good ploughman's and the hot food's home made.

[Marmora Man]

I tried 10 cases last week and second SJ's blogger's advice - very good, tho' not cheap.

[Nigello]

Try Strada for good, affordable pizzas or Tas, the middle eastern place. Shake Shack is good but it will be - if the NYC experience I had - busy and more like an upscale McD's than a pub.

NB - Five Guys burgers are large, so go for the mini option if they have it here in the UK.

[Annette Curtain]

Home Slice Pizza in Neil's Yard

Run by Ry and his jolly sweet team

All wood fired and V tasty

[StraferJack]

[grump mode on]

call me a square from the past, but if someone is asking for recommendations, does pointing them in the direction of a chain help?

plus part of the reason Strada does "affordable" pizzas is the fact they don't give tips to the staff but use them to pay minimum wage

And after I pointed out the hazards of Taylor Walker pubs and the gruel they serve someone recommends them!

If you like that stuff then fine - but you don't need to seek/give recommendations for it - they are EVERYWHERE

[fatcats]

I was really shocked by the comments about Strada so had a quick google to check it out.

According to their website, tips are paid in addition to minimum wage. No idea how to check if this is true.

http://www.strada.co.uk/service-charge

[StraferJack]

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1639059/Where-do-your-restaurant-tips-really-go.html

[Jessie]

So sorry to upset your delicate sensibilities Strafer Jack. It's a pub near my office, they do basic pub food. Who they're owned by is not that important to me. I was reacting to the OP's specific needs. Somewhere to sit for example - Food For Thought usually has a queue to be seated.

I should check the recommendation forum rulebook before I offer my opinions in future.

[fatcats]

Thanks for that. Shocking. The Tragus Group now claims to pay service in addition to minimum wage (same statement as on the Strada website), so maybe they were shamed into changing their policy.

[Jeremy]

If Strada have changed their policy, that has to be a good thing... but you can always make sure by giving the waiter a cash tip separate from the main bill.

A trip to Strada is never going to be a gourmet experience, but it's far from the worst choice if you just want somewhere for a quick inexpensive meal.

[StraferJack]

Jessie

Apologies if I came over as too strong - I wasn't trying to have a go at you

I was just reminded of the time I put a shout out for somewhere nice to eat in a part of town I was unfamiliar with and got lots of replies along the lines of Pizza Express/Strada/ some chain pub

As you and Jeremy point out, not gourmet but not bad if you want somewhere cheap and cheerful. Maybe.

But what bothered me at the time (when it was me after a recommendation) was the subtext that I was SO dumb, that I needed to be told Pizza Express do pizzas. I KNOW that if I go somewhere populous anywhere on this island I can find multiple chains selling exactly same stuff as where I came from. If I'm after a recommendation I'm looking for something specific to the location, something I can't find somewhere else

Surely that's common sense rather than me be propscriptive of what you can and can't post? Maybe the OP found your recommendation far more helpful than anything I've written anyway . Post away

[JohnL]

All the chains are so packed ;)

In Covent Garden, I'm more likely to pop into the Freemasons or the Sun

Isn't there a pub/restaurant upstairs in the Piazza (not punch & judy) which is unmarked ??

But I'm very pub oriented :)

[pinecone]

if you like american style burgers, five guys burgers and fries has just (on 4th july) opened in covent garden

[StraferJack]

re: the new burger places. People do realise the queues are 2 hours long around lunchtimes (possibly all day)? - the hype train is big for these things

[David A]

JohnL, there's the Opera Terrace at the opposite end, which is now a Raymond Blanc thing.

At the same end as the Punch and Judy there used to be a place called Bar Gritte which was marked by an apple wearing a bowler hat. They used to do rare groove/acid jazz nights in the nineties - all beards, corduroy and 'Wild and Crazy Guy' hats.

The best pub around there is the Nell Gwynne, down a ginnel between Maiden Lane and the Strand. They still have rolls wrapped in cellophane behind the bar and a jukebox.

[El Pibe]

Given the choice in the area I'd probably go Bedford & Strand or Terroir. But they're probably a bit pricey for the current requirement.

[womanofdulwich]

Bistro 1 in Southampton street is reasonable and has good veggie choices- but its not a pub.

http://bistro1.co.uk/london-restaurants/covent-garden/

[aquarius moon]

Thanks for all todays suggestions, even though they are too late as I've already been!

Anyway, back to yesterday.

Not only money, but time was limited too. I wish I'd posted this a couple of days previously, so would've had more time to do my homework, instead of going armed with a piece of paper with everyones recommendations, but failing to pinpoint the exact locations.

My cousin arrived hungry & thirsty, so wasn't interested in my list, only the nearest pub!

I've been to Food for Thought before, being veggie, and he would have suffered the lack of meat if it wasn't for the fact that they serve no alcohol either.

So, first port of call 'The Crown & Anchor', Neal St., where he had a nice BLT sandwich.

But what's with the wine only being served in 175ml measures at ?5.50 per glass?

So, we spent the next couple of hours savouring the atmosphere of the area, complete with a 'live' band and street entertainers & checking out the pubs wine lists.

All the Taylor Walker pubs in the area only do 175ml glasses, obviously trying to make people spend more, or buy the whole bottle (which we didn't want)

I actually had my heart set on 'Bistro 1', but it was too early to eat so we set off down Maiden Lane, passed 'Rules', complete with a doorman & way too posh and found 'The Porterhouse'. Nice, casual, drinking pub with seats out front in the sun & loads of space inside. Also, served wine in 250ml measures at around ?5.50, so spent an hour there, relaxing & watching the world go by.

Still too early to eat so had another wander, but by now the after-work drinking brigade began to descend & were starting to spill onto the pavements. I still wanted to head back to 'Bistro 1' but we were not that close & it was a case of scrambling into the first place we came to where we could actually get in the door!

So, had nice dinner in the upstairs section of 'The Bear & Staff' on Charing Cross Rd. A 'Nicholsons' pub, so yes, a chain, but couldn't fault the food or the service.

To anybody running down a chain, some are rubbish, but some are actually good, especially if on tight budget.

Thanks for all the advice.

Will definitely visit 'Bistro 1' at a later date :)