Pubs/Bars/Cafes/Restaurants in Central London/Covent Garden

Redmint

Redmint

Redmint

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Right then guys, having a meetup with a group of friends from WoW in London this May for a weekend. Need some suggestions of decent (not massively over-priced) Pubs/restaurants etc which might be good to visit. It's from Friday-Sunday and I know most good places in London are going to be busy on a Friday/Saturday evening, however we'd prefer places which don't get ridiculously crammed.

Also suggestions for something touristy to do on the Saturday afternoon, someone said the open top bus tours could be a good idea?
 
Head to East London and go to a Brick Lane Indian place one night, and then head into some of the bars/clubs near there (Light bar and Hoxtons bar and grill are both a good shout for a night!)

You can get a cracking deal in Brick Lane if you have a few ppl, we got 2 course meal, naan bread, and 3 beers each for a tenner each
 
Well pub wise somewhere which isn't too loud where you can actually chat to people would be good (hence prefer somewhere which isn't crammed).

Might go to a club a bit later in the evening.

Point taken on the bus tours, we were thinking of going to one of the parks for lunch on the Saturday anyway I think.
 
Brick Lane is a complete hipster ****hole. I used to work in Hoxton and I wouldn't recommend time there unless you were really into the arts and current music scene. OP, I don't think it's your scene if you're coming with a group of WoW people.

You WILL want to visit Forbidden Planet though. I would say just find a pub near your hotel. End of story.
 
Light bar is good, huge area downstairs that is more like a bar with tables etc. and then a club~ish sort of area upstairs later on.

As said though, Brick lane is a bit of a hipster area, and the only reason I used to head there was because I have 2 friends who live close by so was an easy place to crash for the night :cool:
 
Redmint said:
not massively over-priced + places which don't get ridiculously crammed
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This doesn't apply in Soho/Covent Garden 7 nights a week, sorry. You can have cheap or quiet not both. Please note; this does not apply to a whole host of crap places littered across Central London.

All of these are Soho or Covent Garden (exceptions noted), all cheap, some take bookings, some don't. All will be busy but you will get good food at any of these, don't fall for tourist traps...

http://www.polpetto.co.uk/ Italian small plates

http://www.polpo.co.uk/ Italian small plates

http://www.gelupo.com/ Icecream/Sorbets

http://dishoom.com/ Indian

http://www.wahaca.co.uk/ Mexican

http://www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk/ Belgian

http://www.benitos-hat.com/ Mexican

http://busaba.com/ Thai

http://www.bodeansbbq.com/ American/BBQ :D

http://www.chachamoon.com Chinese

http://www.masalazone.com Indian

http://www.tayyabs.co.uk Indian (south of Brick Lane & the best BYOB curry house in London. Go, you must, eat the lamb chops and make sure you book! Don't go to Brick Lane unless you want crap food and pushy service)

http://www.phocafe.co.uk Vietnamese

http://www.tokyodiner.com/index Japanese

http://www.byronhamburgers.com/ Burgers

http://www.nordicbakery.com/ Scandinavian café

New World, 1 Gerrard Place, W1D 5PA. Dim Sum at lunch time, don't go in the evening unless you are adventurous!

That should keep you going. If not, check out Square Meal, Toptable or Urbanspoon.
 
For bars there are quite a few cocktail bars in covent garden that have happy hour on selected cocktails, wine and beer. Fuel bar is quite cool and they have a few funky seating areas like one with a fish tank lol.
For a club I went to verve a couple of weeks ago in leicester square. They have happy hour too and it was a good night.
The dance area wasn't huge but the bar area seemed a fair size and staff were friendly.
 
What xarr said. Stay away from Covent Garden if you want quiet. I used to work there and bars are rammed 7 nights a week, same goes for Soho where I now work. CG is a hideous tourist trap, stay away. As always my vote would be for Wahaca in Soho (*not* the Covent Garden one!)
 
WeOwnTheSky said:
Fire and Stone
http://www.fireandstone.com/pizza/coventgarden/index.asp

Navajo Joe
http://www.navajojoe.co.uk/
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Hmm, have eaten at both and was not impressed with either, but whatever floats your boat. Cheap and always have deals on to make them cheaper I suppose.

Scam said:
What xarr said. Stay away from Covent Garden if you want quiet. I used to work there and bars are rammed 7 nights a week, same goes for Soho where I now work. CG is a hideous tourist trap, stay away. As always my vote would be for Wahaca in Soho (*not* the Covent Garden one!)
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Whilst most are busy I would call it atmosphere rather than hellish, though I avoid Covent Garden for the most part (though Stanfords is one of my favourite shops in London). Seven Dials and Soho are where its at for good, cheap eats centrally and this is where most of the places I listed are.
 
Punch and Judy is a tourist trap, I'd avoid it.

Just off Covent Garden is The Maple Leaf, it's not going to win any awards, but is relatively quiet for where it is and isn't too expensive. On the same road is the Porterhouse, which is pricier but has some great beers.

If you want to save some cash, head to a Sam Smith's pub as has been said, there's quite a few around and they're very reasonably priced (though they can be very busy in the evening). The Fitzrovia Tavern is a great place off Tottenham Court Road, or The Duke of Argyll if you want to be a bit closer to a landmark (Piccadilly Circus).
 
The Covent Garden Forbidden Planet is a complete nerdgasm. Love it.

I was really disappointed with Bodeans BBQ in Soho. :( Looked forward to that for ages, but found the burnt ends a bit crap and the sauce/hot sauce wasn't great.

Don't be afraid to pop into one of the cheap restaurants in Chinatown - you can get some amazing grub there for well cheap.

Pub wise, almost everything in the center is a rip off, though I do like the pub on the corner of Drury Lane (cant remember what it's called) - does some reasonable grub too.
 
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