EAT
Flat Iron | 17Henrietta Street WC2E 8QH/18
The home of the £10 steak and a welcome addition to Henrietta Streets burgeoning restaurant scene, no reservations, but you can stand and watch them at work on the butchers block while you wait
Farmstand | 42 Drury Lane WC2B 5AJ
Another Covent Garden newbie, sourcing ethical ingredients as locally as possible from ethical and sustainable sources, they are the local Farmstand
Homeslice | 13 Neal's Yard WC2H 9DP
Pizza from the streets, quite literally, as these guys started off serving pizza from a mobile wood fired oven in East London, but moved to their permanent home in Neals Yard in 2013. Simply great pizza, our favourite by far!
DRINK
Timberyard
Voted Best Independent Coffee Shop in Europe at the 2014 European Coffee Awards, need we say more...
The Black Penny
A modern take on the original London coffee house, or Penny University, with great roasts from Alchemy coffee
The Department of Coffee & Social Affairs
A great little spot in St Martins Courtyard - perfect location to plot up and watch the world go by whilst sipping awesome coffee (and sampling the rather excellent cakes & other naughty things...)
BEST BITS
The Piazza
Great shops & restaurants, the food market and of course the street performers.
Floral Street
A pretty cobbled street thats home to fashion brands including Paul Smiths iconic flagship store.
Seven Dials
All the streets running from Seven Dials are great for both dining and shopping .
Opera Quarter
Opera Quarter has quickly found fame as Covent Gardens foodie destination.
Theatres
If you want to catch a West End show, look no further, theyre ALL here.
OPEN SPACE
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Only a stones throw over Kingsway, this park-like Georgian garden square is a true oasis boasting tennis courts and the fantastic Fields Bar & Kitchen, ideal for a spot of al-fresco lunch.
Victoria Embankment Gardens
A great place to relax on a deck chair in the summer looking towards the Thames.
St. Pauls Church Gardens
Located right off the Piazza but best accessed via bedford Street, this pretty garden behind whats fondly known as The Actors Church offers a tranquil retreat when you want to escape the bustle of Covent Garden.
TRIVIA
Covent Garden is the only district in London to have a licence for street performers and entertainers.
London’s central fruit and veg market was here until 1974 when it relocated to Nine Elms.
Covent Garden was named after the Westminster Convent Garden, it was misspelled.
Cars are required by law to travel on the right-hand side of the road in Savoy Court - following a 1902 Decree of Parliament, so theatregoers could decamp from their carriages straight in to the Savoy Theatre.
The first performance of a Punch and Judy show at Covent Garden was recorded in Samuel Pepyss diary entry for 9 May 1662
Next to Bedfordbury youll find Goodwins Court, a hidden gem. It has the only set of 18th Century bow windows left in London, plus genuine gas lamps that a lamplighter attends to every few days.
A-B
TUBE
Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line) | Leicester Square (Northern & Piccadilly Lines) | Holborn (Central Line)
BUS
Regular bus services from Strand, Kingsway, Charing Cross Road & High Holborn.
BIKE
Boris Bike docking stations located all around Covent Garden.
RIVER
Regular riverbus services available from Embankment Pier.
TRAIN
Regular mainline services to South London and the South East of England from Charing Cross.
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