Eight New Restaurants That Make Braving the Covent Garden Crowds Worth It

Covent Garden doesn’t exactly lack visitors, but this year’s restaurant arrivals are giving us Londoners reason to join them in the central neighbourhood. A host of familiar names have set up shop in the neighbourhood in recent months, promising everything from Italian comfort food to southern Thai skewers.

There’s more on the way, too. On October 27, popular pizza residency Lenny’s will bring its charred, chewy New-Haven-style pizza to its first permanent home on Henrietta Street, while Jordan Bailey’s Heard Burger will follow in November with an impressive two-tier flagship boasting a customisable dessert bar that’ll give Pizza Hut a run for its money.

In the meantime, though, here are eight of this year’s arrivals to have on your radar.

The team behind Peckham favourite Levan has brought its love of French cooking and low-intervention wine to a former Victorian workshop on Maiden Lane. A self-proclaimed “modern French Bistro with Parisian energy”, Cassette has a terrace outside and plenty to warm the cockles. So far, the pickled mussels on panisse with aioli, pigeon chou farci – aka pigeon-stuffed cabbage – and hen of the woods vol-au-vent with armagnac and sauce Parisienne have been hot topics among those who have visited. Likewise, the cognac-spiked house Negroni makes a good opening move. If you have a curtain to catch, the pre-theatre menu starts at £27 for two courses.

Burro means “butter” in Italian, which gives some idea of what to expect at Trullo chef and co-owner Conor Gadd’s first solo restaurant. The picturesque Floral Court trattoria’s menu changes twice every day, so secure a seat on one of the comfy amber banquettes and see what’s available. Hits have included fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu, ricotta and chard agnolotti with sage butter, and Gloucester Old Spot pork chops with borlotti beans and salsa verde. Don’t miss the tiramisu doughnuts.

After a failed attempt to open Buvette in Notting Hill, Jody Williams’s French-inspired New York favourite has found more secure footing in Neal’s Yard, where a marble bar, closely packed tables and a vintage tin ceiling set the scene. Drop in for coffee, croissants and a croque madame, or settle in for beef tartare with cornichons and capers, followed by coq au vin with lardons and mushrooms. For something sweet, there’s chocolate mousse, crème brûlée and tarte tatin.

Rochelle Canteen is spending a slice of this autumn and winter beneath the glass of the Nomad hotel’s orangery, with a residency running until January 17, 2027. Head chef Hector Henderson and his mum, chef and co-patron Margot Henderson, have worked with the hotel’s chief chef Carlo Scotto on a menu that will change each month. Opening dishes include devilled crab on toast, chicken, leek and tarragon pie, and brown sugar tart, all available from 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

After capturing the capital’s heart with a vast array of wonderfully wacky scoops, Big Kid Ice Cream has gone all-in on soft serve at Whippies its new spot in Seven Dials Market. Riffs on childhood favourites are the main attraction, with concoctions including a Solero knickerbocker and a banana split, as well as slushies and ice-cream floats. There’s simple soft serve with house-made flakes for the purists, too.

After success in King’s Cross, Soho and Spitalfields, Bubala’s fourth and largest restaurant sees the team bring its vegetarian Middle Eastern-inspired fare to Garrick Street. On the opening menu there’s halloumi with chamomile and fennel honey, and crisp confit latkes with toum. There’s a greater emphasis on drinks here, including cocktails inspired by flavours from the kitchen. For those happy to hand over the ordering, the beloved £39 Bubala Knows Best menu puts your fate in the chefs’ hands.

For Luke Farrell’s third Plaza Khao Gaeng, the chef has headed further into southern Thailand than ever before, with a fast-paced grill inspired by the roadside diners of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. There’s punchy lamb, chicken, cuttlefish and tofu skewers, as well as invigorating salads, stir-fries and deep, rich curries – all with Farrell’s uncompromisingly hefty kick. The drinks list is equally exciting, with a snake fruit soda, lemongrass Negroni, and a durian Colada with lime leaf-infused Thai rum. Beware, first daters: the lighting is anything but flattering.

Earlier this year, Nick Molyviatis, co-owner of Singburi 2.0, and his business partner Barry Karacosta decided it was time Covent Garden got a fresh injection of Greek Cypriot cuisine. Zylia is a bright, calm, rattan-lined space attached to Arcade Covent Garden, and inside you’ll find warm bread with all the classic dips such as tzatziki and taramasalata, fried metsovone cheese croquettes with thyme-infused honey and juicy sheftalia pork sausages in a caul fat-casing, as well as slow cooked lamb shoulder with potatoes, peppers and sweet roasted onions.