Restaurant recommendations close to Leicester Sqaure?

[Kate3150]

For a couple?
TIA x

Insane queues for Dishoom when I walked past on Friday.

Brasserie Zedel - consistently great, lovely dining room - French not Italian or Indian though

Cork and Bottle - cute underground restaurant right on Leicester Square

I wouldn't recommend Dishoom either. I don't understand the long queues for such average food. Me and DH cook better food at home

Ave Mario on Henrietta Street is fab

Sartori on Great Newport st. Doesn't look much but fairly decent Neopolitan food.

Or if you are prepared to go in to Soho 40 Dean St is decent.

Another vote for Cafe Murano for Italian. You can’t beat their lunch menu for value. For somewhere romantic, Clos Maggiore.

Wow, thank you SO much for your recommendations, I am overwhelmed with all the responses.

I’ve noticed quite a few mention Hoppers & Ave Mario, so will have a read up on those.

We do love Dishoom and have been a couple of times. I was thinking of going there, but would like to try somewhere different.

Does anyone know if Hoppers & Ave Mario are essential to book?

Sorry I'm being lazy not googling for myself; but I see Dishoom mentioned all the time, why is it popular? (I've not been, wondering whether to add to my list!)

I don't get the love for Dishoom to be honest. Me and DH went last year as I had been wanting to visit for a while. We had to queue for almost 30 minutes which DH wasn't happy about but I was telling him it would be worth it. It so wasn't.

I was so disappointed and it wasn't particularly cheap either

I’ve walked into Ave Mario before bang on opening time at 12 for lunch, I recommend booking as it is quite popular.

La Goccia lagocciacoventgarden.com
I wasn't impressed at first as we were offered a rubbish table so we moved after huffing and puffing from reception staff. But the food was really good and the other staff lovely

If you're looking for Indian, Dishoom is lovely but for the mother of all Italians, there is San Carlo Chicetti in Covent Garden (I highly recommend the tapas style dishes 🤤)

https://sancarlo.co.uk/restaurants/cicchetti-london-covent-garden/?utmsource=google&utmmmedium=organicgbp&utmmcampaign=london

I’d book Hoppers.

Is it a ‘bite to eat’ or ‘somewhere nice for a meal’?

We had dinner at The real Greek in between Leicester Square and Covent Garden last night, it was delicious!!

If you like seafood Oyster men in Covent Garden is lovely food but casual ambiance so doesn't feel stuck up.

I fell for the hype , queued well over half an hour for disinterested service as expected in a fast food place and very average over priced food. It is a chain and feels very much like one too. I thought maybe I'd had a bad experience as surely with all the hype I must be good? So tried a different branch, had exactly the same experience. Don't fall for it!

This is exactly the thread I started the other week about Dishoom. I was appalled at how they can dare to serve that food! And almost £10 for a G&T!

There used to be a nice Italian restaurant on Neal Street - nothing amazing but certainly decent food, just past the zebra crossing part, but turns out it's closed.

If you like French food, Maison Francois on Duke Street (near Covent Garden tube station) is delicious, really nice and nice atmosphere.

Yes to booking Hoppers - since Covid everywhere half good needs booking.

To be honest ... no need to book, just see what you fancy on the day. If weather permits we prefer sitting outside but as this is impossible to predict in advance I never book. London has so many options it's just not like other places. One tip I will offer you for that area if you want wine and a casual meal (or just a drink) is Gordon's on the embankment. Over a hundred years old, my mum drank there when she was young and I now go with my girls when we have a weekend in London. No bookings though, go at 4pm!

Do you mean the Neal Street Restaurant that was owned and run by Antonio Carluccios? 😹

I highly doubt it! 🤣

It was just a bog standard trattoria, as you walked down Neal Street towards Neals yard from Covent Garden tube on the right hand side, you crossed at a zebra crossing there was a pub and it was just after that.

We just went there a few times before going drinking at Freuds or Langleys.

I guessed, I was being a tinker as that is just where AC's flagship restaurant used to be. I think it was a Crocs shop last time I looked