London area guide: Covent Garden

Here’s a tip: Don’t try to get the tube at Covent Garden station. It’s always busy, often to the point of shutting down due to overcrowding, you have to take a lift from the ticket hall to the platform, and then fight your way through tourists to get out. Instead, opt for Holborn; it’s only a few minutes away, and aside from not being stuck in a glorified dumbwaiter you can enjoy a little more of the area's sights and sounds.

Wandering lanes & alleys

Covent Garden’s many streets and alleys are made to wander around, and then there are the seven roads leading to the picturesque Seven Dials. All of Covent Garden’s numerous streets between Shaftesbury Avenue and The Strand offer a multitude of shops, cafés, coffee shops, and restaurants, all snug and cosy against theatres and pubs. Allow yourself to get lost, browse shops, people-watch, window-shop, and admire the crooked streets. Here are a few places to drop by as you embrace your inner flaneur.

St Paul’s Church, also known as the Actors’ Church, might look closed at first glance. Go around the back and you’ll find yourself in a beautifully landscaped garden. The peaceful area is a delightful place to take a breather from the crowds or sit and chat with a friend. The church has a packed events calendar, hosting regular concerts, theatre shows (of course), vintage fairs and more. It also, and perhaps most crucially, has a cat.

The Royal Opera House is, by all accounts, the building most emblematic of Covent Garden. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a thorough look. Even if you’re not a patron of the arts, the sheer grandeur of the theatre demands attention. Drop by one of the cafes or bars for a drink, peruse its gift shop or catch a show.

Shopping

Although Covent Garden has its fair share of chain shops, a real quirk of the neighbourhood is its offering of independent stationery shops. The London Graphic Centre is two floors of bliss for anyone with a passion for paper or a weakness for art supplies. This place really has it all, from high-end notebooks to fountain pens, paints, specialist equipment and more. It’s easy to lose track of time here, taking in all that the shop has to offer.

There’s also Choosing Keeping, a speciality stationery shop that has some of the most beautiful cards, writing accessories and unique handmade pens. Hosting quarterly exhibitions offering insights into the stationery world, this is the kind of place that sways from shop to gallery to educational experience – all within a single room.

Dining

Another thing you’ll never be short of in Covent Garden – somewhere to eat. Whether you want something quick before the theatre, would prefer a sit-down meal or fancy something in between, you’ll find it here.

Starting with the quick-fix meals, Koshari Street on St Martin’s Lane stands out from the crowd with its bright yellow exterior and macaroni-patterned sign. Its name gives it away; this is a koshari joint. If you haven’t had the Egyptian dish before, traditional koshari is a mixture of pasta, fried rice, vermicelli, brown lentils, chickpeas, crispy onions, and tomato sauce. Koshari Street offers numerous variations on this classic combination, along with wraps and side salads. The mild overwhelm is worth it once you get your finished bowl, though, and while the seating is minimal and the stools crowded, there’s a comfortable, friendly ambience that prevents fast-food frazzle. You’ll leave feeling nourished.

On nearby Langley Street is Cafe Pacifico. This Mexican restaurant has been around since 1982, serving sizzling fajita plates, chunky burritos and vibrant tacos to all those drawn in by the smell that wafts into the street with each opening of the door. Portions are generous and the warm tortillas are a world away from the pale supermarket imitations. Be warned: the margaritas, while tasty, pack a punch.

Equally distinctive is Giovanni’s, an old-school Sicilian spot that has received acclaim from several famous (and infamous) faces. This is proven by the many photos crowding the walls, picturing celebrities smiling alongside chef Pino Ragona. Like Cafe Pacifico, this is a staple of the area, having been in the same family since the 1950s.

The interiors are dark and intimate, the tablecloths thick, and the food rich. The wild boar ragu tastes like a bolognese went on a gap year and ‘discovered itself’, and the mixture of fussy salads (the Patti LuPone combines oranges, fennel and olives for an unexpectedly striking flavour) with hunks of lasagne and simple pan-fried chicken breasts reassure that this is not a place that takes itself too seriously.

If it’s a special evening, try the Petersham’s Covent Garden outpost. Tucked away from the thoroughfare, this ‘slow food’ mentality restaurant focuses on sustainable produce with its seasonal menus featuring Italian fare. Sleek, polished interiors put The Petersham firmly in the ‘classy’ category, the perfect place to celebrate a milestone or just to celebrate getting through the day.

For coffee, tea & pastries there’s St. George Coffee, a bigger-than-it-looks cafe offering fresh bread, Abuelo, an Australian-meets-South-American coffee house and kitchen, and Swedish bakery Bageriet among many others.

Bars & pubs

There are so many bars and pubs tucked away in the streets of Covent Garden but some choice highlights include the traditional pubs like The Harp, with windows that open out onto Chandos Place, and the Lamb & Flag of Charles Dickens fame. There are cocktail bars like The Escapologist, a quirky underground bar self-described as a modern-day Victorian member’s club, and the ever-popular Mr Fogg’s Tavern. Looking for something out of the ordinary? Stop by Moto, a cosy little sake bar that also serves Japanese small plates, gin and absinthe.

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