Restaurants, Bars and Hotels Near the Adelphi Theatre

The Strand is not short of food, but a lot of it is aimed at people passing through rather than people with a curtain to catch. These are the ones we book.

Restaurants

Vasiniko, 7-9 Burleigh Street, 3 minutes. Pizza, and a local favourite of ours. Burleigh Street is a quiet turning off the Strand, which is part of the appeal: you are three minutes from the theatre and out of the crowd. It is small, so book.

Marugame Udon, Strand, 2-3 minutes. Counter-service udon and tempura made in front of you. In and out inside forty minutes without hurrying, which is why it works before a show.

Flat Iron, Covent Garden, 3 minutes. One cut of steak and a bowl of chips, which is how they do it well for the money. They turn tables briskly, so a pre-theatre booking here works instead of becoming a race.

The Ivy Market Grill, Covent Garden, 3-4 minutes. The one for a night that is an occasion in itself, overlooking the piazza, and the kitchen is used to people leaving at a fixed time.

Bars and pubs

Gordon's Wine Bar, Villiers Street, 5 minutes. Candlelit and underground, claiming to be the oldest wine bar in London. Wine and cheese, low ceilings, no music. It does not take bookings for the cellar.

The Coal Hole, Strand, 2 minutes. The theatre pub, close enough to leave at the last sensible moment. A Victorian gin palace inside, and it fills up an hour before curtain along with everything else on the street.

Nell Gwynne Tavern, Bull Inn Court, 3 minutes. Down a passage narrow enough to walk past twice. Tiny and old, and about as far from a chain pub as this stretch gets.

The American Bar at The Savoy, Strand, 4 minutes. One of the most famous cocktail bars in the world, with a pianist and prices to match. Book if you are going.

Hotels

Strand Palace, Strand, 3 minutes. Comfortable rather than smart, and it shows its age in places, but it is close enough that after a late finish you are walking to your room rather than joining a taxi queue.

The Z Hotel Covent Garden, Bedford Street, 3 minutes. Compact rooms at a sensible central price. Some are windowless and none is large.

One Aldwych, Aldwych, 5 minutes. Five stars in a fine Edwardian building, with a lobby bar people come to without staying.

The Savoy, Strand, 4 minutes. The landmark, at landmark prices, on its own courtyard off the Strand. As close to a stage door as a hotel of that standing gets.

The Londoner, Leicester Square, 8 to 9 minutes. Newer than everything else on this list by decades, and built downwards rather than up, so the pool and spa sit several floors below the square. It is the longest walk here, which makes it the choice when the hotel is part of the trip rather than somewhere to sleep afterwards.