Restaurants, Bars and Hotels Near the Shaftesbury Theatre
Now playing: Avenue Q From £30 Book tickets
The theatre sits between Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and Soho, which means the restaurants, bars and hotels in three different neighbourhoods are mostly within five minutes.
Most pre-theatre menus around here finish between six and seven. For a 7:30pm curtain, book for six and tell them which show you are seeing.
Where to eat
Hawksmoor Seven Dials, 11 Langley Street, 5 minutes. The steak dinner to book if you can eat early. The early evening set menu stops at 5:45pm, Monday to Saturday.
Mon Plaisir, 19-21 Monmouth Street, 3 minutes. London's oldest French restaurant, and it has been feeding theatregoers long enough to have the timing down. There is a pre-theatre menu.
Seven Dials Market, 35 Earlham Street, 5 minutes. Twenty-one traders under one roof, communal tables, no booking and no ceremony. The answer when you have not reserved anywhere and have forty minutes, and the only one here where four people can eat four different things without a negotiation.
Where to drink
The Crown, 43 Monmouth Street, 5 minutes. On the Seven Dials junction, the last surviving pub of the seven corners, with the original tiling still in place. A standing pub, so go for the buzz rather than a quiet sit-down.
The Two Brewers, 40 Monmouth Street, 5 minutes. A theatrical pub in the proper sense, walls covered in stage photographs, food served until nine. It is a single bar, so it fills quickly.
Freud, 198 Shaftesbury Avenue, 1 minute. The closest bar to the theatre, straight over the road. A basement bar that has been going since 1986, known for its cocktails. It does not open until 4pm, and it is down a flight of stairs with no lift.
The Museum Tavern, 49 Great Russell Street, 6 minutes. Directly opposite the British Museum, a proper Victorian pub with the mirrors and the woodwork intact. Quieter than the Seven Dials pubs before a show, because the museum crowd has gone home by then.
Where to stay
Radisson Blu Hotel, London Mercer Street, 20 Mercer Street, 4 minutes. Four star, recently refurbished, gym open around the clock. The entry-grade rooms are small, so book up a grade if that matters.
The Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell Street, 6 minutes. A quieter option than anything on the Covent Garden side, and the walk back after a show is a calm one rather than a scrum.
hub by Premier Inn Covent Garden, 110 St Martins Lane, 9 minutes. Compact rooms at a sensible price.
Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, 8 minutes. An Edwardian building set around its own courtyard, with a spa, the Holborn Dining Room, and a bar worth a drink after the show. The most expensive option on this list and it looks it.
Nearby FAQs
Where should I eat before a show at the Shaftesbury Theatre?
Seven Dials is about five minutes away and has the densest run of pre-theatre menus. Book for six at the latest if the show starts at half past seven.
Is there an Italian restaurant near the Shaftesbury Theatre?
Ciao Bella, 86-90 Lamb's Conduit Street, is the closest long-standing one, though it is a longer walk than the rest of this list at about 15 minutes on the Bloomsbury side. Classic Italian, there since 1983, reasonably priced, with a resident pianist most evenings. Allow the extra time or eat somewhere nearer.
Is there anywhere to eat quickly near the Shaftesbury Theatre?
Seven Dials Market, about five minutes away, takes no bookings and serves fast, which makes it the reliable answer when you have under an hour. Kanada-Ya on St Giles High Street is closer still at about three minutes and a bowl of ramen is quick, though there is often a queue and they do not take bookings either.