Restaurants, Bars and Hotels Near St Martin's Theatre

With Seven Dials on one side and Covent Garden on the other, pre-theatre dinner takes no planning here: the nearest restaurant is across the road from the door. Every restaurant, pub and hotel below is within seven minutes on foot.

Restaurants

The Ivy (1 minute). 1-5 West Street. The theatre door is across the road, so dinner can run almost to curtain up. Tables go weeks in advance: book it when you book your seats, and ask for six o'clock.

J Sheekey (3 minutes). 28-32 St Martin's Court. Fish and seafood, and it's been doing them for over a century. Book, and tell them your curtain time when you do.

Dishoom Covent Garden (3 minutes). 12 Upper St Martin's Lane. Takes bookings for larger tables but not small ones in the evening, so either go at six or put your name down and have a drink while you wait.

Seven Dials Market (4 minutes). Earlham Street. No bookings: queue at whichever counter you fancy across two floors, then find a place at the shared tables. The one to head for if you haven't planned ahead.

Bars and pubs

The Alligator Bar (1 minute). 13-15 West Street. Cocktails on the third floor, a few doors from the theatre. Go up for one before the show and you're back at the door in minutes.

The Salisbury (4 minutes). 90 St Martin's Lane. On St Martin's Lane, the street people often mix up with West Street. It's packed from about six, so save it for after the curtain comes down, when there's room to sit.

The Lamb & Flag (5 minutes). 33 Rose Street, down an alley off Garrick Street. A small pub with room for about forty, so it's full by half past six.

The Harp (6 minutes). 47 Chandos Place. The one for cask ale. It was CAMRA's National Pub of the Year in 2010, the first London pub to win it.

Hotels

The Covent Garden Hotel (3 minutes). 10 Monmouth Street. The hotel nearest the theatre on this list. Eat in its own brasserie before the show, and afterwards you're three minutes from your room.

St Martins Lane (4 minutes). 45 St Martin's Lane. A big design hotel with a busy bar and a courtyard.

Premier Inn London Leicester Square (4 minutes). 1 Leicester Place. The budget choice, just off Leicester Square, so there's no taxi to find after the show.

The Resident Covent Garden (7 minutes). Off Henrietta Street. Rooms come with small kitchens and there's no restaurant or bar to speak of, so the money saved goes further on the tickets.