French
Restaurants: Covent
Garden's joie de vivre owes much to the area's fine French
restaurants and cafés. Of particular note is the
excellent boulangerie Paul, bringing the family run French
patisserie to London.
The Admiralty Restaurant is set in the ground floor of what was once the centre of naval operations. The décor pays homage to the building's history, using turquoises and off-whites alongside nautical artefacts and riverside views to great effect.
Established in 1980, Café Des Amis is one of the oldest restaurants in Covent Garden. It has been recently refurbished and now is a modern stylish Brasserie and Wine Bar. The new summer terrace, heated on cooler days, offers Al Fresco dining Continental style.
Overlooking the Royal Opera House, this splendid airy restaurant uses its balcony to great advantage with daylight flooding through the copious glass walls of the terrace, where you can dine al fresco during the summer months.
Situated in the heart of Covent Garden, a few seconds from the Piazza, Opera House, numerous theatres and the other pleasures of this area, Maggiore's is an exceptional venue and first class value for money.
Buzzing with Gallic charm, Incognico is a bright unpretentious brasserie close to Leicester Square in the heart of London's theatreland. Robust dishes such as poached smoked haddock with chive butter sauce and honey-roasted duck breast with pomme fondant fill the flavoursome menu.
One of the oldest restaurants in London's Theatreland, Kettner's is a French restaurant with a frisky reputation, founded in 1867 by Auguste Kettner, a former chef to Napoleon III. A place where respectable diners and actresses could once consort and cavort, it is situated in four Georgian houses just behind the stage doors and has a secret passageway running to the Palace Theatre.
This is one of the highly successful Café Rouge restaurant/bar chain. It loses no sense of individuality by being one of the group and offers excellent French food at reasonable prices in a thoroughly pleasant environment. Lunchtime bookings only.
Just a 2-minute walk from Covent Garden train station, Cote Restaurant serves straightforward and freshly prepared French food at value for money prices in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Winner of the award for 'Best Value Restaurant in the UK' in the Good Food Guide 2009.
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CHOICE
Guides to the best of Covent Garden
