Pre-theatre dinner in Soho
Three courses for £19.75 under Piccadilly, a set menu on Archer Street and tortilla at five on Dean Street. Dinner before the curtain, without the clock-watching.
By Only Soho Editorial
The best pre-theatre dinner in Soho is the set menu at Brasserie Zédel: three courses for £19.75 in a grand French room by Piccadilly Circus, and out in time for the curtain. Soho sits right behind Shaftesbury Avenue, which makes it the best place in London to eat before a show, as long as you know which kitchens can do it in an hour. Here are the ones we trust, with the order that gets you to your seat.
The set menus
Brasserie Zédel, 20 Sherwood Street
Zédel is the great Soho bargain: two courses for £16.95, three for £19.75. Order the carrot salad, the steak haché with peppercorn sauce and the crème brûlée. The kitchen takes last orders at eleven from Monday to Saturday, so you can just as easily come back after the show. Have a martini in Bar Américain downstairs first if there is time.
Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer Street
A minute from Shaftesbury Avenue, Bocca di Lupo runs a lunch and pre-theatre set menu from noon until half six, Monday to Friday, and it changes every month. The site even links to the theatre listings. Book for half five, order the set, and add a plate of Roman fried olives from the main menu.
Andrew Edmunds, 46 Lexington Street
Andrew Edmunds has a pre-theatre menu too, served in its candlelit Georgian room from half five. It is the romantic option, a little further from the theatres, so leave time for the walk. Order from the handwritten menu and a glass from the famous list.
Kettner's, 29 Romilly Street
Kettner's is a minute from Cambridge Circus and, says Time Out, does three courses for £29 in one of the prettiest dining rooms in London. Order the soufflé, the steak frites and the mousse au chocolat, in that order.
Quick and walk-in
Barrafina, 26-27 Dean Street
Barrafina takes no bookings and opens for dinner at five. Be on the doorstep at ten to five, take a stool at the counter, and you will be eating in no time. Order the tortilla, a plate of the milk-fed lamb sweetbreads and a sherry. You will make any curtain in Soho.
Koya, 50 Frith Street
Koya is walk-in only and serves all day, from ten until ten, so there is no awkward gap between lunch and dinner. A bowl of udon is around £15. Order the curry udon and be out in thirty minutes.
Kricket, 12 Denman Street
Kricket is a two-minute walk from Piccadilly Circus, with Indian small plates. Order the samphire pakoras and the Keralan fried chicken, and a cocktail if the show is long.
Two more if the clock is tight
- Bao, 53 Lexington Street. Walk-in only, and all day from noon on Friday and Saturday, so you can eat at four if the matinee is at five. Order the classic pork bao and a peanut milk.
- Bone Daddies, 31 Peter Street. A ramen bar off Wardour Street that opens at ten and takes walk-ins. Order the tonkotsu and be back on Shaftesbury Avenue in under an hour.
The classic
For a proper Soho dinner before a proper Soho show, book Quo Vadis on Dean Street. Dinner starts at five, Jeremy Lee's seasonal British menu is the draw, and there is a set menu if you want to keep it simple. Then cross the road to the Soho Theatre, a few doors down Dean Street, or stroll down to Shaftesbury Avenue.
After the show
Some of the best Soho dinners happen after the curtain, not before it. Zédel takes last orders at eleven from Monday to Saturday. Bocca di Lupo takes its last booking at a quarter to eleven and keeps the bar open until midnight. Kettner's stays open until 1am from Thursday to Saturday, and Dean Street Townhouse until 1am on Friday and Saturday. Our post-show order: a glass of champagne and steak frites at Kettner's, and a long argument about the second act.
Pre-theatre, the rules
- Book for half five, not six. A half-seven curtain needs a two-hour window, and kitchens fill at six.
- Tell them your curtain time. Every place on this list has fed a theatre crowd before. Say it when you sit down.
- Order the set. It is faster, cheaper and the kitchen is ready for it.
- Pay before pudding. Ask for the bill with dessert and you will never miss the first scene.
And if the show is a dud, the interval is your exit. Zédel takes last orders at eleven, Bocca di Lupo keeps its bar open until midnight, and Soho will be more fun than the second act anyway.
