Covent Garden, Italian Restaurant Guide

“It’s lovely to sit at the outside tables in the summer” in the “beautiful courtyard” of Covent Garden’s Floral Court, dining on “interesting small plates” of Italian food – “albeit on the expensive side” – at the central London offshoot from the well-known Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. It’s just “great for a girls’ day lunch or dinner”.

“One of the prettiest restaurants in London – charmingly tucked away in Floral Court, Covent Garden” – this is the in-town offshoot of the famous Richmond plant nursery, and in fact houses two establishments – “La Goccia is the better of the two” (see also). There’s “a lovely atmosphere in this light and bright room – it’s the sort of place you might take your rich aunt to for lunch”. The food, though, is “not especially memorable” and “weirdly expensive for average fare”.

“We all loved it – especially the kids”, is the most popular view of this vast and OTT mock-Italian operation in Covent Garden from French group Big Mamma, whose “funky interior, fun staff and really positive vibe” create a jolly backdrop to some “surprisingly good and cheaply priced food” – mainly pizza and pasta. Moaning “shame about the Instagramming teenagers” rather misses the point of the whole enterprise, although the odd ‘off’ report suggests that the joke can fall flat on a bad day – “indifferent service, a quiet atmosphere and disappointing grub: what went wrong? They had something but blew it!”.

“Reliably good Italian food at fair prices” and particularly “switched-on service” won revitalised support this year for Angela Hartnett’s “very serviceable” mini-chain, which is generally a “very safe choice”, and – at its best – “memorable” in the level of “very confident” cooking it can achieve. Even fans, though, concede the “atmosphere can be a bit low key”, in particular at the “rather gloomy” WC2 branch (and the best reports are at St James’s).

“Reliably good Italian food at fair prices” and particularly “switched-on service” won revitalised support this year for Angela Hartnett’s “very serviceable” mini-chain, which is generally a “very safe choice”, and – at its best – “memorable” in the level of “very confident” cooking it can achieve. Even fans, though, concede the “atmosphere can be a bit low key”, in particular at the “rather gloomy” WC2 branch (and the best reports are at St James’s).

The “beautiful setting” and “elegant small sharing plates of tapas-like cicchetti” make this “great spot” from the San Carlo group “perfect for pre- or post-Coliseum dining” and it inspires uniformly positive feedback from a big and diverse fan base.

“A very sophisticated Italian restaurant” in Covent Garden that combines “gorgeous” cooking and “excellent wines” with “superb” service and an “elegant” interior. Just one catch, and you can probably guess what it is… it’s no bargain (“the crab ravioli at £31 had only 6 ravioli on the plate…”). Top Top – “good value for the pre-theatre menu”.

“Elevating accessible pasta to another level” and “at fair prices” has won a huge fan club for these pasta pit-stops, which – in July 2023 – added a Borough Yards location to their outlets in Soho and off Trafalgar Square. It’s the “narrow” WC2 branch that’s best known, and, despite the weight of custom, “helpful staff do their best” and it delivers “lots of atmosphere”. The food rating dipped this year, though, due to a few refuseniks who say “it used to be good, but is becoming a victim of its own success”. Executive Chef Ben Waugh creates all new dishes and ensures the classics are still on the menu, such as Fazzoletti (silk handkerchiefs) with confit egg yolk and walnut butter. There is also an aperitivi and cicchetti bar.

“A good find for a pre-theatre meal” – this “efficient and friendly” Covent Garden dining room is quite stylish for somewhere inside a modern chain hotel, and serves an offbeat mix of Peruvian and Italian dishes: “a great selection”, with “lots of small-plate choices and interesting combinations” – “just enough to choose easily and all delicious”.

“Very friendly” and “authentic” – this “family-run traditional Italian trattoria” is a “dependable and good-value” option in Covent Garden, “with outside tables in decent weather”. The food is “good but not exceptional”. Top Menu Tip – “try the calves’ liver and tiramisu”.