Where to eat in Theatreland on CODE

Dinner and a show is the ultimate West End double act but it can get expensive. With the CODE app, you can save money on pre- and post-theatre dining at top London restaurants, leaving you cash to spare for your programme and an interval ice cream. Here’s where to eat in Theatreland on the CODE app, from curtain up to last orders.

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Jamie Oliver Catherine Street

Monday – Wednesday 30% off food

Located right next door to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Jamie Oliver’s flagship restaurant is a celebration of proper British tucker. Scampi and chips, posh prawn cocktail, cottage pie and ‘Trevor’s chicken’ will go down a treat with visitors from overseas.

Arcade Food Hall

Monday – Wednesday 30% off food

This high-energy global food hall is ideal for pressed-for-time theatregoers. Just take your pick of, say, a double smashburger from Manna, tacos from Mexa or a massaman curry  from Plaza Khao Gaeng, and you’ll be out well in time for curtain-up at @sohoplace directly opposite.

Story Cellar

Tuesday – Wednesday, 20% off total bill

Fine wines, rotisserie chicken, and classic Parisian bistro cooking from Michelin star chef Tom Sellers (of Restaurant Story). Find it tucked away in Neal’s Yard, minutes from the Donmar Warehouse.

Café Boheme

Monday – Thursday and Sundays, 30% off total bill

This Soho institution keeps late hours, making it as good for post-show eating as pre-show. Try the bavette steak or moules marinière. The Prince Edward theatre is over the road.

Cecconi’s Pizza Bar

Monday – Thursday and Sundays, 30% off total bill

For cicchetti, wood-fired pizzas and Negronis on tap all-day long. Just the thing when you’re killing time between part one and part two of The Cursed Child, round the corner at the Palace Theatre.

Heliot Steak House

Monday – Friday, 50% off food

Overlooking the impressive Grand Casino at the Hippodrome near Leicester Square, Heliot Steak House is well situated for all the major West End theatres and cinemas. The pre-theatre menu includes sirloin and chips, ‘grandma’s meatballs’, and red velvet cake.

Brasserie Max

Monday – Wednesday, 30% off total bill

This stylish brasserie and bar at Firmdale’s Covent Garden Hotel is a smart and sophisticated place for pre-theatre and post-theatre drinks and dining in London. Choose two or three courses such as bresaola with celeriac remoulade and harissa chicken with new potatoes.

Fatto a Mano

Monday – Sunday, 30% off total bill

Heading to a show with younger diners? They’ll probably thank you for Neapolitan pizza, truffled arancini, and gelato at Fatto a Mano instead of a set menu elsewhere. The London Coliseum is next door.

Side Hustle Bar

Sunday – Wednesday, 20% off total bill

Set in the former Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, now NoMad London, opposite the Royal Opera House, Side Hustle is a fun place to go for snacks, tacos, and some of the best margaritas in town.

Balthazar London

Sunday – Tuesday, 30% off total bill

Deep in Covent Garden’s Theatreland, New York import Balthazar is a show in itself. The prix fixe includes cured salmon crudo, steak tartare, and Paris Brest.

Spring

Tuesday – Saturday, 20% off total bill

One of London’s most beautiful restaurants, Spring is located in Somerset House on the Strand, close to many storied West End venues. Chef Skye Gyngell’s clever zero waste, ‘scratch menu’, available pre-theatre, is a steal.

Osteria del Mare

Sunday – Thursday, 25% off food

A super-stylish modern Mediterranean restaurant from the group behind Bocconcino. A bowl of tagliatelle with black truffle or a plate of Parma ham with deep-fried cheese sfogliatine should set you up nicely for the show.

Oriole

Tuesday – Saturday, 30% off total bill

Oriole, tucked away between Covent Garden and Leicester Square, has established itself as a glamorous go-to for the theatre crowd. Hit the upstairs bar for a pre- or post-show cocktail or head down to the glamorous basement restaurant for pre-theatre dining with a Latin fusion twist.

Gunpowder Soho

Sunday – Wednesday, 30% off food

Be warned: with spicy venison and vermicelli doughnuts, egg curry masala, Chettinad pulled duck, and Goan prawns on the menu at this cool Soho Indian restaurant, you might have trouble tearing yourself away for the start of the show. Luckily, the Prince Edward theatre is literally a minute away.

STK Strand

Sunday – Wednesday, 25% off total bill

The Theatreland branch of this American steakhouse knows how to do pre-theatre dining. They’ll have you in and out, stuffed with tuna tartare tacos, sliders, and wagyu, in good time for the show.

Twenty8 NoMad

Monday – Sunday, 30% off total bill

The theatre’s finest set designers have nothing on Twenty8NoMad, the jaw-droppingly beautiful atrium restaurant at NoMad London. Oysters, lobster pasta and steak frites are on the menu.

Restaurant 45 at St Martin’s Lane Hotel

Sunday – Thursday, 50% off food

Skip the tuk-tuk – after dinner at Restaurant 45, it’s just a short walk to any of the theatres on St Martin’s Lane. We’ll take the cognac shrimp and the bavette with peppercorn sauce.