Theatreland eating: pre-show menus, century-old rooms like Rules and J Sheekey, plus Seven Dials' modern bistros and Neal's Yard Dairy on Shorts Gardens.
The Hart brothers' walk-up tapas counter on Adelaide Street in Covent Garden London, opened 2014 and Michelin-starred, runs a daily-changing list of Spanish.
Signature: Tortilla de patatas, Pluma Iberica
Order: Tortilla de patatas and a daily specials seafood plate from the blackboard.
Tip: No bookings. Aim for 11:45 to be first in at the lunch open; sit at the counter to watch the plancha.
Britain's oldest restaurant on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 1798 by Thomas Rule, runs an estate-game-led menu through grouse.
Signature: Game pie, Steak and kidney pudding
Order: Game pie in season, then steamed steak and kidney pudding with mash.
Tip: Lunch is a third of dinner's price and just as well-staffed. The upstairs cocktail bar runs to 23:00 most nights.
The Caprice Holdings seafood institution on St Martin's Court in Covent Garden London, opened 1896, runs a pre-theatre fish-focused menu with the oyster bar.
Signature: Fish pie, Dover sole
Order: Sheekey's fish pie and a half-dozen native oysters from the oyster bar list.
Tip: The Oyster Bar at no. 28-32 takes walk-ins at the bar; the main dining room books two weeks ahead for evening service.
Jeremy Chan and Iremae Adeyeri's West African-influenced tasting room on the Strand in London, opened 2017 and Michelin two-starred, on the World's 50 Best.
Order: Plantain with raspberry-scotch-bonnet salt, the dish that has stayed on the menu since opening.
Tip: Counter seats look directly at the pass; book the corner for two and watch every plate go out.
Skye Gyngell's Modern European dining room inside the New Wing of Somerset House in central London, opened 2014, runs vegetable-led seasonal cooking.
Signature: Whatever spring vegetable course is on, Brown butter custard tart
Order: Whatever the spring or autumn vegetable opener is, and the brown butter custard tart for pudding.
Tip: The Scratch dinner uses kitchen offcuts to fight food waste and costs £25; the regular menu runs £55 for two courses.
WatchHouse Covent Garden between The Strand and Covent Garden Market in London, opened 2022, runs the brand's Modern Coffee menu with custom brew bar.
Signature drink: Modern Coffee flat white on the Slayer Steam LPx
Tip: Mezzanine seats above the bar are the laptop-friendly half. Weekday after 14:00 walks in without waiting.
Robert Robinson's Notes Coffee on St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 2010, runs an in-house roastery, a focused wine list at night.
Signature drink: House espresso
Tip: The downstairs basement is the laptop-friendly room. After 18:00 it pivots to a small-plates wine bar.
Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan)'s cocktail bar inside the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank in London, opened 2019, runs an ingredient-driven menu.
Signature drink: Whatever Mr Lyan ingredient feature is on the menu
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk-up at the bar most weeknights; weekend tables book a week ahead. Six house ingredients drive the menu each season.
The Savoy hotel's American Bar on the Strand in central London, trading since 1893 and the world's oldest surviving cocktail bar of name, codified the modern.
Signature drink: White Lady (or any 1920s recipe from the Savoy Cocktail Book)
Food: Hotel snacks
Tip: Walk-up only between 11:30 and 19:00; book a week ahead for evenings. The Beaufort Bar across the lobby has the more modern programme.
Karim Salama's Egyptian street-food counter on St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 2014, runs koshari (the Cairo bus-station dish).
Try: Egyptian koshari (rice, lentils, pasta, tomato sauce)
Tip: Box of koshari is £8 with all toppings. Counter takeaway or eat in the small upstairs space. Closed Sundays.
Koshari Street's Egyptian street-food counter on St Martin's Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 2014, runs the canonical Cairo bus-station dish at £8 a box.
Try: Egyptian koshari (rice, lentils, pasta, spiced tomato sauce)
Tip: Single-size £8 box comes with all the toppings (caramelised onion, chickpea, tomato-chili). Closed Sundays.
Toklas just off Aldwych in central London, opened 2021 beside Somerset House, runs a Mediterranean kitchen by Martyn Lyons (ex-Spring, ex-Moro) with its own.
Order: Soft-boiled eggs with bottarga and rye toast from the in-house bakery
Tip: The bakery shop next door sells the same pastries from 08:00. Sunday weekend brunch runs to 16:00; weekdays serve through dinner.
Keith McNally's London Balthazar in Covent Garden, opened 2013 as a sibling to the SoHo NY brasserie, runs a New York-leaning French brunch menu.
Order: Steak frites and a glass of Sancerre
Tip: Booking essential for Sundays. The 10:30 weekday brunch is the easy slot. The pastry counter at the front takes walk-ups.
The 10th-floor terrace at ME London is the central rooftop with the 360-degree West End view, and the gin-and-tonic list and modern Asian plates keep it from being only a view bar.
Tip: Book a window banquette on the north side for the Trafalgar and St Martin's view, the south side gives the river.
Ryan Chetiyawardana's ingredient-led bar at Sea Containers is built around the seven Pinnacle Guide ingredients that change every year, and the menu reads like a chef's tasting more than a drinks list.
Tip: Sit at the bar, the conversation with the bartenders is the menu's commentary track. Saturday afternoons are the quietest slot.
The 1893 cocktail bar inside the Savoy is the oldest surviving American-style cocktail room in London, with the legacy of Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book still on every back-bar shelf.
Tip: Listen for the live piano from 18:30, the room transforms. The age limit is 14 plus accompanied, dress code is enforced.