Whether it is a first date or a 10th wedding anniversary, it is never a bad idea to go on a date. It can be hard to come up with something interesting to do after many years together.
I remember reading in Cosmo magazine once that moving location a few times on a date is a good idea. It can inspire new conversation topics. This inspired me to try something new with my spouse in London for our date night.
Since my husband and I moved outside of London about 18 months ago, going out currently consists of a walk to a local pub with our dog. To avoid another evening of déjà vu, we booked a dog sitter and ventured into Central London. We were headed to Covent Garden, which offers numerous restaurants, shops, street performers, theatres and more. It’s also a great spot to meet up with friends and see where the day/night takes you!
Plan your Covent Garden date
Getting to Covent Garden: The closest Tube station is Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line, though Leicester Square (Piccadilly and Northern lines) is often a faster walk if Covent Garden station is heaving with crowds. Charing Cross and Embankment are both about a 10-minute walk from the Piazza, and either works well coming in from a hotel further south along the Strand.
When to go: Covent Garden is one of London’s most visited neighborhoods, so weekends and lunchtimes get truly packed. For a date, evenings after 6pm are calmer, and Sundays are a sweet spot if you can manage a pre-theatre dinner and an early show. Avoid the lunchtime rush on Saturdays unless people-watching is the point.
How to spend the day: A full Covent Garden date can mean anything from a quick lunch and a wander, to a full day of brunch, an afternoon at the London Transport Museum or Royal Opera House, dinner near the theatres, and a West End show to close. Pace yourself and book restaurants in advance, especially on weekends.
Jump to a section
- Favorite Covent Garden Haunts
- Indian Delights for Dinner: Paro
- Editor’s Picks: Eileen’s London Date Spots
- Theatres Near Covent Garden and the Strand
- Where to Stay Near Covent Garden
- A Note on Covent Garden as a Date Spot
Favorite Covent Garden Haunts
When we arrived in Covent Garden, we decided to walk around to see what had changed. There always seems to be new shops to explore and foods to try. If you are planning a full day, the two spots for brunch I would recommend are Ivy Market and Lilly’s. If you have a sweet tooth and looking for a snack, I recommend stopping by Secret Nicky’s for custard. They boast a delicious selection of toppings and their hot cookie dough. This shop is located on the lower ground. As you enjoy your dessert, you can listen to the opera singers who perform just across the way. These performers are incredibly talented so be sure to tip them.
Back on the ground level, tucked in the corner is the London Transport Museum. It’s fun spot to learn about how people have traveled across London for the last 200 years. Even if trains and buses are not your thing, you should at least stop by the gift shop. There’s a selection of vintage adverts, games, books, and home furnishings with the same fabric as the upholstery on the Tube. You can take home something to remember your day with or discover unique gifts for family who live outside of London, especially if they like trains.
The Royal Opera House is also located in Covent Garden. Tours and experiences cover many topics, such as ballet and tea, architecture, tea and dances, and masterclasses with cast members. There are ballets and operas too if you would like to experience something more cultural. I was interested to see that the Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are performing over five days in July 2024.
Indian Delights for Dinner
If you have made it to dinner time, there are many restaurants and pubs in the area that have a theatre prefix menu. Then you don’t have to worry about missing the curtain rising! We were invited to try out a new restaurant called Paro, which offers Calcuttan-inspired Indian food, before going to the theatre for my birthday. Since opening five months ago, the waitstaff told us they now have regulars who come weekly to enjoy the diverse menu. Executive chef, Niaz, runs another restaurant, City Spice, on Brick Lane and wanted to bring the flavours of Calcutta to London. This location shared with the Lyceum Theatre where The Lion King is playing. This great spot is only a five-minute walk from the Strand, where several other theatres are located.
At Paro, the menu has a large selection of both traditional Indian dishes and modern inspirations. We started our meal with poppadoms as we perused the menu. The poppadoms came with dried coconut, mango chutney, and onions. To drink, my husband, James, went for an Indian-inspired cider, Peacock, while I enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (or two).
We started with Bang Bang Chicken, flavoured with Para’s mild spice mix, pomegranate seeds, and plum sauce. I found it spicy with my delicate pallet, but the sauce mellowed out the punch. The Potato Chops were delicious, fried and served with a lime sauce. James ordered Gunpowder Lamb, a Paro favourite, and basmati rice for his main course. I went with my usual Cream Chicken Korma and Perswari Naan.
Our food arrived quickly and everything was delicious and well flavoured. The portions were perfect so we left full without wasting too much food. I wish we had room to try any of the Calcutta-inspired desserts (Mango Kulfi, Gulab Jamun, and Barfi).
There is a pre-theatre set course menu also available. We ate at 5pm on a Sunday night and finished in an hour and a half with plenty of time to make it to our next destination on the Strand. The only unusual feature of the restaurant is that the bathroom is shared with the Lyceum Theatre. It didn’t cause a problem while we were there but perhaps during interval there may be a queue.
To end the evening, we booked tickets to a musical, which is something we do every year for my birthday. It was only a five-minute walk to the Vaudeville Theatre where Six was beginning at 7pm. The show is only 80 minutes long (without an interval) so we were back home before 10pm. The Savoy Theatre is also within walking distance of Covent Garden. Also, the nearby Adelphi theatre has Back to the Future showing (an excellent show if you watched the movie as a kid). Keep in mind that many theatres are closed on Mondays and book well in advance.
Eileen’s London Date Spots
From editor Eileen Cotter Wright, who has spent decades visiting London with her British in-laws, friends, and on solo trips.
A few more spots I’d add to the Covent Garden date roster, all places I’ve been and can vouch for from years of London visits!
Cafe Pacifico. Tucked on Langley Street just off Long Acre, Cafe Pacifico is London’s oldest Mexican restaurant (open since 1982) and one of my favorite low-key date spots in the neighborhood. The atmosphere is part candle-lit cantina, part proper restaurant, with strong margaritas, tableside guacamole, and a tequila list that goes much deeper than most London Mexican places attempt. It’s not trying to be trendy, which is the whole point. Great for a relaxed second date or a long catch-up over food. Worth booking on weekends.
Tapas Stories. A few minutes’ walk from Covent Garden Piazza, Tapas Stories does iconic Spanish small plates in a warm, energetic space. After a year living in Spain, I’ve become deeply opinionated about what counts as real tapas, and Tapas Stories delivers: jamón ibérico that tastes like Spain, proper patatas bravas, fresh seafood plates, and a Spanish wine list that lets you actually explore beyond the obvious Rioja. The plates-for-sharing format makes it perfect for a date because conversation flows naturally between bites.
Quick tips from a regular:
Skip the Apple Market piazza on a Saturday afternoon unless people-watching is the point. The buskers there draw crowds that make actual movement difficult. The streets just west of the piazza (Floral Street, Long Acre, King Street) are where the better restaurants and bars live, and they’re significantly less crowded.
The closest tube stop to Covent Garden Piazza isn’t always the fastest. If Covent Garden station is jammed (it often is), walk five minutes to Leicester Square or Holborn instead. You’ll get out faster and probably walk less than queuing for the lift.
Theatres Near Covent Garden and the Strand
Covent Garden sits at the heart of London’s West End, and there are roughly a dozen theatres within a 10-minute walk of the Piazza. If you’re planning a dinner-and-a-show date, here are the venues closest to Covent Garden, with current long-running productions as of 2026. Always book ahead; shows change and many theatres are dark on Mondays.
Lyceum Theatre (Wellington Street). Home to Disney’s The Lion King since 1999, still going strong. The theatre is a beautiful 1834 venue and a five-minute walk from Paro (above, which actually shares its bathroom with the Lyceum).
Vaudeville Theatre (Strand). Six the Musical has been running here, with its 80-minute no-interval format that makes for an easy pre-theatre dinner pairing. Check current programming because Vaudeville rotates shows.
Adelphi Theatre (Strand). Currently home to Back to the Future: The Musical, which is a fun ride if you grew up with the films.
Savoy Theatre (Strand). Tucked into the Savoy Hotel, this Edwardian venue rotates productions and is one of the most historic theatre experiences in London regardless of what’s playing.
Fortune Theatre (Russell Street). Operation Mincemeat has been running here, the unlikely-but-true WWII story turned into a critically acclaimed musical.
St Martin’s Theatre (West Street). The Mousetrap has been running here continuously since 1952, making it the longest-running play in the world. If you’ve never seen it, that alone is a worthwhile date story.
Cambridge Theatre (Earlham Street). Matilda the Musical runs here and is excellent if your date doubles as a family outing.
For a deeper dive into which West End shows are actually worth the ticket price, and which to skip, see my guide to finessing West End theater. And if you’re thinking of bringing the kids along, Lovely London with Littles covers Matilda and other family-friendly options.
If you don’t have to work the next day, you can continue your evening! At Tequila Mockingbird, a cocktail bar near Paro, offers karaoke, a photo booth and disco brunch. It’s a popular spot for a fun, late-night cap to a Covent Garden date.
Where to Stay Near Covent Garden
If you’re making a weekend of it, here are a few hotel picks for staying within walking distance of Covent Garden.
Kimpton Fitzroy London (Russell Square, Bloomsbury). My favorite London hotel for a date weekend. It’s part of the IHG family, set in a stunning Victorian building on Russell Square, about a 10-minute walk to Covent Garden through Bloomsbury. The rooms are properly comfortable, the public spaces feel like a London grand hotel without being stuffy, and the in-house Fitz’s Bar is a destination in itself for a pre-dinner cocktail. If you have IHG One Rewards points, this is one of the best London uses of them.
Other walkable options: Strand-area hotels (The Savoy, ME London, The Strand Palace) are all within a few minutes’ walk of the Piazza if you want to stay even closer. Soho’s hotels (The Soho Hotel, Ham Yard) are also walkable and put you in a different but equally lively neighborhood for the rest of your stay.
A Note on Covent Garden as a Date Spot
To be fully honest, Covent Garden is one of London’s most touristy neighborhoods. The Piazza is gorgeous and the buskers are talented, but on a weekend afternoon it can feel less like a romantic Central London date and more like a queue for a fairground. The trick is to use Covent Garden as a hub, not the entire date. Brunch or dinner in Covent Garden, then a show at one of the nearby theatres, then maybe drinks in slightly quieter Soho or Bloomsbury. That structure pulls all the upside of the neighborhood (the food, the theatres, the architecture) without getting trapped in the crowds.
As you can see, Covent Garden is a busy area that is always changing. It gives you something new to experience every time you visit. You can either head there on a whim to see what you can find or plan for a special occasion. If you have another great spot to recommend in the area, leave a comment below!
More Posts on London!
- A Week with Family in the UK: Our London Itinerary
- We Lost Our Muggle Minds at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London
- Mayfair: A Budding Family-Friendly Borough in London
- When Your Parents Visit London!
Read more from Mollie on her blog, PT Mollie:
This sounds like such a wonderful spot/idea. Thanks for sharing
I love classic London spots!
Indian food in London is a yes for me.
I think they have the best Indian food outside India!