Our pick
Where to eat before a Shaftesbury Avenue or Soho theatre
Soho holds the densest cluster of pre-theatre menus in London, which makes it the right district for the Apollo, the Lyric, the Gielgud, the Sondheim and the Palace. Bocca di Lupo is the pick for regional Italian at £18 with a window open until 6.30pm, Manzi's the one for seafood, and The Palomar the one for Jerusalem cooking in a tight 5pm to 6pm sitting.
01 | Bocca di Lupo
Soho | Regional Italian
£18 to £26, 2-3 courses, Mon to Fri, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | 12pm to 6.30pm.
A trattoria cooking across the Italian regions, where the kitchen chooses the set menu itself from the day's cooking. Take it at the marble counter overlooking the open stoves; the window stays open until 6.30pm on weekdays, which clears a table comfortably for a 7.30pm curtain.
02 | Manzi's
Soho | Seafood / Italian
£29.50, 3 courses, Tue to Sun, Pre-Theatre From 5pm.
Nostalgic British seafood classics served in unexpected ways, in an art deco room a short walk from Shaftesbury Avenue. The evening theatre menu is three courses and a drink, and for a matinee the set lunch from £16 runs until 5pm.
03 | Mele e Pere
Soho | Italian
£19.50 to £23.50, 2-3 courses, Sun to Fri, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | 12pm to 6pm.
Seasonal, vegetable-led Italian cooking on Brewer Street, with a vermouth bar downstairs for a drink before the curtain. The set menu runs straight from noon to 6pm, Sunday to Friday.
04 | The Palomar
Soho | Jerusalem / Mediterranean | Bib Gourmand
£28, 3 courses, Mon to Fri, Pre-Theatre 5pm to 6pm.
Jerusalem cooking at a buzzy counter facing the chefs, with dishes like baby cucumbers with green tahini and crispy chilli. The pre-theatre sitting is a single hour from 5pm, so book the start of it.
05 | Chotto Matte
Soho | Japanese-Peruvian
£40, 3-7 courses, Mon to Fri, Pre-Theatre 5pm to 6.30pm.
Nikkei cooking, Japanese by way of Peru, in a Soho izakaya with a dedicated pre-theatre menu from 5pm on weekdays. For an early matinee, the Express Lunch at £14.95 runs until 5pm.
Every Soho pre-theatre menu is in the Soho pre-theatre guide, with the seating window at each, and the guides to pre-theatre near Leicester Square and near Piccadilly Circus sort them by the walk.
Where to eat before a Covent Garden, Aldwych or Strand theatre
Covent Garden has the widest price range and, unusually, several menus that run seven days. Boulevard Brasserie, Palm Court Brasserie and Paro Indian all serve until 6.30pm every day, Whitcomb's on Leicester Square until 10pm, and at the top end Indigo at One Aldwych and the Savoy Grill put a grand dining room within reach of a set price.
06 | Boulevard Brasserie
Covent Garden | French
£22.95 to £27.90, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Lunch & Pre-Theatre 12pm to 6.30pm.
A French brasserie in the heart of Covent Garden, with more than 20 theatres within ten minutes' walk. The same set menu runs from noon to 6.30pm every day of the week, which is what makes it the safest booking on this page.
07 | Palm Court Brasserie
Covent Garden | French
£21.95 to £25.95, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Lunch & Pre-Theatre 12pm to 6.30pm.
A Covent Garden brasserie built for the stop before the theatre, with a menu of the house's best-loved dishes and the same daily window as its neighbour, Boulevard.
08 | Paro Indian
Covent Garden | Indian
£21 to £24, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Pre-Theatre 11.45am to 6.30pm.
Modern Indian cooking inside the Lyceum Theatre building on Wellington Street, where a house blend of 48 spices runs through West Bengal home cooking and the Anglo-Indian curries. Bang bang chicken to start, a main built from seven bases, korma through to jalfrezi, and rice or naan included. The Novello is across the street.
09 | Whitcomb's
Leicester Square | Mediterranean | Featured
£29 to £34, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Pre-Theatre 12pm to 10pm | Festive 16 Nov to 23 Dec | Festive Taste 16 Nov to 23 Dec.
Mediterranean small plates inside The Londoner on Leicester Square, a short walk from Wyndham's and the Prince of Wales. The set menu runs from noon to 10pm every day, which makes it as good after the show as before it.
10 | Le Garrick
Covent Garden | French Bistro
£22 to £26, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | 12pm to 6.30pm & after 10pm.
A bistro institution just off Garrick Street, a few minutes' walk from the West End theatres, serving two or three courses until 6.30pm and again after 10pm, Monday to Saturday. Bookings are by phone or email only.
11 | Gaucho Covent Garden
Covent Garden | Latin American
£18.95 to £20.95, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Lunch & Pre-Theatre 12pm to 6.30pm.
An Argentinian steakhouse on James Street, a few steps from the piazza, cooking over the parrilla beneath red velvet curtains and brass. Squid chicharrón, rump and chips and a dulce de leche pancake are on the set menu, and Gaucho Piccadilly off Regent Street serves the same one.
12 | Harry's Covent Garden
Covent Garden | Italian
£24.95 to £29.95, 2-3 courses, Sun to Fri, Lunch & Dinner 11.30am to close | Lunch & Pre-Theatre 11.30am to 6pm | Festive 4 Nov to 29 Dec.
All-day Italian on the Covent Garden piazza in a glamorous Venetian-inspired room. The set menu is served all day from Sunday to Wednesday and until 6pm on Thursday and Friday, but not on Saturdays.
13 | Balthazar
Covent Garden | French Brasserie
£25.50 to £28.50, 2-3 courses, Mon to Fri, Sun, Lunch & Dinner | Mon to Thu 11.30am to 10.45pm, Fri 12pm to 6pm, Sun 5pm to 9.45pm.
A grand Parisian-style brasserie on Russell Street, for moules marinière and steak frites in a glamorous, buzzy room. From Monday to Thursday the set menu runs until late, so it covers the table after the show too.
14 | Toklas
Strand | Mediterranean
£26 to £29, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
Between the Strand and the Thames, with Wolfgang Tillmans artworks on the walls and one of London's best terraces. The pre-theatre sitting is a single hour from 5.30pm.
15 | Indigo
Covent Garden | Modern British
£42 to £50, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5pm to 6.30pm.
Edward Dutton's British cooking at One Aldwych, plates with both substance and style, a short walk from the Novello and the Aldwych theatres.
16 | Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay
Strand | British
£59 to £66, 2-3 courses, Mon to Fri, Lunch & Pre-Theatre 12pm to 5.45pm | Festive 16 Nov to 4 Jan.
The art deco grill room inside The Savoy, for beef Wellington and joints carved from the trolley, a few minutes from the Strand theatres. The set menu runs straight through lunch into the pre-theatre window on weekdays.
Every one is in the Covent Garden pre-theatre guide, and the guides to pre-theatre near Charing Cross and near Temple cover the Strand and Aldwych end.
Where to eat before the National Theatre or a South Bank show
For the National Theatre the answer is inside the building: Lasdun serves its set menu in the theatre's own dining room, with an early evening window from 4.30pm to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, which removes the walk entirely. Across the river, the Strand and Covent Garden options above are about ten minutes over Waterloo Bridge.
17 | Lasdun
South Bank | Modern British
£35 to £39, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | 12pm to 2pm (Wed & Sat) & 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
A brutalist dining room inside the National Theatre from the team behind The Marksman, with a set menu at £35 for two courses and a dessert for £4 more. It is the only pre-theatre set menu on All Set in the National's own building, and the reason to book it early rather than late.
Where to eat before a Victoria theatre
Victoria has four pre-theatre menus within a short walk of the Apollo Victoria and the Victoria Palace, which is more than the area's reputation suggests. bbar holds the widest window on the list, from noon to 7pm Tuesday to Saturday, and The Cavalry Bar seats from 4pm to 6.45pm every day.
18 | bbar
Victoria | British
£25 to £30, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | Mon 4pm to 7pm, Tue to Sat 12pm to 7pm, Sun 12pm to 5pm.
On Buckingham Palace Road, opposite the Royal Mews, with buttermilk fried chicken tenders, beer-battered fish and chips and Bea Tollman's baked vanilla cheesecake. Monday's window opens at 4pm and Sunday's closes at 5pm.
19 | The Idler
Victoria | Modern British
£23 to £28, 2-3 courses, Tue to Sat, Lunch & Pre-Theatre | 12pm to 6.30pm.
British seasonal cooking with a Mediterranean lean, between the West End theatres and Victoria station, on a prix fixe built for the hour before the curtain.
20 | The Cavalry Bar
Victoria | British
£35 to £45, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sun, Pre-Theatre 4pm to 6.45pm.
The bar at The Rubens at the Palace, formerly The New York Bar, serving buttermilk fried chicken, slow-cooked beef ragù and Bea Tollman's baked vanilla cheesecake from 4pm every day.
21 | The English Grill
Victoria | British
£49 to £55, 2-3 courses, Tue to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5.30pm to 7pm.
Classic British dining in Victoria, with a pre-theatre menu from 5.30pm to 7pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and a set lunch at £29 for two courses from Tuesday to Friday.
Which Michelin restaurants serve a pre-theatre menu?
Seven Michelin-starred London restaurants run a pre-theatre or early-evening set menu, starting at £40 at Veeraswamy on Regent Street. Veeraswamy and Wild Honey St James are the two closest to a West End stage, and Trishna in Marylebone serves its early sitting seven days a week. The full Michelin list covers the lunch sittings too, from the cheapest up.
22 | Veeraswamy
Mayfair | Indian | 1 Star
£40 to £45, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5.30pm to 6.15pm.
London's oldest surviving Indian restaurant, on Regent Street since 1926, cooking from the royal kitchens of Hyderabad, Mughal India and Patiala in an ornate room overlooking the street.
23 | Wild Honey St James
St James's | Modern European | 1 Star
£45 to £60, 3 courses, Tue to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5pm to 6.15pm.
A Grade II-listed former banking hall in St James's, where the three courses are £45, or £60 with a glass of Laurent-Perrier.
24 | Trishna
Marylebone | Indian Coastal | 1 Star
£45 to £50, 3-4 courses, Mon to Sun, Pre-Theatre 5pm to 6.15pm.
Coastal Indian cooking with a Michelin star. The Taste of Trishna runs to three or four courses every early evening, with dishes like hariyali bream and cashew and pepper chicken, and the weekday lunch starts at £25.
25 | Benares
Mayfair | Indian | 1 Star
£46 to £52, 2-3 courses, Mon to Sat, Pre-Theatre 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
A Mayfair institution and a long-standing pre-theatre choice, with Welsh lamb masala among the dishes.
26 | Portland
Marylebone | Modern British | 1 Star
£55, 4 courses, Tue to Sat, Early Evening 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
A Michelin-starred Marylebone dining room with menus rewritten daily, and a four-course early evening menu from 5.30pm.
27 | Chishuru
Fitzrovia | West African | 1 Star
£65, 3-4 courses, Mon to Fri, Pre-Theatre 5.30pm to 6pm.
Adejoké Bakare's acclaimed West African cooking in an earthy, vibrant room in Fitzrovia. The window is narrow, 5.30pm to 6pm, so a late arrival misses the menu.
28 | The Goring
Belgravia | British | 1 Star
£98, 3 courses, Mon to Fri, Pre-Theatre 6pm to 6.30pm.
The Belgravia hotel dining room beloved of the Royal Family. The pre-theatre sitting is a half hour from 6pm on weekdays, and the weekday lunch from £45 is the better value.
Where to find every pre-theatre menu in London
Sort all 87 by price and window, read the West End pre-theatre guide for the walk to each theatre, the guides for Soho, Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road, or the map for the one nearest your seat. For the wider picture, the best set menus in London covers lunch, Sunday and Michelin alongside pre-theatre.
What is a pre-theatre menu?
A pre-theatre menu is a fixed-price menu of two or three courses served in the early evening, timed so a table finishes before curtain-up. Most London pre-theatre menus seat between 5pm and 6.30pm and are built to run in about 90 minutes, which clears the table for a 7.30pm show. Restaurants offer them because the hour before a performance is otherwise the quietest of the evening, so the price sits well below the same kitchen's à la carte. All Set lists 87 London restaurants serving one, each with its price, days and exact seating window taken from the restaurant's own published menu. Prices on this page were last checked on 14 September 2026.
This guide is organised by theatre district, because the walk matters more than the neighbourhood, and it names the menus worth booking in each one.
What is the best pre-theatre menu in London?
The best pre-theatre menu in London for most people is Boulevard Brasserie in Covent Garden: a French brasserie set menu from £21.95, served from noon to 6.30pm seven days a week, a few minutes from the Lyceum and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. It wins on the thing that usually goes wrong, which is availability. Most pre-theatre menus run on weekdays only and shut the window at 6pm; this one runs every day. If the show is on Shaftesbury Avenue instead, Manzi's in Soho serves an evening theatre menu at £29.50 for three courses and a drink from 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
What is the cheapest pre-theatre menu in London?
The cheapest pre-theatre menus near a West End stage are at Bocca di Lupo in Soho, £18 until 6.30pm on weekdays, and Gaucho at £18.95 until 6.30pm in both Piccadilly and Covent Garden, Monday to Saturday. Mele e Pere is £19.50 until 6pm, and in Fitzrovia Clipstone serves three courses at £20.16 from 5pm to 6pm. For a matinee, the set lunch at Manzi's from £16 and the Express Lunch at Chotto Matte at £14.95 both run until 5pm. The wider budget list is at set menus under £20.
What time do pre-theatre menus start and finish in London?
Most London pre-theatre menus seat from 5pm and take a last booking between 6pm and 6.30pm. The narrow ones are narrow: Chishuru closes its window at 6pm, Clipstone at 6pm and Henri at 6pm, so a 6.15pm arrival is a missed menu rather than a late one. The generous ones run through the afternoon, which is what makes them work for a matinee: bbar to 7pm, and Boulevard Brasserie, Palm Court Brasserie and Paro Indian to 6.30pm daily. Every restaurant page on All Set shows the exact window rather than a vague "early evening", and all 87 can be filtered and sorted in one view.
Can you eat on a set menu after the show?
Yes, though the list is short. Le Garrick in Covent Garden serves after 10pm, Whitcomb's on Leicester Square takes set menu bookings until 10pm every night, Brasserie Max from 9pm to 10.30pm on weekdays, Crudo after 9pm and The Cinnamon Club in Westminster from 9pm to close. These are worth knowing, because a 10pm table at a set price is close to unheard of in central London.
How much does a pre-theatre menu cost in London?
London pre-theatre menus on this page run from £18 to £98, with most falling between £21 and £35 for two or three courses. Michelin-starred pre-theatre menus start at £40. As a rule the pre-theatre price is 30 to 50% below ordering the same courses à la carte at the same restaurant, from the same kitchen and the same section of the menu, because the restaurant is buying a filled room in its quietest hour. New to the format? Start with what a set menu is and how it works, or read how pre-theatre dining works in London.
How far in advance should you book a pre-theatre menu?
Book two to three weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday performance, and a few days ahead midweek. The seating window is short, so the tables inside it fill before the rest of the service does, and a restaurant that looks wide open at 8pm can be full at 5.45pm. Tell the restaurant your curtain time when you book: pre-theatre kitchens pace the courses to it, and most will ask if you do not volunteer it. Every listing on All Set links straight to the restaurant's own booking system, which shows live availability, and All Set adds no booking fee.
How were these pre-theatre menus chosen?
Every restaurant on this page is listed on All Set, where each set menu is verified against the restaurant's own published menu rather than a third-party aggregator, and re-checked on a rolling basis. The picks favour the width of the seating window, the days the menu actually runs and the walk to a working theatre, in that order, because those are what decide whether a pre-theatre booking survives contact with a curtain time. The catalogue was last checked on 20 October 2026. All Set links to each restaurant's own booking page and takes no commission, so nothing here is paid placement.