Editorial
Covent Garden is one of London's most visited neighbourhoods, which means it also has more than its share of tourist traps. The best bars in Covent Garden are a different matter entirely — basement cocktail dens, centuries-old gin palaces, and rooftop terraces that justify the postcode. Our editors have spent considerable time separating the genuinely worthwhile from the merely convenient.
Covent Garden's cocktail scene punches well above its tourist-heavy reputation. These are the bars where bartenders take their craft seriously and menus change with the season.
Covent Garden's proximity to the West End theatres means the neighbourhood does pre-theatre drinking better than almost anywhere in London. These bars have mastered the one-hour window between 6pm and 7pm.
Once the theatre crowds have thinned, Covent Garden reveals its better self. These bars stay interesting well past midnight.
Covent Garden rewards those willing to move beyond the obvious. The best bars in Covent Garden are concentrated around the edges of the tourist core — down the side streets off the Piazza, in hotel basements on the Strand, and in the quieter lanes of Seven Dials. If you are here for pre-theatre drinks, give yourself at least ninety minutes and book in advance. If you are here for a proper evening, start at Scarfes and let the night take its course.
Sofia has been writing about European bars and drinking culture for over a decade. She splits her time between London and Lisbon, and has strong opinions about which West End neighbourhoods are actually worth drinking in.