Le Garrick

Le Garrick is a long-running French restaurant on Garrick Street, regarded as a Covent Garden institution and now celebrating its fortieth anniversary. It sits a two-minute walk from Leicester Square station, tucked into the corner of the district near the Garrick Club, and has kept a loyal following for unfussy, traditional cooking served across two intimate floors.

The kitchen specialises in traditional French cuisine, with regional dishes passed down through generations: snails, French onion soup, steak frites, duck and the puddings that have been on French menus for as long as anyone can remember. Guests choose between the a la carte menu, the Club Dejeuner lunch and the pre and post-theatre menus, which are built for theatregoers, small and large parties and other social gatherings.

French restaurant in Covent Garden

The restaurant describes itself as a little piece of France, and the layout bears that out: window seats upstairs, an alfresco table for summer evenings, and candlelit booths downstairs where the atmosphere is warm and a little old-fashioned in the best sense. In an area that changes quickly, Le Garrick has held to candlelight, close tables and a menu of French classics for decades, and that constancy is exactly why people return.

What to expect on a visit

The restaurant opens all day from midday, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. The two small floors fill easily and the candlelit tables are sought after, so booking is recommended, particularly in the evening and before the St Martin's Lane theatres. It is one of the friendliest rooms among Covent Garden's fine dining restaurants, and pairs well with a seafood night at J Sheekey in St Martin's Court a short walk away. For a pre-theatre French dinner near Leicester Square, it is a reminder of an older, gentler Covent Garden.