Ruffians

Ruffians is an award-winning barbershop on Maiden Lane, in the southern part of Covent Garden between the Piazza and the Strand. It was the group's first London outpost and remains its flagship, sitting alongside sister shops in Marylebone, Shoreditch and Edinburgh.

This is a Covent Garden barber built for lingering rather than a quick in-and-out. Two large communal cutting desks and nine stations fill the floor, the front of the store is given over to a shop selling Ruffians' own hair and beard products and other curios, and the waiting area has a fireplace flanked by rustic farmhouse wingback chairs, lit through the winter. Opposite sits a coffee-cum-whisky bar pouring Darwoods speciality coffee.

Barber in Covent Garden for cuts, beards and shaves

The menu covers haircuts, beard trims and cut-throat razor shaves, and every service starts with a full consultation that takes in the client's lifestyle and hair type before a blade is picked up. The aim is a cut matched to the individual rather than a house style, and the flagship setting gives the team the room and time to do it properly. Appointments are booked through the Ruffians online system, where you choose the service and time slot for the Covent Garden shop.

What to expect on a visit

The shop opens seven days a week, from 10am to 7pm on weekdays and until 6pm at weekends, and is a short walk from Covent Garden and Charing Cross stations. Booking ahead is the sensible way to secure a chair, though the retail counter and coffee bar are worth a look in their own right. For a more traditional Turkish-style service nearby, see Ted's Grooming Room on Great Queen Street, or browse the other hair salons and barbers in Covent Garden.