Guides Pre-theatre dinner 2026 Any time Updated 7 Sep 2026
Prices and hours read off each restaurant's own site in September 2026. Set menus move, so the restaurant's page is the one to trust on the day.
Pre-theatre dinner in London: the menus, the hours, and what they actually cost
Every roundup names the restaurants. Almost none tells you when the menu runs or what it costs. Here are both, checked.
The problem with a pre-theatre list is not finding restaurants. It is that almost none of them tell you the two things that decide it: what hours the set menu actually runs, and what it costs. A curtain at 7.30 means sitting down by about 5.45, and a menu that stops at 6.30 is no use to you if you cannot get there until seven.
What we could check
Palm Court Brasserie, 39 King Street, Covent Garden. Starter and main 21.95 pounds, with dessert 25.95. Available from 12pm to 6.30pm. The cheapest properly central option here, and the widest window.
Osteria by Bocconcino, Covent Garden. 24.50 pounds for two courses or 27.50 for three, with a glass of Prosecco included, served from 12pm to 6.30pm.
Balthazar, 4 to 6 Russell Street, Covent Garden. A set menu at 25.50 pounds, and the useful part is the hours: Monday to Friday all day, and from 5pm on Sundays, excluding bank holidays. Tables of up to six. The restaurant is open to 22.45 Monday to Saturday and 21.45 on Sunday, so it works after the show as well as before.
Two that make you ring
Indigo at One Aldwych advertises a pre-theatre supper and is as close to the West End houses as anything gets, but publishes no price or hours on the page. Brasserie Zedel, which has the reputation for the best value in the area, does not put its prix fixe terms online either. Both need a phone call, which is worth knowing before you plan an evening around one.
A warning about the lists
Set menus change and the roundups do not. At the time of writing, published lists still quote Balthazar at 24.50 for a menu the restaurant prices at 25.50, and give hours the restaurant does not keep. Check the restaurant’s own page on the day, not a list, and that includes this one after a few months.
How long to leave
For a 7.30 curtain, book for 5.45. Two courses in a brasserie that is expecting theatre traffic runs about an hour and a quarter, and every one of these is a walk of under ten minutes to the Covent Garden and Aldwych houses.
Dates and events for 2026 go in as venues confirm them. The guide above is what we know so far; it is rewritten as the list fills.
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All 2189 listingsThis guide is rewritten each year before the dates come round. For what is actually happening this week rather than what happens every year, the listings below are dated, checked against the venue and carry the venue's own link.
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Questions people ask
What time do pre-theatre menus run in London?
Most stop at 6.30pm. Palm Court Brasserie and Osteria by Bocconcino both serve from 12pm to 6.30pm. Balthazar is the exception, running its set menu Monday to Friday all day and from 5pm on Sundays.
How much is a pre-theatre menu in London?
Between about 22 and 28 pounds for two or three courses in Covent Garden. Palm Court is 21.95 for two courses and 25.95 for three, Osteria by Bocconcino 24.50 and 27.50, Balthazar a 25.50 set menu.
What time should I book for a 7.30 curtain?
5.45. Two courses takes about an hour and a quarter in a restaurant used to theatre traffic, and the Covent Garden and Aldwych theatres are under ten minutes on foot.
Which restaurants do not publish their pre-theatre prices?
Indigo at One Aldwych and Brasserie Zedel both advertise pre-theatre or prix fixe dining without publishing hours or prices online. Both need a phone call.
Every listing on this page is checked against the venue's own page and the page is rewritten each year, usually six to eight weeks before the dates. Times and prices can change on the night; the venue link on each event is the one to trust. How we choose what goes in.