While restaurants have their own appeal, nothing beats the glamorous exclusivity of private dining. A gourmet feast in an intimate setting with a chosen few is an elevated culinary sojourn – after all, you have sommeliers and world-class chefs dedicating their craft solely to you.
Covent Garden is one of London’s treasured West End gems, known for its high-end shopping extravaganza, iconic piazza, and cultural heritage. The locale is littered with restaurants of note, known for their Michelin-starred chefs and Instagrammable plates. Read on to discover the prime private dining spots in Covent Garden.
1. Roka
Roka is one of London’s premiere Japanese restaurants. It is famous for its ‘robatayaki’. Robatayaki is a Japanese cooking method in which various chunks of food are heated at different speeds over charcoal. Visitors sit around the robata with food and drinks and witness the chefs do their magic. This certainly elevates the ambience of the restaurant, for the food makers passion and energy are infectious.
Muted brown tones, exposed wood, and bamboo curtains adorn the establishment. They have various private dining options. Their semi-private dining hall can accommodate 16 people, and their private lounge has a 36-person capacity. Guests also have the option of booking the lounge for private canapé parties, which provides access to the bar.
For a private dining affair, you will have two menus to choose from, both of which include Roka sushi, robata grill, and desserts. The more expensive menu has additional premium dishes, such as black cod and prawn dumplings. They also have a mouth-watering canapé menu, which features California maki rolls, spicy beef and shishito pepper skewers, and sesame dumplings.
2. Clos Maggiore
Clos Maggiore is a luxury French restaurant. With ornate wooden panels, a fireplace, and bursts of floral abandon, this restaurant is undeniably one of the city’s most beautiful private dining locations. Their private dining room seats 23 people. The tranquil, flower-crowned room overlooks the buzz of Covent Garden. The restaurant’s head chef, in-house event planner, and sommelier work together to craft an utterly unique experience for you and your guests.
The menu has strong French and Italian influences. Starters on the menu include Brixham crab with blue radishes and elderflower gel and steak tartare with pickled onion. Signature main dishes include pumpkin risotto and halibut with cauliflower. Champagne, wine pairings, and caviar sauce are the perfect jewels that crown the exotic fare.
3. The Courtauld Gallery
Fine dining at the Courtauld Gallery is a class apart – it is culinary excellence amidst Renaissance art. Located in London’s historical Somerset House, the Courtauld is a distinguished art gallery known for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. For people with refined artistic sensibilities and a taste for life’s finer things, the gallery offers private dining.
They have a range of private dining options. Blavatnik Fine Rooms has six galleries encompassing the entire second floor of the building, with a capacity of 200 guests. The Rubens and Baroque Room has a 50-person capacity – the Royal Society, Royal Academy, and the like have hosted meetings in this very room. The LVMH Great Room, which houses significant works from Cézanne, has a standing capacity of 150 people and can seat 60 people. During London’s sun-kissed summers, the Courtauld Terrace is a splendid cocktail party location. The Art Cafe is a contemporary addition to the gallery, which can host 50 people for dinner.
Guests are treated to drinks, canapés, and a private tour of one of the UK’s most illustrious art collections. With groundbreaking paintings, gilded stairways, and balconies overlooking the River Thames, dining at the Courtauld Gallery is an enviable experience.
4. Kebab Queen Covent Garden
Kebab Queen is a league of its own in Middle Eastern cookery. A labour of love by acclaimed chefs Manu Canales, Ed Brunet, and Stephen Tozer, Kebab Queen is currently led by Pamir Zeydan. Zeydan’s menu draws heavily on Palestinian and Mediterranean cuisines. Traditional Turkish and Kurdish comfort meals are presented with flourish on picture-perfect plates.
Kebab Queen’s private dining experience is an interactive Chef’s Table affair. A deceptively simple frontage leads one to a small basement with plush pink curtains and blue leather seats. Chef Zeydan showcases his earnest craft, explaining each dish that he plates and serves. A truly bespoke experience, a custom menu is created for each private dining experience – you will leave the Chef’s Table having indulged in an immersive Middle-Eastern gastronomic journey.
5. Sushisamba Covent Garden
Located at the Opera Terrace, Sushisamba is a Japanese restaurant defined by its living green canopy, sushi bar, and open kitchen. The private dining room is aesthetically pleasing, with vibrant yellows and oranges, reversible Japanese screens bearing painted pastoral scenes, and a private balcony fringed with creepers. A majestic circular dining table can seat 15 guests. The room is also equipped with a plasma screen and AV system, perfect for intimate movie viewings or a business dinner with PowerPoint presentations.
Japanese tempura, sushi, Brazilian churrasco, and Peruvian anticucho feature in Sushisamba’s eclectic small plates menu. In addition to the diverse authentic fare, private Samba performances, whisky-tasting sessions, and sushi-making classes are on the table.
6. Large Vault at Tuttons Brasserie
One of Covent Garden’s prized possessions, Tuttons, is an old restaurant known for its elevated British classics. Overlooking the piazza, Tuttons prides itself on its al fresco private dining experience. Its private vaults, however, shower guests with invaluable exclusivity.
The large vault can seat 30 people. It is a cosy nook, dominated by a grave wooden table and red cushioned seats, evoking a vintage casino vibe. People can make merry over seasonal dishes made with fresh British produce or even conduct business meetings by availing of their AV facilities. In the Tuttons' private dining experience, there are two menus to choose from – the Jubilee Menu and the Royal Menu, with the latter featuring more premium options. Guests can start by nibbling on the King Scallops, devour the Confit Pork Belly, and finish off with a crème brulée –a sublime British fare!
7. The Inspector's Office at Bow Street Tavern
Set in the heart of Covent Garden, the Bow Street Tavern dates back to 1763. A remnant from early modern times, its old-world charm has catapulted the establishment to one of the locale’s most iconic pubs. It is affiliated with Britain’s first police force, the Bow Street Runners. The cellar used to be a prison cell. It has a plethora of private spaces, peppered with historical police paraphernalia.
The Inspector’s Office is one of the tavern’s most popular private rooms. With magenta walls, pink furniture, a typewriter, a record player, and scores of board games, it is a vibrant and playful space. Enjoy cider-battered cod and chips and Sunday roasts over quality wines at the Bow Tavern’s Inspector Office while revelling in Britain’s heyday mystique.
8. Christopher’s
Christopher’s is London’s premiere American restaurant. It aims to bring the glitz and glamour of America’s early modern era to London. Located in a former papier mâché factory and gritty casino, Christopher’s includes a martini room, a classy dining room, and a club. The atmosphere has a quiet decadence, with its dishes exemplifying quality and finesse.
The club room is Chritopher’s chief private dining space. With a 40-person seating capacity, it is the embodiment of the modern chic aesthetic. It houses bright, velvety sofas and sparkling white walls. Their customisable menu, private bar, and AV system make the room perfect for intimate gatherings, parties, and business meetings. Christopher’s menu features American culinary marvels such as Blackened Salmon, Buffalo Mozzarella, and the quintessential New York Cheesecake.
9. Gilgamesh
The Gilgamesh is a marriage between a Western epic and Asian flavours. Designed as an old Babylonian palace, the interiors evoke the fabled reign of the demigod Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a mythical figure and one of the best-known Mesopotamian heroes. He was possibly the King of Uruk, on a quest to be the greatest man in the world and achieve immortality. Apparently, he lived to be 126 years old. His story was inscribed on several tablets, which were discovered in Nineveh. The incomplete Akkadian script lyrically describes the life and death of the legend.
The restaurant bears detailed gold inscriptions depicting the tale, bronze patterns, and opulent sculptures. Wooden panels are moulded with mythical figures – history and mythology lurk in every corner of the establishment. The restaurant has two private dining rooms, the Zion and the Babylon. Zion is the upper mezzanine, defined by its dense greenery, reminiscent of the Gardens of Babylon. It can seat at least 40 people.
Babylon is an intimate dining space brimming with splendour, from the golden sculptures to the velvet tapestries. The 40-person capacity room is dimly lit, enhancing its enigmatic appeal. Their banquets are an exotic affair and include vegan options. Prawn spring rolls, dumplings, tofu salad, fried rice, and braised duck are featured on the banquet menu at the time of writing.
Covent Garden's vibrance is emboldened by its treasure trove of fine dining experiences. Revel in the neighbourhood's elite gastronomy, and discover your favourite private dining establishment.
