Pre-theatre menus. Three words guaranteed to strike fear into the heart of many a discerning London foodie. Often dressed up as Prix Fixe or Chef’s Menus, theatregoers have long been left to choose between disappointingly subpar set menus or the Covent Garden branch of Pizza Express – neither of which is going to get your big night out in the West End off to a great start.

Well, no more. Never ones to let a smart business opportunity pass them by, London’s greatest theatre-adjacent restaurants have spotted a gap in the market and begun offering pre-theatre menus to rival any a la carte fare. The only downside? You’ll be having such a good time you might just miss the first act.

Dalloway Terrace, Bloomsbury

Situated at the heart of London’s West End, The Bloomsbury hotel takes its proximity to the capital’s biggest theatres seriously – and has even partnered with The Devil Wears Prada musical at the Dominion Theatre to celebrate its all-singing, all-dancing neighbours. Whatever your penchant for plays, start your evening out on the town with the pre-theatre dining experience at The Bloomsbury’s Dalloway Terrace. A secret garden with gorgeous foliage that changes in accordance with the seasons, the tucked-away terrace offers a serene setting away from the hustle and bustle of Theatreland, while being just moments from Oxford Street. 

Served daily from 5pm until 6.30pm, the pre-theatre menu offers a choice of two or three courses complemented with a zesty mandarin mimosa. Starters include smoked Scottish salmon with herb dressing, rich duck parfait with fresh sourdough, and burrata with sweet walnuts and seeded crackers, while mains feature Moroccan-style roasted baby chicken, glazed hispi cabbage with pumpkin and herb crumb, and roasted salmon in wild garlic and butter. Save room for the decadent vanilla creme brûlée or dark chocolate fondant for dessert, and you’re guaranteed a great start to your night out in London. 

Price: £34 for two courses, £38 for three courses

Close to: The Dominion Theatre, Shaftesbury Theatre and Donmar Warehouse

Address: 16-22 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3NN, visit dallowayterrace.com

The Lane, Covent Garden

The only theatre in the West End to also offer its own three-course menu, you don’t need a ticket to dine at Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s Grand Saloon restaurant. Inside its marble-lined Regency room, adorned with twinkling chandeliers and a fine art collection, the restaurant opened for evening service for the first time earlier this year, and serves an array of seasonal British dishes with contemporary finesse.   

Starters include smoked salmon with horseradish cream, or a pork terrine with brandy cherries and sourdough, before hearty main dishes including ox cheek bourguignon or the classic fish pie with salmon, smoked haddock, pollock and a brioche crumb. Vegan and vegetarian options include a Jerusalem artichoke risotto and parsnip soup, while the dessert selection is full of indulgent treats including sticky toffee pudding and the Black Forest coupe. 

Price: £49.50 for three courses

Close to: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Royal Ballet and Opera, Aldwych Theatre, Novello Theatre

Address: Catherine Street, WC2B 5JF, visit thelane.co.uk

Berners Tavern, Fitzrovia

The wittily named Early Berners at Jason Atherton’s Berners Tavern is available for just 90 minutes each day – so be sure to make your booking early. The two- or three-course set menu promises a brilliant choice of dishes from the more extensive a la carte offering, with highlights including prawn cocktail with avocado wasabi puree, ray wing schnitzel with fennel and citrus salad, and a British cheese board. If you’ve yet to try Atherton’s much-lauded fare, make a beeline for this great value menu.

Price: £36 for two courses, £46 for three courses

Close to: London Palladium, Dominion Theatre, Soho Theatre

Address: 10 Berners Street, W1T 3NP, visit bernerstavern.com

Sola, Soho

Michelin-starred Sola is a tasting menu only spot acclaimed for its celebration of Californian cooking. Given the no-choice concept, creating a delectable pre-theatre set menu must have been a doddle for chef-patron Victor Garvey – and he's certainly delivered the goods. Served across seven courses, begin with a series of snacks including vodka-cured salmon roulade, suckling pig with jasmine, and devilled egg before moving on to langoustine with wild mushroom wonton, roasted day boat scallop and black Sollies figs with toasted sesame. A seriously impressive start to your night out.

Price: £74 per person

Close to: London Palladium, Sondheim Theatre, Soho Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre

Address: 64 Dean Street, W1D 4QQ, visit solasoho.com

Norma, Fitzrovia

This upscale Sicilian restaurant located in a pretty three-storey townhouse on Charlotte Street delivers old-school Italian hospitality in spades and is guaranteed to put you in a good mood for the evening's entertainment. Norma's pre-theatre menu, which is available Monday to Saturday and at lunch, is a lesson in refined classics just like Nonna used to make. Think focaccia and olives for snacking followed by chickpea panelle, beef ragu rigatoni, or sea bream fillet with garlic aioli.

Price: £20 for two courses

Close to: Dominion Theatre, The Shaftesbury Theatre, London Palladium

Address: 8 Charlotte Street, W1T 2LS, visit normalondon.com

Penelope's, Covent Garden

Tucked away under one of Covent Garden's best hotels, Amano, Penelope's draws on the cuisines of Spain and Israel to serve up delectable dishes with a side order of raucous fun. Offering seriously good cocktails and DJs every weekend, stop in before the show for dinner and return for a nightcap that may well extend into the wee hours after. The pre-theatre menu is bursting with Mediterranean-inflected comfort foods, such as Iberico pork with anchovy aioli, chicken shawarma and baklava cheesecake, so make sure you leave plenty of room.

Price: £28 for two courses, £32 for three courses

Close to: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Aldwych Theatre, Novello Theatre, Royal Opera House

Address: 34-43 Russell Street, WC2B 5HA, visit amanogroup.com

Sussex, Soho

This elegant Soho brasserie helmed by chef Oliver Gladwin put the emphasis on seasonal produce, game and ingredients that represent the best of Britain. Its pre-theatre menu is an interesting one, designed for two to share and based entirely around a centrepiece beef Wellington served with roast potatoes and seasonal greens. Accompanied by a pre-starter of mushroom marmite eclair and cured trout, plus a seasonal dessert, at £48 per person, it's excellent value too.

Price: £48 per person

Close to: Prince Edward Theatre, Soho Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Sondheim Theatre

Address: 63-64 Frith Street, W1D 3JW, visit sussex-restaurant.com

Pivot, Covent Garden

With a prime position overlooking Covent Garden piazza, there are few restaurants that boast such close proximity to Theatreland – and great food to boot. Chef Mark Greenaway is behind the pots and pans, cooking up wholesome classics guaranteed to satiate the appetites of diners aged 9 to 90. The pre-theatre menu offers plenty of choice at each course: having to decide whether you'll have the burrata and tomato salad or the Scottish smoked salmon, and then the buttermilk chicken burger or the roasted stone bass, truly is the definition of a champagne problem.

Price: £26.75 for two courses, £30.75 for three courses

Close to: Vaudeville Theatre, Adelphi Theatre, Lyceum Theatre

Address: 3 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8LU, visit pivotbarandbistro.com

The Dining Room at The Goring, Belgravia

If you're heading to one of Victoria's many theatres, there are few better places to treat yourself to a truly slap-up meal than The Dining Room at The Goring. Having relaunched last year after a major refurbishment, its pre-theatre menu is a masterclass in how to offer refined fare without the hefty price tag. Devised as a choice of three starters, three mains, and a handful of desserts, with an array of supplemental sides, ease into the restaurant's plush surrounds as you choose from the likes of acquerello risotto, native lobster omelette, dry-aged Aylesbury duck, and rhubarb and classic rum baba flambé.

Price: £80 for three courses 

Close to: Victoria Palace Theatre, The Other Palace Theatre, Apollo Victoria Theatre

Address: 15 Beeston Place, SW1W 0JW, visit thegoring.com

Sushisamba, Covent Garden

You’d think it would be difficult to top the views at London’s original Sushisamba in the City’s Heron Tower, yet the panorama on offer at the Covent Garden outpost of the Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian fusion restaurant comes close. Enjoying a rooftop spot that runs the entire east side of the Grade II-listed Market Building (the glass-domed structure in Covent Garden’s main courtyard), the Eric Parry-designed restaurant overlooks the market’s historic Piazza, the Royal Opera House and Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Nab a table during a dusky-pink sunset and you’re in for a real treat.

Inside, Sushisamba Covent Garden is even more impressive than its sister restaurant in the Square Mile. A riot of bright colours, overhanging foliage, velvet booths, striking lighting and statement black-and-white floor tiles make this one of London’s most dazzlingly-designed restaurants. The pre- and post-theatre menu is served Monday to Friday from 12pm until 6pm and 10pm until close. Favourites that make it over from the main menu include ribeye anticuchos, tuna ceviche, veggie samba rolls, poussin teriyaki and robata miso-glazed salmon.

Price: £36 for three courses 

Close to: Apollo Theatre, Savoy Theatre, Adelphi Theatre, Lyceum Theatre 

Address: 35 The Market, WC2E 8RF, visit sushisamba.com

Cafe Murano, Covent Garden

Tucked away on a quiet(ish) street just off the main Covent Garden square, this smart Italian eatery from lauded chef Angela Hartnett hits that sweet spot of sophisticated eating in central London that feels neither touristy nor extravagantly priced. This is particularly true of its extremely reasonable lunch and pre-theatre set menu, which will see just £30 buy three courses of some of the most authentic Italian cuisine in the capital. Choose from delicacies including cod cheek fritters, whipped ricotta bruschetta, and conchiglioni alla norma. Not on the set menu (but well worth making a return booking for) is Cafe Murano's signature, and utterly decadent, gnocchi with chanterelles and confit garlic.

Price: £27 for two courses, £32 for three courses

Close to: Royal Opera House, Aldwych Theatre, Fortune Theatre, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Address: 36 Tavistock Street, WC2E 7PB, visit cafemurano.co.uk

Nopi, Soho

Long praised for its innovative approach to restaurant dining – which popularised the use of communal tables and focuses on bold flavours and shared plates – it’s no surprise that Ottolenghi’s take on the pre-theatre menu at Nopi is a little unconventional. Instead of being priced by course, the menu offers a selection of small sharing plates with dishes made larger or smaller depending on the number of diners. Highlights include roasted aubergine with tahini yogurt, maple beetroot with whipped goat's cheese, and baked cod with braised coconut greens. This is also one of the few pre-theatre menus in London to come with a paired wine flight – which is well worth the extra expense.

Price: £46 per person, £67 including wine

Close to: Sondheim Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, Piccadilly Theatre, London Palladium

Address: 21-22 Warwick Street, W1F 9LD, visit ottolenghi.co.uk

Dear Jackie, Soho

This flamboyant Italian in the heart of Soho is the ideal place for a pre-show show. Opulent interiors and unbridled glamour mix with a decadant array of pasta dishes, Italian classics and fine wines. Offered in two- or three-course options, the pre-theatre menu at Dear Jackie promises a parade of elegant plates including roasted veal tonnato, burrata with young leeks and hazelnuts, orrechiette with delica squash, and pork collar with blood orange. And trust us when we say it's worth upgrading to try the tiramisu. Buon appetito!

Price: £28 for two courses, £34 for three courses

Close to: Sondheim Theatre, Piccadilly Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Soho Theatre

Address: 20 Broadwick Street, W1F 8HT, visit broadwicksoho.com

The Delaunay, Covent Garden

Taking its cues from the historic cafes of Europe, The Delaunay is a grand all-day restaurant from the Wolseley Hospitality Group. Located practically next door to a clutch of the West End’s most popular shows, The Delaunay's pre-theatre offering features time-honoured classics variety such as monkfish tartare, spatchcock chicken with salsa verde, and Black Forest gateau.

Price: Three courses for £29.50, including a glass of wine, beer or soft drink

Close to: Royal Opera House, Aldwych Theatre, Fortune Theatre, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Address: 55 Aldwych, WC2B 4BB, visit thedelaunay.com

Bocca di Lupo, Soho

Founded by Jacob Kenedy and Victor Hugo in 2008, there are few more appetising places for dinner before Les Misérables (showing at the Sondheim Theatre just down the road) than Bocca di Lupo. This buzzy Italian restaurant, which focuses on authentic, hearty regional fare, offers a no-choice theatre menu until 6.30pm every weekday, treating guests to a starter and main for an astonishing £18 (dessert and espresso can be added for an extra £5). The menu is seasonal but currently features radicchio, hazelnut and balsamic salad, pasta e fagioli with borlotti beans and rosemary, and apple and honey fritters.

Price: £18 (£5 supplement for dessert and coffee)

Close to: Lyric Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, Sondheim Theatre

Address: 12 Archer Street, W1D 7BB, visit boccadilupo.com

Hawksmoor, Soho and Covent Garden

Avert your eyes from the Piccadilly Circus branch of the Aberdeen Angus Steak House and instead set a course for the far better Hawksmoor steak chain, which has restaurants conveniently located for theatregoers on Air Street in Soho and Seven Dials in Covent Garden. The Express Menu, which is available from 12-3pm, 5-6.30pm and after 9pm from Monday to Saturday, is essentially a list of the restaurant’s greatest hits, including its potted beef and bacon with Yorkshire puddings to start, 35 day-aged rump steak for main, and sticky toffee sundae for dessert.

Price: Two courses for £32, three courses for £35

Close to: Lyric Theatre, Apollo Theatre, St Martin’s Theatre, Donmar Warehouse

Address: 5a Air Street, W1J 0AD; 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG, visit thehawksmoor.com

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