Jamie Oliver Catherine St

Jamie Oliver's return to Covent Garden in the autumn of 2023 marked a fresh start for the celebrity chef. Next door to the Theatre Royal, you enter a warm, buzzy, wood-floored dining room done out with comfy burgundy-hued leather banquettes, stripey chairs, elegant linen lampshades, distinctive Art Deco lights and tall potted plants. It’s less of a vanity project and more about likeable, affordable food in the heart of theatreland.

The seasonal menu delves into Oliver's Anglo-Mediterranean back catalogue, cherry-picking classics such as the Fifteen salad with burrata or spaghetti with tiger prawns, white crab, clams and mussels in a tomato bisque. There are also dry-aged steaks, chops, pies and lobster thermidor with Koffmann fries to share, as well as ‘Trevor's chicken’ – a dish dedicated to the chef's father.

The good-value set menu (perfect for lunch and pre-theatre) shines the spotlight on quality produce, from carpaccio of beef or smoked mackerel pâté on sourdough toast to chicken Caesar salad or crisp-skinned sea bream with seasonal greens, although a plate of pasta with mushroom duxelles and British pecorino left us underwhelmed. We also found the service a little hit or miss, but a delightful warm Bakewell tart with crème fraîche helped to save the day. To drink, there’s a good choice of cocktails and a short list of international wines from £35 a bottle.