Dining

King’s Strand Campus is right by Covent Garden and the West End. There are almost endless options for eating in this area, though you may need to book in advance for pre-theatre dining in West End restaurants.

Lunch will be catered on Friday and Saturday as part of the conference fee. 

If you are with us at lunchtime on Thursday or Sunday, there are inexpensive take-away sandwich/salad meal deals to be had within 8 minutes’ walk at local branches of Tesco, The Co-op, Boots, and Marks & Spencer; Sainsbury’s opposite Holborn Tube is 13 minutes away. Slightly more up-market alternatives close by include the Crown Cafe, Leon, Pret a Manger, Wasabi Sushi, Paul’s, etc. Nice places for an outdoor picnic include Lincoln’s Inn Fields behind Kingsway, Victoria Gardens on Embankment, or the pedestrianised areas on and around Strand campus. There are plenty of places within King’s to sit and eat if the weather is inclement.

If you would prefer to sit in, places we recommend for informal meals in the immediate vicinity include the Pear Tree Cafe in Lincoln’s Inn Field, Toklas Bakery in Surrey Street, The Delaunay Counter on Aldwych, and the cafe on the ground floor of the Royal Opera House in Bow Street. For pizza, there are local branches of Pizza Express on Strand and Franco Manca on Catherine Street. For excellent vegan food, try Cafe Petiole in the south-west corner of Somerset House; also at Somerset House are the Courtauld Cafe and The Watch House.

Dinner options are virtually endless. As well the above, some of which are also open in the evening (Toklas upstairs from Toklas Bakery and The Delaunay are both good for a mid-range meal), we recommend Thai Square on Strand, Côte in Tavistock Street, Paro in Bow Street, Masala Zone in Bow Street, Busaba on Floral Street, etc; but please ask any of us for further recommendations. There are several excellent local pubs: The Wellington, the Lyceum and the Coal Hole close by on Strand, The Ship Tavern behind Holborn Tube, The Princess Louise on High Holborn, The Bow Street Tavern, The Coach and Horses on Bow Street, The Nags Head and the White Lion close to Covent Garden Tube, etc.

You also can’t beat a glass of champagne at the Bar Cicoria on the top floor balcony of the Royal Opera House, overlooking Covent Garden; or a glass of something special in the warm basement depths of Gordon’s Wine Bar beside Embankment Tube.