‹ Before the curtain › West End
Criterion Theatre · Jermyn Street
The closest places to the Criterion that get you fed and out in about an hour, what to order so the kitchen is fast, and a Book button for the right night. Sit down 90 minutes before curtain.

Sit down at 6pm, pay by 7:05pm, in your seat for the 7:30pm curtain.
Order fast: The prix fixe: carottes râpées, then steak haché
A huge gilded basement off Piccadilly Circus, and the cheapest grand dinner in the West End.
Set menu: Two courses £16.95, three £19.95, all day, every day
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Willis Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Order fast: The early set with rump steak
Hawksmoor's steak at a theatre price, a few steps from Piccadilly Circus.
Set menu: Two courses £25, three £30, Monday-Saturday 5-6:30pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Order fast: A starter and a pasta, at the counter
Jacob Kenedy's seasonal Italian, the Shaftesbury Avenue theatres' favourite. Sit at the counter.
Set menu: Starter and main £18 (dessert +£6), Monday-Friday until 6:30pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Geoffreyrabbit, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Order fast: Grilled octopus, then sea bream
The way into a very expensive Greek fish restaurant at a fraction of the price, by the Haymarket theatres.
Set menu: Three courses £57, daily 4:30-6:30pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Vouliagmeni, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Order fast: The speedy omakase
An omakase counter that built a quick sitting for theatregoers: appetiser, miso, five nigiri, dessert and a glass of English fizz.
Set menu: Four courses £59, every day 5:30-6:30pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Wilfredor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Walk times are from the theater's door at an easy pace. Places picked from Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus and the restaurants' own pages, checked open Oct 29, 2026. Set menus and prices are as the restaurant published them and change; check when you book. Shows from Wikipedia. Something wrong? hello@chefamazing.com. Chef Amazing isn't paid by any restaurant or theater here.
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