‹ Before the curtain › West End
Lyric Theatre · Shaftesbury Avenue
The closest places to the Lyric 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: 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: 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.
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 theatre menu
Victor Garvey's starred Soho restaurant, and one of the best deals in Soho at this level.
Set menu: Three canapés, two dishes and dessert £84, Wednesday-Saturday 5-6pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Schellenberg, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Order fast: The six dishes to share
Yotam Ottolenghi's Soho restaurant, between Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus.
Set menu: Six dishes to share £46, Monday-Friday until 6:30pm
From Hot Dinners' pre-theatre menus, May 2026. Photo like it: Gerda Arendt, CC0.
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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