There’s a bakery counter inside the Covent Garden market building and a courtyard terrace just off Floral Street. On Brewer Street, a walk-in counter cooks Northern Thai food. Somerset House has Chinese home cooking, and Kingly Court serves Filipino dishes on its top floor. Everything we list below is eight to sixteen minutes on foot from the square.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Oliphant's Ice Cream & BakeryPastries, ice creamWalk from the square: about 10 minCovent Garden market
- 02Milk Beach SohoBrunch, coffeeWalk from the square: about 12 minGreek Street
- 03BurroTerrace lunch, fresh pastaWalk from the square: about 8 minFloral Court
- 04Poon'sChinese home cookingWalk from the square: about 13 minSomerset House
- 05KilnWalk-in Thai counterWalk from the square: about 11 minBrewer Street
- 06PalomarCounter dinnerWalk from the square: about 8 minRupert Street
- 07DoniaFilipino dinnerWalk from the square: about 15 minKingly Court
- 08GymkhanaA big night outWalk from the square: about 16 minAlbemarle Street
Where can I get coffee and a quick bite near Trafalgar Square?
For something quick, walk ten minutes to Oliphant’s, in the lower courtyards of the Covent Garden market building. The counter churns English-style ice cream and bakes pastries in small batches through the day. To sit down properly, go to Milk Beach Soho, whose courtyard serves brunch on its terrace, with coffee from the team’s own roastery.
Oliphant’s Ice Cream & Bakery uses French butter and English flour, and sells butter and plant-based versions side by side. Mornings are calm, before theatre traffic fills the yard. Ask which batch has just come out of the oven. Then we’d take a cinnamon bun and a house roast coffee to the tables under the arcade instead of eating on the move.
Oliphant's Ice Cream & Bakery
Hours: Mon–Fri 09:30–18:30 · Sat 09:30–19:30 · Sun 09:30–18:30
Address: Market Building, Unit 28 Lower Courtyards, London WC2E 8RE, UK
Milk Beach Soho sits down a passageway off Greek Street, so the room stays settled even when Soho outside is loud. By day the terrace fills with a brunch crowd. The coffee comes from Album, the roastery the same team set up in 2022.
Milk Beach Soho
Hours: Mon 12:00–23:00 · Tue–Wed 09:00–23:00 · Thu–Sat 09:00–00:00 · Sun 09:00–17:00
Address: 14 Greek St, James Court, London W1D 4AL, UK
Where should I have lunch near the National Gallery?
Two places make a good sit-down lunch within a quarter hour of the square. Burro, about eight minutes away, does daily fresh pasta on a quiet terrace in Floral Court. Poon’s, about thirteen minutes away, serves southern Chinese cooking inside Somerset House.
Burro is Conor Gadd’s own place after years at Trullo. Inside, the room is part Irish country kitchen, part fifties Italian bistro. The name means butter, so order the vitello al burro, or the fettuccine with duck and porcini ragu. In warm weather, ask for a terrace table when you book. Those go first.
Burro
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:30–15:00, 17:30–22:30 · Sun 12:30–15:00, 17:30–21:30
Address: Unit 2, Floral Court, Floral St, London WC2E 9FB, UK
Amy Poon revived her family’s name at Poon’s in 2025, in the New Wing of Somerset House. The kitchen cooks slow casseroles and wind-dried meats with little adaptation for London tastes, and the grand 18th-century setting suits the food. The wind-dried meats link back to the family’s original restaurants, and the kitchen will tell you which ones are ready that day. Tuesday and Thursday lunches are quieter than the weekend service.
Poon's
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Thu 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:00 · Fri 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:15 · Sat 12:00–22:15 · Sun closed
Address: Lancaster Pl, London WC2R 1LA
Which counter restaurants are worth it?
Two counters put you right in front of the cooks. Kiln doesn’t take bookings: a queue forms before service, and the counter looks straight onto the clay pots and charcoal grill. Palomar takes reservations, and its zinc counter runs the full length of the room, facing the open kitchen.
Kiln cooks Northern Thai and Shan state food. Dry-aged lamb skewers come with Szechuan pepper, and a bone marrow curry arrives in a blackened pot. For a seat the same evening, arrive around a quarter to seven on weekdays, or nearer six on Fridays and Saturdays.
Kiln
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–23:00 · Sun 12:00–21:00
Address: 58 Brewer St, London W1F 9TL
The Palomar has been on Rupert Street since 2014 and feels like a Tel Aviv kitchen on the edge of Theatreland. Now and then the cooks break into call-and-response. North African spice, Levantine sourness and Spanish touches land on the same plate. When you reserve, ask for the counter specifically: that’s where the kitchen talks you through the menu. The YoYo Tahinov is always on. At lunch, the cooks have more time for you.
Palomar
Hours: Mon 17:00–22:00 · Tue–Wed 12:00–14:30, 17:00–22:00 · Thu–Sat 12:00–14:30, 17:00–22:30 · Sun 12:00–14:30, 17:00–21:00
Address: 34 Rupert St, London W1D 6DN
Where can I book a proper dinner near Trafalgar Square?
For a booked dinner, head into Soho and Mayfair, around fifteen minutes on foot. Donia, on the top floor of Kingly Court, cooks northern Philippine food in an intimate room. Dinner there needs a booking. Gymkhana, on Albemarle Street, is the expensive option: contemporary Indian cooking built around the tandoor, in a wood-panelled former members’ club.
At Donia, the kare-kare comes with oxtail braised until it falls apart, and the crispy chicken inasal is sharp with Philippine sourness. Dishes rotate. Let the staff steer you to whatever is working best that week rather than ordering what sounds familiar.
Donia
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Wed 17:00–21:30 · Thu 12:00–14:30, 17:00–21:30 · Fri–Sat 12:00–14:30, 17:00–22:00 · Sun 12:00–14:30, 17:00–20:00
Address: 2.5, Top Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby St, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW
Sporting prints hang on Gymkhana’s walls and ceiling fans turn overhead. The Muntjac biryani is assembled at the table, and in autumn the game dishes are especially strong. Regulars always order the kid goat methi keema; put it on the booking so the kitchen has it for you. Before dinner, have a drink in the basement bar.
Gymkhana
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–14:30, 17:30–22:30
Address: 42 Albemarle St, London W1S 4JH
Burro and Palomar are the closest, both within about eight minutes of the square, so you can go straight from the gallery. Book Donia, Gymkhana and the Palomar counter ahead. Kiln is walk-in only, so get there before the evening queue.
