Getting classy in Covent Garden for under £25
Covent Garden's lower-level market. Photo Credit: Alissa Smith
When thinking about Covent Garden, it is very easy to imagine spending lots of money on overpriced designer items. There’s no lack of shops if that’s what you want to do. However, it is possible not to spend a fortune on food and entertainment without resorting to bringing your own snacks and watching the (sometimes very talented) buskers alongside those inexplicably huge crowds of tourists.
Should you happen to be a fan of ballet or opera, it is surprisingly easy to find cheap tickets, especially if you’re a student. So if you plan your night correctly, you can go to the Royal Opera House for a show for about £10. Checking the seating charts online can help you find tickets between 5 and 10 quid each.
These cheaper tickets have restricted views or up in the nose-bleed sections, but consider what you’re getting—high quality performances in a world renowned theatre. The ROH has also set up a program called Student Standby that, once you’ve signed up for it, allows a student to get unsold tickets for a capped price of £10. My £5 ticket was for a contemporary ballet called As One / Rushes – Fragments of a Lost Story / Infra. The seat was high up in the stalls and the left hand side of the stage was out of my sight, but I could still see enough to thoroughly enjoy the story. And of course, it meant I still had money left in the bank for dinner.
Believe it or not, it is also possible to get a decent dinner and dessert in Covent Garden for under £15. Inside the two covered halls of the Market, you can usually find three or four places to sit down and eat without having to wait a long time for a table. The restaurants might not be cheap, but they won’t break your bank either. Going to Chez Gerard isn’t a necessity when in Covent Garden, and you don’t have to go to the middling cafes that offer the same sort of thing you could get anywhere. The Lower Ground floor of the second hall offers a good spread too. Near the Punch & Judy pub, you can get the paella for £4, crepes at Crème de la Crepe for £6, or classic British pie at the Battersea Pie Shop for £7 with a side.
After that, follow your ears to the other side of the market where the quartets and singers perform and get a frozen yogurt (chocolate) with a few toppings (oreos and toffee) for just over £3. There are plenty of other dessert opportunities too—Candy Cakes, Ella’s Bakery, Muffinski’s and of course, Ben’s Cookies.
And there you are! You’ve now eaten and been entertained in Covent Garden for under £25. This of course has nothing to do with any extra shopping, coffee or drinking you do before or after dinner and the show. I’m not responsible for that part of your evening.
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Never would have thought you could do Covent Garden so ‘cheaply’. Love it!
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