2 Best Restaurants in Covent Garden, London

British comfort food classics like ham-and-cheese toasties, bubble 'n' squeak, and even the mighty potato chip are elevated into gastro showstoppers at this classy town house just off the Covent Garden piazza. Prized triple-cooked chips are squeezed, sliced, buttered, and deep-fried to perfection, while the equally famous crustless toasties are all succulent Wiltshire ham hock, Montgomery cheddar, and tangy house pickle. Understated jazz and blues music plays amid the elegant decor, from the antique table glasses and French-linen napkins to the tarnished mirrors and green-velvet banquettes.

London's onetime most famous celebrity haunt and West End landmark is still so popular it receives more than a thousand calls a day. Established as an Italian café in 1917, today it's still a top destination to dine on deep-fried haddock and chips, Thai-baked sea bass, and evergreen English classics like shepherd's pie and baked Alaska. Madonna famously once ate sticky toffee pudding with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise and British playwright Harold Pinter here back in the day. Perch at the coral onyx dining bar in pink mohair-backed seats, kick back with an Old Fashioned, and enjoy some of the best free theater and people-watching in town.