Most West End shows start at 7:30pm. Curtain calls are tight. You probably have 90 minutes to eat, sometimes less. The wrong restaurant turns this into a stress event. The right one gets you fed, watered, and in your seat with five minutes to spare.
Chinatown is one of the best pre-theatre dinner spots in central London. Here is how to do it.
The geography
Most West End theatres sit within a 7 minute walk of Chinatown:
- Lyceum, Aldwych, Adelphi - Strand theatres. 8-10 minutes walk (see near Covent Garden)
- Prince Edward, Apollo Victoria, Apollo, Lyric - Shaftesbury Avenue. 2-5 minutes walk (see near Piccadilly Circus)
- Palace, Cambridge, Phoenix, Dominion - Tottenham Court Road area. 5-7 minutes walk
- Wyndham's, Garrick, Noel Coward - Charing Cross Road. 3-5 minutes walk (see near Charing Cross)
- Prince of Wales, Her Majesty's, Trafalgar - Leicester Square / Haymarket. 3-7 minutes walk
The Greedy Sheep is at 8 Little Newport Street, which is roughly the centre point of all of these.
The timing
Reverse-engineer your dinner from curtain time:
- 7:30pm curtain: be in your seat by 7:25pm
- Walk from Chinatown: allow 7-10 minutes
- Leave restaurant: 7:15pm
- Pay and grab coats: 7:10pm
- Last bite of food: 7pm
- Order dessert?: skip it, or get it elsewhere
- Sit down to eat: 6pm
- Arrive at restaurant: 5:50pm
90 minutes is enough if you order quickly and the restaurant is set up for it. Northern Chinese street food is set up for it.
Why Chinese food works for pre-theatre
A few reasons:
- It comes out fast. Wok-fried dishes hit the table in 6-8 minutes
- Sharing plates speed things up. Order three or four dishes for two people, eat as they arrive
- Noodles and rice fill you without weighing you down. A heavy meal makes the second act unbearable
- Most dishes are one-pot or one-wok. No long courses
The Greedy Sheep runs a faster turnaround at peak hours specifically for pre-theatre tables. If you tell us you have a curtain at 7:30, we will pace your order accordingly.
What to order
Our standard pre-theatre order for two:
1. Hand-pulled noodles - one bowl, share or split 2. Rou jia mo - the Chinese burger. Fast. Filling 3. Pan-fried dumplings - 6 to 8 dumplings, ready to eat in 8 minutes 4. Cold sesame cucumbers - while the hot dishes cook
Skip:
- Slow braised dishes (lamb shoulder, etc.) - they need time
- Whole fish - too long to eat
- Hot pot - definitely not for pre-theatre
- Multi-course tasting menus - obvious
Booking pre-theatre
We do not require booking but we recommend it for pre-theatre slots. Tables between 5:30-6:30pm fill up Wednesday to Saturday.
Book through the contact page or just walk in if you have a buffer. Tell us you have a show. We will move accordingly.
Post-show dinner
If you are seeing a late show or want to eat afterwards instead, see our guide to late-night food in Chinatown. We close kitchen at 10pm but most weeknights you can walk in at 9:30pm.
Find us
8 Little Newport Street, in the heart of Chinatown. Open 12pm to 10pm daily.
Come hungry. Leave greedy.
